# Does anybody take magic 8-balls seriously? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 25, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788 "2005-10-25T07:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![euphemism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@euphemism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/euphemism)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/1 "2005-10-25T07:06:28Z")
I mean, there’s lots of people out there who take stuff like tarot card reading seriously…yet the premise of both methods appears to be exactly the same. Your fortune is fixed in (ostensibly) random events. So why aren’t there professional magic 8-ball fortune tellers like the are for tarot card reading? I would love to consult with a pro if there are any out there! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/2 "2005-10-25T07:10:25Z")
Magic 8 ball say, “Most likely.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/3 "2005-10-25T07:11:08Z")
You’ve got to wrap your random number generation in a lot of pseudo-historical mumbo-jumbo to draw in the crowd. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/4 "2005-10-25T07:43:28Z")
Err…well, geez, what would a professional eight ball teller DO exactly. “It says ‘My sources say no’. See, it says it right there.” Tarot cards are at least open to interpretation. Which is what you’re paying the “teller” for. (Not that I take either seriously but at least tarot cards are _interesting_ .) ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/5 "2005-10-25T08:06:54Z")
The fact that tarot cards, palm reading, and so on are open to interpretation also means the “seer” can give subtle prompts and adjust her reading as she observes the subject’s responses. That means it’s much easier to convince the subject that the reading is real. Can’t do that with a Magic 8 Ball. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/6 "2005-10-25T11:28:19Z")
_Reply Hazy…Ask Again Later_ ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/7 "2005-10-25T11:31:02Z")
I’ll throw in that tarot cards, astrology, tea leaf reading, and so on developed fairly long ago, and although there were probably always people who did such readings or had them done purely for entertainment value, there were also aways people who took them ‘seriously’. The magic 8 ball, though, seems like quite a different animal. It was [Invented in 1946](http://8ball.ofb.net/faq.html) for a crafts company, and was always marketed as a novelty. To a certain extent, I think its popularity is due to being seen as a comical parody of tarot card readings, vague newspaper horoscopes, and so on. I mean, come on – a giant, oversized billiard ball, which gives vague messages (ranging from firmly positive through vaguely positive, neutral/indecisive, vaguely negative to negative) printed on triangles?? Now, of course, none of this, even the sillyness of the medium, would prevent some people from crossing over and deciding to live their lives according to the advice of the eight ball. Personally, though, I feel a little relieved if it hasn’t happened. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/8 "2005-10-25T13:52:57Z")
I agree that few people place any stock at all in the Magic 8 ball, but it seems that the [Ouija board](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija_board), which was similarly developed as a novelty in the late 1800’s does have some believers. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/9 "2005-10-25T14:37:45Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > I agree that few people place any stock at all in the Magic 8 ball, but it seems that the [Ouija board](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija_board), which was similarly developed as a novelty in the late 1800’s does have some believers. Go figure. Hmmm. Good point. On the other hand: [ul] [li]There’s a considerable difference, I think, between the late 1800’s and the mid 1940’s in terms of how people related to the ‘mystical’, how much of the world could be explained by science, etcetera. We’re talking Boer war versus world war 2.[/li][li]The ouija board kinduv LOOKS more authentically mystical… and your wikipedia article said that it was based on spiritualist talking boards that go back a half-century earlier at least. The 8-ball was based on… a billiard ball, which is much less of a supernatural icon. I kinduv suspect that even though the ouija boards were developed as a novelty, they weren’t intended to make fun of supernaturalism in the same way that 8-balls do now. (Not sure if the 8-balls were really meant as satire, hmmm.)[/li][li]Hi, Opal!![/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/10 "2005-10-25T14:58:54Z")
I used to date a woman who gave me a magic 8 ball for my birthday and the note said that she really believed in such stuff. She also was very fond of the Ouija board. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/11 "2005-10-25T15:50:59Z")
Note that you can believe in the answers provided by the 8-ball without believing the 8-ball is inherently magical. It’s just a tool for interacting with… whatever. That said, it is not a very good tool, what with all the ambiguous answers. I’d rather flip a coin, roll dice, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/12 "2005-10-25T18:39:21Z")
Then there’s always the Magic Conch Shell. ALL HAIL THE MAGIC CONCH!!! ---
