--- title: April Fools' Day and how magic tricks work — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «April Fools' Day and how magic tricks work», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: The fun is the shared laugh: a good trick is harmless, quickly revealed, and the person fooled laughs too. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/) / April Fools' Day and how magic tricks… # April Fools' Day and how magic tricks work Lesson 279 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 25 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/). - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/1/) — The fun is the shared laugh: a good trick is harmless, quickly revealed, and the person fooled laughs too. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/2/) — In the UK and Ireland the tradition says tricks stop at midday; in Scotland the day is called «Hunt the Gowk», and a gowk is a cuckoo, meaning a fool. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/3/) — News websites and companies join in. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/4/) — In 1957 the BBC showed a famous report of spaghetti «growing on trees» in Switzerland, and many viewers believed it. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/5/) — So big or strange news on April 1st deserves a check. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/6/) — Magic tricks are not real magic but skill and practice. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/7/) — Sleight of hand is quick, practised hand movement you don't notice; misdirection steers your attention away from the secret move. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/8/) — Example: a magician says «Look at this hand!» while the other hand slips a coin into a pocket. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/9/) — Your attention is limited, so you miss what you are not watching. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/10/) — Stage illusions like «sawing a person in half» use special boxes, mirrors and hidden helpers; nobody is hurt. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/12/) — April Fool tricks should be gentle and harmless, with «April Fool!» said quickly. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/13/) — In the UK and Ireland, tradition says April Fool tricks are done before midday; whoever pranks after noon is the fool. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/15/) — News and companies often publish joke stories on April 1st, like the 1957 BBC report of spaghetti growing on trees. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/16/) — If someone tells you big news on April 1st, check with an adult before believing it. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/17/) — If your trick upsets someone, say sorry and tell the truth at once; the joke is over as soon as someone is hurt. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/18/) — Never pretend to be hurt, missing or in danger as a joke; it causes real fear and can waste emergency services' time. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/19/) — If you are fooled, laugh along; being a good sport is part of the fun. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/20/) — Sleight of hand means quick, practised hand movements you do not notice. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/21/) — Misdirection means steering people's attention away from the secret move. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/23/) — Magicians traditionally keep their secrets, so keeping your trick's secret is fine and not a lie. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/25/) — Mind-reading acts use clues and guesses; no one has shown real mind-reading in fair scientific tests. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/26/) — A boy in Texas texted his mum on April Fools' Day that he had been in an accident; she left work in tears and drove off in a panic before he could say it was a joke. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/27/) — A girl in Dublin put salt in her friend's drink as a trick; her friend had a medical condition that meant salt could make her ill, and she was sick for the afternoon. - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/28/) — Pretend emergencies cause real fear, and a frightened adult can take dangerous risks such as driving too fast. - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/279-april-fools-and-magic-tricks/29/) — A trick with food or drink can make someone ill, because the trickster may not know about allergies or medical needs. - ← previous: [Honest schoolwork, kind jokes and pranks that harm](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/278-honest-work-kind-jokes-and-harmless-play/) - next →: [Illusions that fool the eye and adverts that fool the wallet](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/280-illusions-and-adverts/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)