 The Magic 8 Ball | |
| Type | Novelty toy |
|---|---|
| Invented by | Albert C. Carter Abe Bookman |
| Company | Mattel |
| Availability | 1950–present |
| Materials | Plastic Alcohol Blue coloring |
| Official website | |
TheMagic 8 Ball is a plastic sphere, made to look like an oversizedeight ball, that is used forfortune-telling or seeking advice. It was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman and is manufactured byMattel.[1] The user asks ayes–no question to the ball, then turns it over to reveal an answer that floats up into a window.
The functional component of the Magic 8 Ball was invented by Albert C. Carter,[1] who was inspired by aspirit writing device used by his mother, a Cincinnaticlairvoyant.[1] When Carter approached store owner Max Levinson about stocking the device, Levinson called in Abe Bookman, Levinson's brother-in-law, and graduate ofOhio Mechanics Institute. In 1944, Carter filed for a patent[2] for the cylindrical device, assigning it in 1946 to Bookman, Levinson and another partner in what came to be Alabe Crafts, Inc., combining the founder's names, Albert and Abe. Alabe marketed and sold the cylinder as The Syco-Slate. Carter died sometime before the patent was granted in 1948.
Bookman made improvements to The Syco-Slate, and in 1948 it was encased in an iridescentcrystal ball. Though not successful, the revamped product caught the attention of Chicago'sBrunswick Billiards, which in 1950 commissioned Alabe Crafts to make a version in the form of a traditional black-and-white 8 ball.[3]
Although originally sold as apaperweight, the Magic 8 Ball remained popular for several decades as both anoffice toy and a children's toy.[3]
In 1971, Bookman sold Alabe Crafts, Inc., toIdeal Toys,[3] which marketed the ball firmly at children. In 1987, the rights were again sold toTyco Toys,[4] spurring on another marketing campaign and resurgence in interest. Tyco Toys was acquired by Mattel, the current manufacturer, in 1997.[5] Despite its numerous owners, the Magic 8 Ball has changed little in design and implementation. In 2015, approximately one million Magic 8 Balls were sold annually.[6]
Amobile app version of the Magic 8 Ball was created by Mattel in 2015.[7]
The Magic 8 Ball has become a cultural reference. Baseball playerCliff Lee responded to questions from reporters using a Magic 8 Ball in a media session when he was facing difficult questions about the state of the team, telling reporters "it takes a lot of pressure off me".[8]M. Night Shyamalan andBrad Falchuk announced in 2025 that they are working on a Magic 8 Ball TV series.[9]
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The Magic 8 Ball is a hollow plastic sphere resembling ablack-and-white 8 ball. Its standard size is larger than an ordinary pool ball, but it has been made in different sizes. Inside the ball, a cylindrical reservoir contains a white plastic 20-sidedregular icosahedrondie floating in approximately 100 ml (3+1⁄2 US fl oz) of alcohol dyed dark blue. Each of the die's 20 faces has an affirmative, negative, or non-committal statement printed in raised letters. These messages are read through a window on the ball's bottom.
To use the ball, it must be held with the window initially facing down to allow the die to float within the cylinder. After asking the ball ayes–no question, the user then turns the ball so that the window faces up. The die floats to the top, and one face presses against the window; the raised letters displace the blue liquid to reveal the message as white letters on a blue background. Although most users shake the ball before turning it upright, the original instructions warn against doing so to avoid white bubbles.
While the Magic 8 Ball has undergone very few changes, an addition in 1975 by new owners,Ideal Toy Company, fixed the bubble problem.[10] Its patented "Bubble Free Die Agitator", an inverted funnel, reroutes the air trapped inside.[11] The solution has been used ever since.
The 20 possible Magic 8 Ball answers were designed by Dr. Lucien Cohen, apsychology professor at theUniversity of Cincinnati. The possible answers consist of 10 affirmative answers, 5 neutral, and 5 negative.[3]
| Affirmative | Neutral | Negative | |
|---|---|---|---|
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In The Simpsons episode,Bart's Friend Falls in Love, Bart uses a Magic 8 Ball to see if he and Millhouse will still be friends in the future.[12]
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