Why did Mattel pick the 8 ball for its prognosticating toy?
Because “Magic 8 Ball” sounds better than “Magic Cue Ball”?
It’s not really magic, y’know.
Your name is too similar to mine.
We both registered in March.
You’re probably better-looking than me.
You must die.
LOL. Well, perhaps I was once, I dunno. But too many years behind a desk has caused my middle age spread to spread even further…
Ask again later
Answer not clear.
black = magic
Sorry to hijack here, but the first ‘Penny Arcade’ online comic I ever saw was with Gabe and Tycho using a magic 8 ball to try and answer some question about video games. It gave them the answer “I’m sleeping with your wife” LMAO I gotta get one of those magic 8 balls
Mattel didn’t choose anything. Abe Bookman of Alabe Crafts did.
From the FAQ on this site: http://8ball.ofb.net/ (gives some other useful links, but some are dead)
Here’s some history: http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/toys/ty1039.php
[rant]The official Mattel site needs JavaScript to tell me that I haven’t got Flash. Brilliant. Love it. I haven’t got a clue if there’s anything to see there…[/rant]
Miss Cleo told Abe Bookman to? 
BTW, I’ve got a talking 8 ball… when you tilt it (now you’ve got to shake it hard) it has some chimes, has a message then has a gong.
It says things like “wait”, “you must be joking”, “maybe or maybe not”… it has 10 or 20 different answers. I’m not sure what brand it was but I got it at least 5 years ago.