How to make a "Magic Window"

Factual Questions
1

I used to play with one of these (scroll down to the “Magic Window”) when I was a child. Now my mother in law tells me that she used to see homemade magic windows at flea markets all the time. Can anyone tell me how to make one of these things? Specifically, I’m interested to know what kept the sand from blending.

Thanks for all replies!

2

Anybody? Anyone at all?

3

There might have been a patent on the thing. If so, this’ll help you find it:

Unfortunately, the USPTO online database wants a # for pre-1976 patents.

4

I think the patent number is 03653663, but I am not at all certain, because my browser refuses to load the images, however this * may* be what you are looking for.

Give it a shot …

Lucy

5

From your own cite:

and

6

Wow. I have two or three of those things! I keep coming across two of them whenever I’m digging through boxes looking for something. I think the two I keep seeing (I never actually look at them) are both blue. If I have three, then the third one is pink and glows in the dark. I used to turn them as slowly as I possibly could and still move the grains for a really nice effect.

7

Thanks to all… Those are Dope-caliber responses. I was kinda hoping someone out there has a book, or knows how to source the sand (tiny beads?) I can make the rest…

8

Wasn’t it something like this that was all the rage in the late eighties, that came in wooden frames? I had one, but eventually the liquid dried up. I ascertained that the liquid was water, and I actually refilled the thing with more blue water through a hypodermic syringe. Later it dried out again. Still got around somewhere.

I don’t know for sure what the particles were, but I always thought the black stuff looked just like rock-polishing grit. If I was going to make one, I’d try that, and use fine rock polish for the other, gray particles.

9

I’ve never seen the “magic window” devices being described here, but I do remember this! It contained two or three different shades of sand (almost always earth-toned) and some water mounted in a very thin clear glass or plastic case. The whole thing was framed with wood and could be placed on a tabletop support for display or flipping. There were some very large sizes available, but the most common was about the size of a standard piece of paper.

10

A Googling turned up a CD for sale with 100 patents on it but web page didn’t specify that the “Magic Window” was on it.

At $99 it is a bit high priced to take a flyer on!

11

I’ve searched the patent data base for “Cloutier” and got 163 hits, none of which seem to be the “Magic Window”. And Patent #3653663 isn’t it, either. (You can easily download the software needed to read the pre-1976 patent images)

I was always under the impression that the “magic window” worked using different sized granules, whether they were real sand or artificial glass beads. If you really want to try, there are places you can get sorted particles of different size. Just make sure they’re different colors as well,.

12

The patent you quoted was for a ball in cup game. To see the images you need a special tiff pug-in.

I searched the database for the inventor but did not see anything by him. Maybe he didnt patent it

13

snap on the first.

a thought - wouldn’t different sized granules want to mix so they occupy less volume - different density components on the other hand will separate? However there is the “toy in cornflakes” effect to take into account

14

Wham-O called the contents of their Magic Window “microdium crystals.” Microdium is a genus of fossil crab, (or, at least, Family Cancridae).

I don’t know whether that helps in figuring out a material (or even if Wham-O actually used crushed fossil shells), but it might be a start.

15

I bought something like this about fifteen years ago at a little kiosk in the mall around Christmas time. It was called “Sandscapes” and mounted like a picture frame. Everytime you rotated the frame you got a new picture. After about a year enough fluid disappeared from it that the sand clumped together and it wouldn’t flow anymore. Never could figure out how to repair it, so out it went into the trash one day. Never seen another one since.