Mystical Magic 8 Ball Trivia Quiz

Answer: Albert Carter

Albert Carter grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio not only during a time in which spiritualism was popular, but in a household in which his mother was a professional practitioner of clairvoyance. Inspired by his mother's invention of a home fortune telling device he later invented his own, which he called the "Syco-Seer".

In 1946, Carter forged a business partnership with Abe Bookman (i.e., Alabe Crafts Company) to mass produce the Syco-Seer more efficiently and inexpensively. Unfortunately, Carter passed away in 1948 prior to the patent being granted for his device.

However, Abe Bookman continued to develop and refine the Syco-Seer, which eventually yielded the device now known as "Magic 8 Ball". Not even Albert Carter's psychic mother, Mary, could have predicted the success of her son's invention as approximately 1 million Magic 8-Balls are sold yearly.

Answer: Psychic and fortune teller

Albert Carter's mother, Mary, worked as a clairvoyant in Cincinnati, Ohio. Inventing psychic devices ran in the family as Mary invented the Psycho-Slate. The Psycho-Slate was composed of a box and a chalkboard. The device worked by placing the chalkboard inside the box, asking a question, closing the lid, and opening the lid to find an answer that had appeared on the chalkboard.

Answer: Both choices are correct

Marketed as the "Miracle Home Fortune Teller" the Syco-Seer was the precursor to Magic 8 Ball. The Syco-Seer design incorporated a cylinder filled with dark blue tinted alcohol in which two dice embossed with answers floated. One would invert the device after asking a question to view the answer through a window.

The principles between these two devices are the same with the only difference being the shape of the devices and the number of dice used.

Answer: Brunswick Billiards

Abe Bookman, Albert Carter's partner and heir to the Syco-Seer, had further refined the shape of the device by encasing it in a ball and using just one die. At this point the Syco-Seer externally resembled a crystal ball, but even this design change did not significantly stimulate retail sales.

However, Brunswick Billiards noted the change and contracted Bookman to make promotional versions of the Syco-Seer with an external casing resembling an 8 ball used in billiards. After the promotion was over Bookman continued to use the 8 ball design and successfully marketed the device as "Magic 8 Ball".

Answer: Dark blue tinted alcohol

The use of the dark blue tinted alcohol medium in which the die is suspended dates back to Albert Carter's earlier invention the "Syco-Seer", which predated Magic 8 Ball.

Answer: Icosahedron

The seemingly unnatural 20 sided shape of the icosahedron manifests in nature in the structure of radilaria (amoeboid protozoa), viruses (e.g., herpes), crystals, and fullerene. "Fullerene" is a form of carbon with closed cages of carbon atoms named as an homage to Buckminster Fuller's work with geodesic domes. In fact, Buckminster Fuller's "Fuller Projection Map" that minimizes distortion to 2% is icosahedral and can be opened to lay on a flat surface for perusal.

Interestingly, Magic 8 Ball is not the only entertainment device to incorporate a icosahedron in gaming: Dungeons & Dragons, Icosagame (AKA Ico Crystal Game), and Scattergories all use icosahedron shaped die.

Specific References:

The Free Dictionary by Farlex
Fullerene
http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Fullerine

Wikipedia
Icosahedron
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icosahedron

Answer: All the choices are correct

Magic 8 Ball offers the possibility of receiving 1 of 20 different responses to each query. The nature of these responses are ten affirmative, five negative, and five neutral, which are further detailed in the following list:

Affirmative

* Yes
* Yes - definitely
* Signs point to yes
* As I see it, yes
* It is certain
* It is decidedly so
* You may rely on it
* Most likely
* Outlook good
* Without a doubt

Negative

* My sources say no
* Don't count on it
* Very doubtful
* Outlook not so good
* My reply is no

Neutral

* Cannot predict now
* Ask again later
* Concentrate and ask again
* Better not tell you now
* Reply hazy, try again

Answer: 72

The Coupon Collector's Problem (CCP) in probability theory assumes that each flip to reveal the answer after querying Magic 8 Ball is independent of previous and subsequent flips. On each trial there is the chance of getting 1 of 20 answers, because the previous answer(s) received are replaced and/or remain in the answer pool. So, the CCP offers an approach for figuring out how many times a Magic 8 Ball has to be flipped to reveal every single answer at least once while taking into consideration that sometimes a previously viewed answer will reappear.

There is much more to CCP than the preceding brief description. For those individuals that would like to know more about CCP and attendant calculations please consult the following sources:

Isaac, Richard (1995). The Pleasure of Probability. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY.

Answer: Shaking

Shaking Magic 8 Ball while asking a question is counterproductive as it results in air bubbles that obscure the proffered answer. Although it has not been scientifically tested, proudly displaying and lovingly dusting Magic 8 Ball could possibly result in more positive answers to queries. However, do not taunt or tease your Magic 8-Ball, because, well, it just isn't nice!

Answer: Virtual Magic 8 Ball

To satisfy the inexplicable compulsion to Magic 8 Ball immediately please make a selection from either the Magic 8 Ball Classicists and/or Magic 8 Ball Experimentalists lists provided below.

For Magic 8 Ball Classicists:

Answers delivered in a mystic triangle

Official Mattel On-Line M8B
http://www.mattelgamefinder.com/demos.asp?demo=mb

Ask the Magic 8 Ball a Question
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ssanty/cgi-bin/eightball.cgi


For Magic 8 Ball Experimentalists:

Answers rendered in animation, image and/or text
Spike's 8 Ball Knows All
http://www.indra.com/8ball/front.html

Answers rendered via musical divination
Radio 8 Ball
http://www.radio8ball.com/


FYI: No Magic 8 Balls were mangled, maimed, molested, and/or murdered during the commission of this quiz.