Pretty sure he's not using real cards - didn't Adam and Jaime prove they don't have enough mass?
Posted by JDB-667@reddit | mythbusters | View on Reddit | 62 comments
Relevant-Amount-514@reddit
So I do variety show entertainment all over the US, and there is a guy named Rick Smith Jr who does things like this. I’ve worked the guy’s show before and hung out with him. I handled this trick specifically.
He does it with real playing cards, BUT he does it into a single stalk of celery, usually held in someone’s mouth. If he used real metal, he could cut the volunteer if he missed.
Based on my (completely anecdotal) evidence, I don’t think this would work with anything thicker.
gulgin@reddit
Was really expecting the card to chop the head off the statue on that last clip. Unacceptable!
Lugia150@reddit
Even if thin sheet of metal - still very impressive
CloudDweller182@reddit
I thought he was gonna take the head off the statue.
testprimate@reddit
Especially that last one, pretty sure it's still in orbit
tcrex2525@reddit
If you want me to think it’s impressive then don’t print them to look like playing cards and try to fool everyone.
akaky-akakyevich@reddit
Ricky Jay threw them pretty hard, and could get them to partially cut into a watermelon — and he did it on live TV. I would say this looks suspicious.
Bowdensaft@reddit
Apparently they're made from thin metal, presumably for this exact purpose if I had to guess, which makes a lot more sense
BleepinBlorpin5@reddit
I had a Ricky Jay period of my life where I was totally enamored by the guy and watched everything I could. What a fascinating guy he was
Random_Tangent_@reddit
Somebody uploaded a great capture of his VHS special to the Internet Archive. Definitely worth a look if you’ve not seen it.
akaky-akakyevich@reddit
The documentary about him is fascinating. Worth a watch.
BleepinBlorpin5@reddit
I remmeber the journalist talking about his ice block trick. They'd been together for hours already, and then at a diner Ricky Jay lifts his menu to reveal a giant ice block to the bewilderment of his journalist companion. He had a way about him
akaky-akakyevich@reddit
One of my very favorite bits — and so personalized!
BleepinBlorpin5@reddit
And the shower money one, when the guys randomly approach him in the shower and he turns their two one dollar bills into a two dollar bill. I guess he predicted he'd do that at some point and just also snuck a two dollar bill on his person, hahaha
xpietoe42@reddit
lethal weapon!
kitcurtis@reddit
Nah my bud in 6th grade was into throwing cards. Got one of our favorite Pokémon stuck in the drywall in a successful flick. Blew my mind.
mistergudbar@reddit
Thought the last one was going to cut the head off the statue
highvoltage890@reddit
AI??
komodocommand@reddit
Was really expecting the statue to be cut in half lol
Novel-Topic-2329@reddit
Was waiting for him to hit a bird at the end.
MiksBricks@reddit
100% the bamboo is fake. Fake meaning it’s not just a simple out of a pack playing card.
The flight at the end is fake also. Even the smallest bit of wind would send that tumbling.
The cucumbers also kinda confirms it - first one it barely makes it through then he backs up and can now easily get through two?
coconut-telegraph@reddit
The flowers are also marigolds tied to a weak, fleshy stalk of something.
Kameronm@reddit
Look up the book "Cards as Weapons".
Pottatothegreat1985@reddit
I'd never use a card throwing machine on you, Wee-Man.
Oroskan@reddit
Based on my experience, these are likely to be plastic cards.
Plastic deforms much less at the edge, and so can cut harder surfaces than paper. It also bends similarly to the video.
Paper cards deflect on the edges, and damage is very visible after hitting an object, and we see none here.
Metal cards seem unlikely to me, metal cards I have used fly very differently to paper and plastic due to their weight, and this would be very noticeable in slow motion.
The bamboo and wood looking thing are suspicious, but everything else is 100% possible with plastic cards.
TitularFoil@reddit
I cut my brothers face throwing cards at him. But I know that's different than cutting other organic materials.
Gregb1994@reddit
This is why salads take so long
09Klr650@reddit
Card does not even flex. Probably a thin steel sheet with printing.
_Choose_Goose@reddit
I think it’s probably metal. Look at the wobble on the thick cuts and then how the card doesn’t change speed or direction in the multiple flower cut. It would have to have some weight to it.
