# The Mystery of the Magic 8-Ball Revealed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031 "2003-12-09T22:39:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ex\_Machina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/1 "2003-12-09T22:39:47Z")
While playing Scrabble with my sister I noticed a Magic 8-Ball (the toy that is filled with liquid and an indicator that says things like “Reply Hazy - Try Again”) on a nearby shelf of her living room. I suggested that we settle all word challenges using the 8-ball instead of the dictionary as a good-natured alternative. After the game I began to wonder how many replies there were and what the shape of the indicator was. I had recorded thirteen different answers when My sister called from the computer in the other room “Twenty.” She found a site on the internet which explains the innards and lists all of the replies. One day I was bored and began to wonder if I could replicate the icosahedron indicator inside the ball. I drew a pattern of triangles on a sheet of paper. Then I began to record the replies in their correct orientation. I quickly became adept at positioning the triangle on an apex and flipping to an adjacent facet. Soon I had all twenty replies. Then I simply cut out the connected triangles, folded along the lines and bent them together. Et voila, I held in my hand a near perfect reconstruction of the mysterious oracle of the 8-ball. (My sister, incidentally, sent the question to the Straight Dope as to the origin of the 8-ball. I think there is even one on Dick Van Dyke’s desk in the writer’s office of the old Dick Van Dyke show.) Has anyone else done something so completely inconsequential yet gotten so much personal satisfaction out of the act? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/2 "2003-12-10T02:44:24Z")
I think there are several 4 sided triangles inside. Correct me if I’m wrong . . . WOuldn’t a 20sided thing be huge? And there’s only a small tube of liquid inside? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/3 "2003-12-10T03:58:30Z")
I believe that we had a similar thread on this a little while ago. Anyway go here [http://8ball.ofb.net/procedure.html](http://8ball.ofb.net/procedure.html) and all your questions should be answered. And remember that Magic 8 Ball™ is a registered trademark of Tyco Toys, Inc. , etc… ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/4 "2003-12-10T04:42:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AnimistDragon \* > \*\*I think there are several 4 sided triangles inside. > \*\* “Concentrate and ask again.” 😉 > [@](#): > > \*\*Correct me if I’m wrong . . . WOuldn’t a 20sided thing be huge? \*\* “My reply is no” > [@](#): > > \*\*And there’s only a small tube of liquid inside? \*\* “[My sources](http://www.fiendation.com/people/chris/eight.htm) say yes.” ---
**Author:** ![Ex\_Machina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/5 "2003-12-10T06:21:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong . . . WOuldn’t a 20sided thing be huge? And there’s only a small tube of liquid inside? - AnimistDragon I thought so too- but the resulting icosahedron is only about the size of a ping-pong ball. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/6 "2003-12-10T12:45:55Z")
Haven’t you people ever played (or seen people play) Dungeons & Dragons? The icosahedron inside a Magic 8-Ball is only slightly larger than an ordinary 20-sided die. (There’s a Magic 8-Ball on a manager’s desk right now … which tells you something about how my workplace sets its corporate strategy.) ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/7 "2003-12-10T15:31:34Z")
I like that site **heresiarch**. [From the instructions on how to dismantle an 8-Ball](http://www.fiendation.com/people/chris/eight.htm#phrase) > [@](#): > > ! Warning ! - The magic blue fluid in the cylinder is of unknown origin and makeup. It will definitely dye skin, fabric, plastic, and probably even porceline. You will definately not want to get this stuff on you, it took a week to wear off my hands. Again, we are in no way responsible for destruction of property resulting from following these procedures. > > 1. Now’s the time to put on those safety goggles and rubber gloves. Get the drill ready and lock the cylinder in something sturdy (preferably NOT your hand, wouldn’t want to slip and lose a thumb). Carefully drill two holes in through the top of the cylinder, being careful not to go too far past the lens, as damage to the polyhedron could result. Now pour the fluid out, being careful not to let it touch anything you like. Do not taunt the fluid, as it might just kick your ass. Having dismantled one myself in the past, I have to agree with the author’s assessment. I couldn’t sit for a week ☹ Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magic-8-ball-revealed/218031/8 "2003-12-10T17:47:39Z")
Some comic, perhaps George Carlin, spoke of a guy who took apart a Magic 8-Ball and drank the liquid. He sat in a corner for a week, saying, “Better not tell you now.”