Magician Rob Anderson heard about a homeless veteran named Alan McCracken who’s known to encourage passersby to smile. Anderson wanted to see if McCracken was as nice as his reputation, so he did something ‘ballsy’ (his word, not ours). On camera, Anderson approaches the homeless man and rips McCracken’s “anything helps” cardboard sign into pieces. McCracken watches patiently without showing anger. Anderson rewards him – McCracken has proven to Anderson that he is a genuinely nice guy – by magically putting the sign back together with money attached to it.
McCracken is amazed and appreciative. Although Anderson doesn’t stick around to help McCracken pick up the money that fell onto the street, his prank is considered altruistic. Anderson set up a GoFundMe for the displaced veteran which has raised more than $25,000.