Yesterday my coworker showed me a terrific magic trick.

He placed a penny on one hand, nothing on the other, and let me examine his hands for any hidden objects. He then closed his hands quickly into fists and asked me which hand the penny was in. Of course I incorrectly chose the hand the penny was first placed in, and was astonished to see that the penny had magically leaped to his other hand.

He then let me watch him do it slowly, and it was quite obviously NOT magic that had transported the penny, but simple physics.

Initially, he placed the penny on his upper right palm about a centimeter below his index and middle knuckle. His palms start up, but makes the fists with palms down. He closed the right hand a little sooner than the left, and by flicking his hand while he closed it was able to shoot the penny very fast over to his left hand (which was timed perfectly to catch the penny while making the fist.)

Try it out for yourself. You'll fumble the first few times, but catch on to the timing pretty quickly. Practice until you can toss the penny smoothly without dropping it and you'll amaze everyone you perform for.

Even when you know what to look for, it's often hard to see the penny fly between the two hands!