There have been some variations of this effect during the past 125 years (although not all of them have been commercially available). In Professor Hoffrnann's day the feke was covered with bran. Confetti and sawdust have also been used. Confetti seems to have been the most favored material since it is the most colorful.

The magician shows an egg and vanishes it. He then shows a glass which he hands out for examination. The audience having been satisfied that the glass is an ordinary one, the performer now shows a brown paper bag which, he says, has some confetti in it. He thrusts the glass into the bag and brings it out heaping full of confetti. He levels off the top, dropping the excess confetti into the bag. During his subsequent patter, he scoops some confetti out of the glass and, if he chooses, tosses it up into the air. He then picks up a silk handkerchief and drapes it over the glass. After pronouncing the magic words, or other suitable hocus-pocus, he whips the silk from the glass, slowly raising it into the air, revealing that the confetti has disappeared, the vanished egg having taken its place. The raw egg may now be broken into the glass and thus proved genuine!