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Not cool or amazing, and no trick necessary -- making the claim that the two measurements should be the same creates the expectation that rotating both cans should have no effect on the measurement, which at first blush seems reasonable.
So then when they aren't, many people immediately start looking for some trickery in how the video was made. Instead, ask whether or not the claim itself holds up. To see whether or not it does, just do the math.
You have two identical rectangular objects, WxL (L>W)
You have a table that is height H above the floor.
First measurement: Set one object upright on the floor and the second on it's side on the table.
H1 = height of top of floor object = L
H2 = height of top of table object = H + W
Distance from top of floor object to top of table object:
D1 = H2 - H1 = (H+W) - L = H - (L-W)
Second measurement: Set one object on it's side on the floor and the second upright on the table.
H3 = height of top of floor object = W
H4 = height of top of table object = H + L
Distance from top of floor object to top of table object:
D2 = H4 - H3 = (H+L) - W = H + (L-W)
So the second measurement is greater than the first measurement by
D2 - D1 = [H + (L-W)] - [H - (L-W)] = 2(L-W)
So all he determined is that a beer can is about two inches taller than it is wide.
