Magic 8 Ball The Magic 8 Ball is a plastic sphere, made to look like an oversized eight ball, that is used for fortune-telling or seeking advice. It was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman and is currently manufactured by Mattel. The user asks a yes–no question to the ball, then turns it over to reveal an answer in a window on the ball. The functional component of the Magic 8 Ball was invented by Albert C. Carter. Carter approached store owner Max Levinson about stocking the dev