**Author:** ![pocelene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/0ea827/32.png) [@pocelene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pocelene)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/13 "2005-10-25T19:00:34Z")
I guess you don’t remember, but when they first came out some people very much did believe them. It was so strange, and if given as a party gift, everyone at the party would be seeing it for the first time and some would be quite impressed. The reason was simple. If you ask factual questions one eighth of the time it would correctly answer three in a row. That’s about all it takes to make a stock analyst a wizard. Of course, those same people were soon to be disillusioned. By now, I think most people see one for the first time surrounded by people who have already discovered its non-magical nature. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/14 "2005-10-25T19:21:14Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > I’ll throw in that tarot cards, astrology, tea leaf reading, and so on developed fairly long ago, and although there were probably always people who did such readings or had them done purely for entertainment value, there were also aways people who took them ‘seriously’. > > The magic 8 ball, though, seems like quite a different animal. It was [Invented in 1946](http://8ball.ofb.net/faq.html) for a crafts company, and was always marketed as a novelty. To a certain extent, I think its popularity is due to being seen as a comical parody of tarot card readings, vague newspaper horoscopes, and so on. I mean, come on – a giant, oversized billiard ball, which gives vague messages (ranging from firmly positive through vaguely positive, neutral/indecisive, vaguely negative to negative) printed on triangles?? It’s a form of divination by lots. That’s quite old, as well- it’s mentioned quite seriously in several places in the Bible. You can use a method of divination by lots to use the I Ching, as well, which is probably even older (though I don’t know if using it by tossing coins is that old). ---
**Author:** ![euphemism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@euphemism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/euphemism)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/15 "2005-10-25T19:23:01Z")
So, apparently the magic 8-ball lacks the appropriate mystical trappings to be taken seriously by anybody. Perhaps it would be taken more seriously if 8-ball answers such as “signs point to yes” and “ask again later” were replaced by inscrutable mystical symbols like tarot cards? ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/16 "2005-10-25T19:46:30Z")
> [@euphemism](#): > > So, apparently the magic 8-ball lacks the appropriate mystical trappings to be taken seriously by anybody. Perhaps it would be taken more seriously if 8-ball answers such as “signs point to yes” and “ask again later” were replaced by inscrutable mystical symbols like tarot cards? It might be that fact that it’s a big ol’ _8-ball_ — that is, a prop taken from a well-known game — that makes it harder for even the truly gullible to take seriously. Perhaps if the manufacturers abandoned the 8-ball motif, and made it a cloudy crystal ball or something, it would seem more like a plausible tool of the occult. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/17 "2005-10-25T19:48:49Z")
I picked up a couple of them at a garage sale long ago. I spent hours pondering them. I came to have faith in my balls. Before any important decision, I would cup them in my hands, shake them gently and turn them over. Some fascinating things have arisen as a result of my shaking my balls. Sadly, about age eleven or so, I woke to discover that a strange fluid was leaking from my balls. But, once again, my balls gave me the answer. For years now, I’ve carried one in each front pocket. There’s something so reassuring about putting my hand in my pants and feeling the bulge of one of my balls. Some of my friends disapprove. In fact, they often say “Doc, quit playin with your balls!”. I just smile and pat my pockets. I know that all life’s answers can be found in my balls. Previously, fear of scorn and mockery have kept me from mentioning this to other Dopers. But, no more! The next time I attend a Dopefest, just ask and I’ll be happy to show you my balls. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/18 "2005-10-25T19:51:07Z")
That first sentence should be " I _think_ I got them at a garage sale long ago.’ I don’t know for sure. I genuinely can’t remember a time before I had my balls. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/19 "2005-10-25T19:51:27Z")
> [@William V.](#): > > Then there’s always the Magic Conch Shell. ALL HAIL THE MAGIC CONCH!!! ALL HAIL THE MAGIC CONCH!!! aint no way in hell i’m gettin’ screwed like squidward did ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788/20 "2005-10-25T20:50:59Z")
> [@](#): > > The fact that tarot cards, palm reading, and so on are open to interpretation also means the “seer” can give subtle prompts and adjust her reading as she observes the subject’s responses. That means it’s much easier to convince the subject that the reading is real. Can’t do that with a Magic 8 Ball. Along the same lines, but much more importantly, I think, is the fact that Magic 8 Balls are more “user-friendly”. I can buy a deck of Tarot cards, but if I want a reading from them, I’d have to study up on how to read them. So I’m likely instead to just pay someone else to read the cards for me (note: Hypothetical “I”, here). But with an eight-ball, all I need to do is roll it over in my hand. There’s no way I’m going to pay someone to do something that simple for me, even if I do take it seriously. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-take-magic-8-balls-seriously/327788.md?page=2)