Penn & Teller Attempt to Fool Themselves With a Muffin and a Signed Card

 In one of the funniest role reversals from Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Penn and Teller step away from the judges’ table and become contestants attempting to fool none other than themselves!

The performance originally appeared in the 2016 Season 3 finale, appropriately titled “Can Penn & Teller Fool Penn & Teller?” Host Alyson Hannigan joins the legendary duo onstage to help with what begins as a fairly traditional card trick—but quickly takes a wonderfully strange turn.

Alyson selects the Four of Clubs, signs her name across its face and returns it to the deck. She even shuffles the cards herself, making certain that her selection is completely lost.

Penn then instructs Alyson to cut the deck and riffle the cards toward an ordinary muffin sitting on the table. When she searches through the deck again, her signed card has mysteriously vanished.

That is when things get wonderfully weird.

Alyson unwraps the muffin and feeds it to Teller. Moments later, her signed Four of Clubs emerges from Teller’s mouth!

The routine takes the familiar “card to mouth” plot and gives it the unmistakable Penn & Teller treatment. The signed card makes the magic stronger, while the muffin adds an absurd visual that audiences are unlikely to forget. Penn handles the comedy and narration while Teller’s expressions and silent performance turn a simple snack into a hilarious magical prop.

The funniest part may come after the trick is finished. Penn and Teller remain onstage as contestants while pretending to wait for the judges—also Penn and Teller—to deliver their verdict.

Penn praises the performers, calling them the judges’ favorite act from the first three seasons. He then delivers a coded explanation of how the trick may have been accomplished, meaning Penn and Teller ultimately fail to fool Penn and Teller.

However, they certainly succeed in entertaining the audience.

This performance is a great reminder that memorable magic does not always require a giant illusion or complicated stage setting. Sometimes all you need is a deck of cards, a strong presentation, great timing—and apparently, one muffin.