02.02.10


This is my amazing magic 8-ball (disguised as a smiley face). This is a toy used to seek advice or for fortune-telling. The fist magic 8-ball had the shape of a ball (obviously) and was painted like an oversized 8-ball (mine is more modern, hence the smiley face).

More information (from here):

"The device was invented in 1946 by Albert Carter, son of a clairvoyant, who marketed and sold the device with Abe Bookman of the Alabe Crafts Company (a company named for the first letters in Carter's and Bookman's first names). Although Carter is the inventor, Bookman is often credited for the invention of the device. It is a hollow, plastic sphere resembling an oversized, black and white 8-ball. Inside is a cylindrical reservoir containing a white, plastic, icosahedral die floating in alcohol with dissolved dark blue dye. The die is hollow, with openings in each face, allowing the die to fill with fluid, giving the plastic die minimal buoyancy. Each of the 20 faces of the die has an affirmative, negative, or non-committal statement printed on it in raised letters. There is a transparent window on the bottom of the 8-ball through which these messages can be read.

To use the ball, it must be held with the window initially facing down. After "asking the ball" a yes or no question, the user then turns the ball so that the window faces up, setting in motion the liquid and die inside. When the die floats to the top and one of its faces is pressed against the window, the raised letters displace the blue liquid to reveal the message as white letters on a blue background. Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary (or recommended) to shake or jostle the ball before turning it, as doing so can create air bubbles that may visually distort the answer."

Home, S.Félix da Marinha, Portugal.

PS - Needless to say that the most frequent 8-ball question is: "Is ..........(name of person who is in front of you) stupid?" LOL :-)

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