Magic tricks with plastic bottles: a roundup of penetration and vanishing illusions
“I want to try magic, but so many card tricks and playing card magic are difficult…” If you feel that way, you’re not alone.
For you, we recommend magic using plastic bottles.
If you prepare in advance, many of these tricks can be done without difficult techniques.
In this article, we’ll introduce a range of magic tricks that use plastic bottles.
Even though they’re approachable, you’ll still need practice to make them look natural.
Once you’ve picked a trick you want to try, start practicing right away!
Magic tricks using plastic bottles: a collection of penetration and vanishing tricks (1–10)
The chosen card disappears and then appears inside a plastic bottle.
It’s a mysterious magic trick where a selected card appears to have teleported into a brand-new bottled drink.
If you emphasize that the bottle is new—such as by pointing out how the cap opens—the surprise at finding a card inside becomes even greater.
First, carefully remove the unopened cap with minimal damage, for example by applying heat, then attach a different cap to the bottle that has the card secretly loaded inside.
From there, use techniques like how you drape a handkerchief over the bottle and the way you turn your wrist to force the preloaded card to be selected.
Pay attention to fine handling—such as how you display the packaging so the preloaded card isn’t noticed—along with thorough preparation.
A playing card instantly teleports into a sealed plastic bottle.
A playing card instantly teleports into a plastic bottle! Here’s a magic trick that’s perfect for parties.
Prepare two decks of cards, glue, a ruler, a utility knife, and a bottled drink.
Take out one Joker and one card with your favorite number.
Cut about 1 mm off the top edge of the numbered card with the utility knife.
Apply glue to the numbered card, place the Joker face-up on top, align them, and stick them together.
This completes the setup for the vanishing card.
Next, from the other deck, take out the same numbered card.
Completely remove the cap from the plastic bottle and insert the numbered card into the bottle.
Attach a tamper-evident cap (fin-lock cap), and you’re done!
A coin passes through a plastic bottle
It’s a simple magic trick where, by forcefully slamming a coin, it appears to penetrate a plastic bottle and end up inside.
The method is just as simple: you pass the coin through a pre-cut slit in the bottle, so presentation is crucial.
It’s also important to place the slit where it’s hard to see—ideally along the label’s edge so it’s hidden by the label.
If the bottle’s deformation is visible, the slit can be exposed, so it’s important to cover the cut with your hand while pushing the coin through with a quick, decisive motion.
A magic trick where a playing card goes into a water bottle
A playing card slips into a plastic bottle! Here’s a party trick that’s sure to wow everyone.
Prepare a magnet, double-sided tape, a Joker card, a bandage, clear fishing line (invisible thread), and two copies of a card with your favorite number.
First, stick a magnet onto one of the number cards, then use double-sided tape to attach the Joker on top so the magnet is hidden on the back.
Use a bandage to stick a magnet to your finger.
Put the magnet-equipped card into the plastic bottle.
Attach clear fishing line to the other number card, and you’re ready! Make it look like the card with the fishing line has vanished, then use the magnet to move the card inside the bottle.
Hitting the bottom makes the plastic bottle cap close.
This is a magic trick where a bottle cap that should be closed by twisting appears to close just by striking the bottom sharply.
First, make a separate piece that consists only of the spout, and thread the rubber attached to it along the inside of your arm.
Then hold this piece over a bottle that already has its cap on, and, with a motion of striking the cap against the bottom, move the piece toward the inside of your body.
How you hold the bottle is crucial: use your palm to firmly hide the seam so the audience doesn’t realize you’ve overlaid the extra piece.
The bottle label instantly passes through to the inside.
This is a magic trick where the label that was wrapped around the outside of a plastic bottle moves to the inside at a cue.
Prepare two plastic bottles.
From one bottle, remove the unopened cap that is still attached to the tamper-evident ring and take off the label.
You won’t use the body of this bottle, so remove them carefully with scissors or heat so you don’t damage the cap.
For the other bottle, remove the cap without damaging the bottle body, including its label, and place the label you removed earlier inside the bottle, then put the cap back on to complete the setup.
After that, focus on your presentation so the audience doesn’t suspect there’s a label hidden inside, and smoothly remove the outer label.
A plastic bottle that doesn’t spill even when turned upside down
It’s a magic trick that makes it look like you’re controlling gravity: even if you turn a water-filled plastic bottle upside down, no water spills from the spout.
The secret is very simple—you set a round plastic sheet that fits the mouth of the bottle.
The sheet has a small hole in it, and you stick a toothpick through the hole to make it appear as if there’s no gimmick.
It also uses phenomena like air pressure and surface tension, and the fact that water won’t spill through a very small hole adds to the mystery.
After you use the toothpick to make it seem like there’s no trick, move the sheet—by giving the bottle a big shake, for example—so it looks as if the magic has been broken.