did-you-kno:

Sleight-of-hand artist Apollo Robbins is so stealthy that he once started a conversation with Jimmy Carter’s Secret Service agents and had everything out of their pockets within minutes. They were completely unaware that he’d acquired their badges, watches, Carter’s itinerary, and the keys to his motorcade. Source Source 2

Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Via The New Yorker:

“In more than a decade as a full-time entertainer, Robbins has taken (and returned) a lot of stuff, including items from well-known figures in the worlds of entertainment (Jennifer Garner, actress: engagement ring); sports (Charles Barkley, former N.B.A. star: wad of cash); and business (Ace Greenberg, former chairman of Bear Stearns: Patek Philippe watch).

He is probably best known for an encounter with Jimmy Carter’s Secret Service detail in 2001. While Carter was at dinner, Robbins struck up a conversation with several of his Secret Service men. Within a few minutes, he had emptied the agents’ pockets of pretty much everything but their guns.

Gifs via: youtube/NBC

Robbins brandished a copy of Carter’s itinerary, and when an agent snatched it back he said, “You don’t have the authorization to see that!” When the agent felt for his badge, Robbins produced it and handed it back. Then he turned to the head of the detail and handed him his watch, his badge, and the keys to the Carter motorcade.”