Magic 8-Ball, the Vintage Toy That Still Knows the Future

magic8ball Magic 8 Ball, the Vintage Toy That Still Knows the FutureFor centuries now, (or maybe since 1946), Magic 8-Balls have been guiding the undecided in issues that the standard child’s paper fortune teller cannot accomplish alone.

While the Magic 8-Ball is fairly harmless, it is not recommend that you crack it open and drink the delicious, blueberry-flavored liquid to become stronger, mostly because it’s only alcohol with blue coloring.

The Magic 8-Ball as we know it was created by a one Albert Carter, who then went out and sold the item with a man named Abe Bookman.  Many people falsely attribute the creation of this classic vintage toy to Bookman, but of course that’s just silly.  Bookman just saw the future and all signs pointed to Yes.

What you may not know about the Magic 8-Ball is that it is standard to have a 20-sided die, (an icosahedral die, totally didn’t get that from Wikipedia), within the blue liquid that “gives you answers to questions.”

The 8 Ball Relies on Fixed Probability – as well as Magic

magic 8 ball die Magic 8 Ball, the Vintage Toy That Still Knows the Future

This die is a handy way to tote around the Magic 8's power inconspicously

Of the 20 possible responses, 10 are always positive, 5 are negative, and 5 are unclear. You can get variations that have only positive or only negative answers, but the standard is 10-5-5, just in case you needed to know that, which you did.

Just remember, the Magic 8-Ball isn’t really magic, unless of course you ask a Magic 8-Ball and it says, “All signs point to yes.” Then, naturally, its magic has been proven as fact.

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Author:Chris Pranger

Chris is the Head Writer/Editor of Toy-TMA, doing his best to oversee the site and see new content published at least three times a week. He's more than willing to respond to a comment or two, but he seems to be pretty bad with trolls. He also writes periodically for Tomopop and contributes weekly videos on The Escapist.

4 Responses to “Magic 8-Ball, the Vintage Toy That Still Knows the Future”

  1. jel derpo
    October 29, 2009 at 9:53 pm #

    Hi, Chris. I just want to ask, just in case you have the answer =) .. My magic 8 ball got stagnant for a few months and now, the 20-sided die inside it has moss .. I want to clean the die, is it possible?? ..thank you..

    • Chris Pranger
      October 30, 2009 at 12:58 am #

      When it comes down to a stagnant 8-Ball, it is possible to clean the die inside but refilling it with the blue liquid could be troublesome. In the long run it is just cheaper and easier to get a new 8-Ball at a Target, Fred Meyer, or off of Amazon.com, unless the 8-Ball in question has special personal significance of course. Never throw away a treasured item unless it threatens your life. So short answer yes with an “if,” long answer no with a “but.”

  2. Rosalyn
    August 27, 2009 at 10:45 pm #

    I want to buy magic 8 ball. But I dont know how. do you sell magic 8 balls? if so how much?

    • Chris Pranger
      September 2, 2009 at 11:40 pm #

      We don’t sell any products at this site, but there are plenty of sites that do sell what you’re looking for. I’d recommend typing Magic 8 Ball into Google, or just going to a local retail store such as Target and checking the toy aisle. You can probably find one for around $10.

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