If Albert Carter had a Magic 8 Ball when he patented his liquid-filled dice agitator in 1944, he would have likely asked it something along the lines of, "Will this toy turn into one of the greatest ...
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Pose a question to a Magic 8 Ball, and it’ll answer yes, no, or something annoyingly indecisive. We think of it as a kid’s toy, but ...