+Amateur Redneck Workshop Do a Douglas Fir The Talking Tree in the What Makes It Work Series, Douglas is powered by 2 motors, for his mouth and eyes, powered by 3 C Batteries, or a 6V Power Cable
Two things about the capsule cap: The cone-and-chamber design traps air bubbles out of the way of viewing the text; some air is needed to buffer pressure changes from temperature swings that could cause leaks. And the cone enforces a tumbling of the die to help prevent repeat answers. Since opposite sides of an isocahedron are parallel, if the float chamber had parallel ends as in the patent drawing, the die might not tumble reliably. With a cone shaped capthe die will float with a corner up, meaning also a corner is pointed down. Inverted, the die floats to the viewing window point first, then tumbles to a flat.
Mrpete I'm blown away!!! I would have lost a month's lol (if I was a betting man that is) that it was made in a different manner that it was.Very much enjoyed this "What Makes it Work" episode. I still cant get over how I thought this was made- I was not even close Thank you sir two thumbs up!!!
Never seen one of those magic balls before,didn't know what a 20 sided die was called and had no clue as to how it worked.Now I know all of these,so you see Mr.Pete that is why your are well liked by a great many people.Thanks again for your time.
Great video! Of all the things I took apart while growing up (My wife says I still haven't grown up!) I never cut my 8 ball open. It's long gone now so thanks for cutting one. I really wonder why the interior container has that complicated cap. Maybe the design was to stop splashing and inconsistency during the fill. Probably also designed to fit the filling machine and it has a smaller opening to seal on the production line. Please keep making great videos! We'll keep watching!
I always wondered if there's some psychology in it, like predicting in what order will someone say the questions to have the most realistic answers. For example i was going to concert and for fun i asked: Will it be fun? -No doubt about it. Will they play (name of the song) tonight? -Indications say yes. Will the band somehow notice me? -Don't be on it. I think that's cool.
Pretty neat Lyle, the tetrahedron wow that is word that I have not herd in many years! The airport that I learned to fly at in the early 70's as a teenager had a tetrahedron. The Tetrahedron pointed into to the wind to show what direction the wind was blowing from.
I finally broke down and watched this video. It amazes me the lengths one or two individuals went to patent this toy decades ago. I might be ignorant but would a 20 sided whatever with embossed or engraved messages not worked as simply as rolling the "die". Must have already been patented at the time. Thank you for dissecting this tool that my friends and I used in high school to determine an educated path on a Saturday night.
Fascinating! Please keep up with the series of articles on how things work. No matter what you detail, there are always bits of information that can be used in today's real world.
6:15 "I think that there's-- uh, oh I dunno-- perhaps twenty different questions on there" 7:03 "Twenty answers on there-- many more than I would have thought"
Hi mrpete, The 20 faced part is probably made of some Polyethylene type plastic where the density is a little less than water so it floats, the liquid has to have a density around about 1, so, it's probably water with die and anti-bacterial agent or stabilizer of some sort. Interesting how simple it gets after being refined enough to be manufactured in large quantities.... Pierre
icosahedron is the name of a 20 sided polyhedron. I had to look it up. I certainly do enjoy your videos especially your more recent trip to Rock Island! Thanks!
Hi Mr Pete, I don't think I have ever seen one of those, perhaps we did not have them in the UK. You were right about it being an invention of the 1940s. The patent you looked at is for an improved version, but it cites an earlier patent: US 2452730 A, filed in 1944 and published 1948. Keep up the good work! S
The patent name is hilarious. Imagine two little girls... "Do you think Johnny will ask me to the dance"? "I don't know, Mary. Why don't you ask the Liquid Filled Die Agitator Containing A Die Having Raised Indicia On The Facets Thereof".
I had a Magic 8 Ball when I was a young boy. Unfortunately, It fell victim to my insatiable desire to take things apart (as many of my toys did). Since, as you pointed out, they are very well constructed, I probably just threw it on the ground until it cracked open. Maybe I got into Dad's tools and pried it apart with a screwdriver after I had a crack started. Seeing that jar you sawed open makes me think it's made of poly-carbonate, which would have been a challenge, especially for a young boy. I have no regrets though. I learned how lots of things like electric motors, gears, and music boxes work.
