backstory: Magic 8 Ball
A few of you asked about the Magic 8 Ball in the picture of the blocks that I shared last week.
Well … there’s really only one thing I can say about the Magic 8 Ball. It’s always correct.
Tracy Fitzpatrick
Director, Neuberger Museum of Art
Find me on Twitter @tracyfitzart
P.S. And here’s something you might not know about the Magic 8 Ball. (I got this from Wikipedia—true confessions.) It was invented by a man named Albert C. Carter whose inspiration was a “spirit writing” device that his mother, a clairvoyant, used. He filed for a patent for the device (which was then cylindrical, not a sphere) in 1944. Over the years, the device changed shapes, producers, and owners until it finally made its way to Mattel, the toy company that manufactures it today.