Have you ever accidentally insulted a magician?

If so, they probably weren't athletic enough to make it on any sports teams so you're safe. If you're thinking "I would NEVER," read on to see if any of this sounds familiar. Here are some comments that are made to magicians ALL THE TIME but we never like to hear.

1. What instrument do you play?

When people ask what we do for a living, this is a common response. It's as if their brain heard the word 'magician' and thought...no I must have misheard them. After all, this person is an adult...ah, he must have said 'Musician'. That makes more sense.

2. Oh, I know this card trick.

This may be hard to imagine, but there are thousands of card tricks out there. Most magicians you meet will be ready with hundreds of them at any given time. Are many of them similar? Sure. Do you have a general idea what the trick will be like--probably. But every once in a while they can be unexpected. It's like seeing Bob Ross pick up a paint brush and shouting,'oh I know this painting...' You never know, this time he might be painting a portrait.

3. That's good, but have you seen Shin Lim?

Yes we have, and yes he's amazing. But you couldn't afford him, so sit back and enjoy the show.

4. You can make a living doing that?

OK, these people get points for saying what most people are thinking. The slightly less awkward way of asking this question is: 'So what does your spouse do for a living?'

5. Can you teach me that trick so I can show my kid?

This is a wonderful backhanded compliment. You think you're telling us that you liked the trick. After all imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. What we hear is that you think what we just did is SO easy it can be taught and performed instantly. Much of what you see us do took years (not joking) of practice. We've agonized on how to position our pinky on the deck to make it look the most natural. You wouldn't watch a juggler juggle fire and say: 'Cool Juggling...I wanna do that for my kids, where can I find some torches?"

Did you see yourselves in these comments? Ouch - I really thought we were friends! Nah, no hard feelings. But you do owe me a cookie.

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