Very interesting. Always wonderered how that magic ball worked. Made most decisions in my youth based on what the ball revealed. Thank you, great stuff. Roy
Lyle, another good one !!!! I don't think there is any question about weather this is interesting or not. The comments seem to explain it all. Please keep em coming !!! Your friend, Cliff
I believe that the thickness and rugged construction is due to this being a ball and kids, being kids, will throw the thing and possibly break it. As you mentioned the liquid could stain carpet. I can imagine that early incarnations of the toy were not so robust causing parental anguish! It should have been a magic square!
Did I like this video? Yes Definitely. Do I like the "What Makes It Work?" series? It is decidedly so! Every time I picked one of these up over the years I wanted to cut it open to see what was inside. Thanks for doing it for me! Now I'm going to look up that patent number and read more about it.
I must have had a sheltered childhood - never seen anything like it before although I have heard the phrase used. Really well designed and constructed as you say and interesting to see you doing an autopsy on the carcase to see how it was made.
Well well. not only have I never seen one of those before but now I know how it works. Interesting that it gives 10 positive responses, 5 don't bother me and 5 no ones. Likley to encourage you to come back to it.......
This is great !! I always wondered what all was inside of one .. I used one as a softball at one time 20 years ago and it never broke .. Just to show how tough that really are ..
the most captivating thing about this ball is the answers, from 20 answers 5 are negative , 5 are ambiguous and 10 are positive. That means who came up with them studied human expectations when it comes to questions people don't know the answer to. Everybody wants a yes in one form or another.
Very interesting. Its always fun to look at how seemingly simple things are made. There's a lot of engineering and failed tests behind a complex design like that. I can just hear it on Monday morning.. "some kid managed to break into it & got the goop all over the place how are we going to stop that?"
Super enjoyable! Now I am curious how they made them in the 1960's. The ball you dissected looks like it was welded with ultrasound. Mr. Pete, do you know if ultrasound welding was available in the 1960's?
I have worked with plastics for over 25years now and without the burn and sniff test I could not tell you what it is but all plastics have there own distinctive smell when burnt.. thanks for the video sir...
Thank you so much for this video. Ever since I was a little kid and played with one of those things (and your about right, for only 10 minutes or so before I lost interest) I have wondered just what was inside. Finally, after 50 some odd years I find out. Thanks.
The plastic container pieces were put together with a process called vibraweld or sonic welding, It welds the plastic together with very fast vibration and the marks around the outer edge was from cleaning up the welded seem.. A product that comes to mind is like a dishwasher drain pump...;.l Thanks for the videos...
What purpose has that second chamber under that funnel shaped bottom? I guess that the liquid is moving between that two chambers and creating some vortex to spin the icosahedron or to slow his rising speed.
9:06 Many toys and other plastic parts that are made in 2 or more pieces are welded by friction. Glue normally is weaker than friction welding. Don't know if that ball is put together that way, but it's very probable.
While I'm intrigued by the construction of this toy (of which I know at least one floated around my house as a kid), I'm impressed not just with the construction of the "icosahedron" but mostly that they achieved such balance that you did get very random results. Quite tricky when you think of the mechanics and buoyancy issues involved. I also revel in your political incorrectness in describing people who believe in such things...
Shape of the "cup" is interesting. It makes it so that amount of air left in container during assembly doesn't matter "much". Can't have lots of it, but some air doesn't matter. Excess air is trapped in the separate portion when the 8Ball is turned around. Reminds me of the mosquito/fly traps people have been doing.
It's a bi capped pentagonal anti prism otherwise known as an icosahedron. You referred to it as a prism which is pretty close. A pentagonal prism is formed by spacing apart two pentagons and rotating one pentagon so that each of its 5 vertexes align with an edge of the other pentagon. A dot is placed over the face of a pentagon and lines are drawn from each vertex to the point to form a cap. The same is done on the other pentagon to form a second cap. Now you have a bicapped pentagonal antiprism. This may be better understood by considering a trigonal prism which is familiar to most people simply as a prism. (The one that difracts light into a rainbow of colors.) Each vertex of one triangle is placed in registration with a vertex of a second triangle. If you were to rotatate one triangle of the prism so that each vertex aligned with an edge of the other triangle you would form a trigonal antiprism. If you were to place two caps on you would get a bicapped trigonal antiprism. I was shocked by the complexity of the Magic 8 Ball. Great video. BTW, I used to work at that local nuclear power plant you refer to in some of your videos--Lasalle. I think its address is in Uitca, IL. I would pass through Streator from time to time.
