Challenge a friend to pass a quarter size coin through a piece of paper that has a hole smaller than the coin in it – without tearing the paper! When their frustration peaks, reveal the secret to them.

The Coin-Through-the-Hole Trick Explained!

Materials

• A piece of paper
• A quarter (or equally sized) coin
• A pair of scissors

Instructions

1. Start by cutting a rectangular piece of paper. Cut out a square that has diagonals smaller than the diameter of the coin.
2. Fold the paper in half and try to pass the coin into the hole. As you can see, the quarter coin is significantly larger than the hole and cannot pass through.

Solution

• Fold the paper in half.
• Fold it in half again.
• Fold the upper flap diagonally.
• Carefully pull the inner flap and rearrange as shown in the video.
• Watch as the coin slip through the hole easily without causing any tears in the paper.

What is going on?

This straightforward trick is puzzling because many individuals presume that the paper must be stretched to enlarge the hole. Since you can’t stretch paper, they either become frustrated or tear the paper, often feeling embarrassed. However, simple folds create a hole large enough for a quarter coin to pass through. Learn this trick, and use it to annoy your friends!