MurgleMcGurgle@reddit
This.
I throw playing cards and even with casino cards getting them to stick into a watermelon is a feat. Sliding clean through this stuff just isn’t possible with actual cards.
Also the trajectory of the last throw isn’t how actual cards fly. They fly in a helix kinda pattern while that one flew more like a frisbee on a flat(ish) plane.
Very cool and the underhand throw is slick, but these definitely aren’t run of the mill playing cards.
tensen01@reddit
3rd one absolutely flexes.
SomeRandomSkitarii@reddit
It does flex when it goes through the two cucumbers, though not like a paper card would.
CisHetDegenerate@reddit
still pretty impressive though
09Klr650@reddit
Yeah, I would slice my fingers open trying it with a steel card like that. And it has to be thrown perfectly to prevent dashing off in unpredictable directions.
saveferris1007@reddit
There was a poker player that was doing this 20 plus years ago. Chris Ferguson.
Reevahn@reddit
The coke can is definitely being hit by something with way more mass than playing card.
He's still the closest a real life human has hottwn to gambit. Definitely impressive, but those are not regular playing cards
zom105@reddit
I have a deck I bought at the carnival that are made out of thin metal but look like normal cards,Maybe something like that...
TerraCetacea@reddit
I saw a pack of blades at an outdoorsy store that were made to look like playing cards. They were all Ace of Spades, though, which was my first thought until I saw the 2nd clip with 4 of Diamonds. Maybe they make them in call cards, though..?
Harak_June@reddit
r/mallninjashit
Trewper-@reddit
Ding ding ding correct answer
dmac07@reddit
BUT WHERE IS THE LAST ONE GOING?!
Plz don't go through my window...
RobTheBob2015@reddit
You can do it with normal playing cards
Achemaker@reddit
Did you actually watch that episode of Mythbusters? All of this is possible
Present_Character241@reddit
This is a very inefficient way to cut veggies
thecomposedbones@reddit
Someone going to do the natural frequency math of paper playing card vs metal playing card??
Pikatit@reddit
I've cut bananas in half. Cucumber might be possible?
I_H8_Celery@reddit
Those are real, there’s a guy from Ohio that I’ve seen do it and I’ve held a card after he sent it through a stalk of celery from 50’. His name is Rick Smith jr.
Sciencemas257@reddit
Probably metal but Adam and Jane get stuff wrong due to user error every once in a while also
Leather-Researcher13@reddit
Some of the thinner vegetables are possible, but the soda can is basically proof that these cards are printed metal, and probably sharpened to an extent
BaconConnoisseur@reddit
The slomo guys have high speed footage of thrown cards cutting stuff just like this.
GolldenFalcon@reddit
Was about to say it's not like this random Asian dude is the only guy that throws cards through vegetables.
Rexxington@reddit
Their made of metal, I would dread trying to throw them though given how sharp they are.
StagnantSecond@reddit
I'm still waiting for that last one to return.
herecomesatrain@reddit
I wanna see him miss and cut down his tripod
dimonium_anonimo@reddit
Mark Rober has a video about a famous and decorated card thrower. I trust Mark Rober is a content creator with well above average integrity. And I don't think he would ever fake the science, even if he sensationalizes how important something is to boost view count. That's just how the game is played.
This video is of someone else. Meaning I'm not making a statement about whether this video is real or not. However, your post title is not about this video, but card throwing in general, and I believe you can absolutely cut through fruit and veg with them.
ONCIAPATONCIA@reddit
Thought he was going to cut the statues heads at the end there
Pleasant-Pattern7748@reddit
Yeah, that was a real letdown
diegotbn@reddit
I thought at the end of the video one of the statues' heads was gonna fall off
Disappointed
Soap_Mctavish101@reddit
Definitely some funny business going on there
Slight-Narwhal-7267@reddit
Look at the way those cards wobble after they come out the other side of the target.
Playing cards don't flex that way.
Thin sheets of metal do.
AdDesperate9651@reddit
Hit that can too hard defo not real cards myth busted
TheHylianProphet@reddit
If I remember correctly, they figured that all the things shown here are doable, but seriously harming a person isn't really feasible, unless you get them in the eye or something.