MDBCs 29 Mar 2024

Celebrate the magic on Smoke and Mirrors Day. Also sometimes known as Festival of Smoke and Mirrors Day, this unofficial holiday is celebrated annually on March 29.

Smoke and mirrors is an English language phrase that is used to describe things and actions that are deceptive, manipulative, or lack complete explanation.

Act of Illusion

Usually associated with illusionists and magicians, it is thought that the phrase originated from the classic act of illusion where a magician makes objects or people appear or disappear by using smokes and mirrors as a distraction. Because of this, the phrase is often used to refer to actions that distract from the reality or cover up the truth.

Things That Do Not Exist

In computing, the term smoke and mirrors is often used to refer to programs that seem to exist, but in reality do not.

Mirror Magic

Magic as a performance art has been used to entertain people around the world since ancient times. In smoke and mirror magic tricks, magicians create optical illusions by diverting a spectator's attention away from the actions that create the "magic". Mirrors are also often used to create illusions by manipulating light and using the properties of reflection and refraction. Some of the popular magic tricks using mirrors include the Sphinx and the Vampire. In both tricks, mirrors are used to hide the object, usually the head of a person.

How to Celebrate?

Learn some magic tricks and entertain your friends and colleagues. Preferably try to use smoke and mirrors in your tricks.
Spend some time learning about how to achieve illusions using mirrors.

Did You Know...

...that the earliest mirrors used by humans were bodies of dark, still water?

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While on vacation, my wife and I stopped for lunch at a diner. We sat at the counter, right next to the grill. The cook was a young man who was very busy flipping pancakes. Every so often, he would stop and hit the grill with the handle of the spatula. Finally I asked him facetiously, "Does that improve the taste of the pancakes?"

"No," he replied. "That keeps the handle from falling off."

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Searching in my library for two books by communications expert Deborah Tannen turned into an Abbott and Costello routine. "What's the first book?" the librarian asked.

"That's Not What I Meant," I said.

"Well, what did you mean?"

"That's the title of the book," I explained.

"Okay." She looked at me a little skeptically. "And the other book?"

"You Just Don't Understand."

"Excuse me?"

I got both books. Eventually.

***

Coincidences were flying when a man was arrested and charged with stealing a bird feeder from Cornell University's ornithology laboratory. According to the Associated Press, police charged James Buzzard, 44, who lives on Cardinal Drive in Ithaca, N.Y., with stealing the feeder from the lab on Sapsucker Woods Road.

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A friend living in an isolated Montana mining town suspected that she wasn't getting the best dental care. Her first trip to a competent dentist in Butte confirmed her suspicions.

After a thorough examination the dentist asked but one question: "Been doing your own work?"