Are you interested in maybe new ideas for this subject? I haven't finished watching them all, but I'm willing to bet I can come-up with some ideas for dissection.
If you look up patent # 4049277, it it for a bubble - free die agitator, which looks to be what is actually used in the 8 ball, but that didn't come about until 1975. It would be interesting to see what one of the older ones contained inside.
Thanks for this fun dissection. I don't quite understand the function of the complicated funnel like shape of the white plastic portion of the fluid container. It must have to do with controlling the flow of the liquid in and around the dodecahedron for effect. It would have been interesting to replace the fluid with water containing floating particles to watch the flow. The real trick is getting the ball to float, not too fast or too slow, and not to sink. It surprised me that the fluid will get inside the dodecahedron as it is two piece and hollow. Is the fluid thicker than water? Thinner?
icosahedron -- I had one for years as a kid that had gotten broken before I paid a nickle for it at a yard sale. I took it apart...the icosahedron still lives on my desk :)
Enjoyed this. I would have thought like you it was just a round ball with the block inside and fluid. Leads me to think the reason for the cartridge was to reduce the weight.
mrpete222 No thank you, you may not know how much you have taught me But I will say it is a lot. I have learned to hobby machine to a pretty good degree from a few books and the internet.(something 20 years ago I could not have learned as well) you and the others that take time to make these videos are awesome! I can not leave out the guys on a few groups that love to help to. Mark
I would have sworn that the Magic 8-ball I played with as a kid contained a number of tetrahedrons, but I never took it apart (it was actually my cousin's) so I can't be sure. When you can only see one face at a time, you can't be sure whether it is a tetrahedron, octahedron, or icosahedron. It is a neat effect that the single color faces with raised lettering show up as white-on-blue when surrounded by the ink.
It is an Icosahedron (20 faces) and it is the biggest of the Platon-Solids as there are: *) Tetrahedron *) Cube *) Octahedron *) Dodecahedron *) Icosahedron which were all seen as Objects with highest possible symmetry.
The word is icosahedron (means twenty-sided, just like tetrahedron is four-sided). It is one of the five Platonic Solids, which each have all identical faces and meeting angles at the edges and at the vertices. Perfect symmetry any way you look at them. Tetrahedron (four equilateral triangles) Cube or hexahedron (six squares) Octahedron (eight equilateral triangles) Dodecahedron (twelve pentagons) Icosahedron (twenty equilateral triangles) It has been proven (in several different ways) that there are no other possible Platonic solids. There is a good Wikipedia article which has much more information, including (for those with fancy CNC equipment) a listing of the Cartesian coordinates of each of the vertices. With that, you could mill each one out, once you figured out a way to clamp it down to machine the underside of the piece. Here's a nice set carved from crystal: i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac185/pwmeek/misc/Platonic%20Solids_zpsxxem6zuf.jpg
Is that a real one made by Mattel or a onehunglo ripoff?I opened a real one a few years ago and the inside container was different.I was just wondering if Mattel was making then as cheap as they could now days.
Love to know your thoughts on the inverted cone use in the capsule? Might have something to do with the icosahedron and how a flat is supposed to come to the surface to be read or maybe something more magical...like the smell of india ink and bristol board. Have to say I did try to bust one by throwing it down on the cement as a kid...didn't work, Thanks for revealing the magic of them...mechanically quite well done...but alas I won't trust them ever again. ~PJ
pjsalchemy The cone or funnel inside is a bubble trap so the die can float all the way up against the clear window. Without that the die would be hard to read. And without an air bubble or bladder the plastic would crack with atmospheric pressure or temperature changes.
Moholo 88 I should have read all the comments first, then I would have seen the patent www.google.com.ar/patents/US4049277 provided by generalOne and the article provided by MrGoosePit magazine.uc.edu/famousalumni/designers/magic8.html. Both are very informative reads and well worth a look.
Moholo 88 mrpete222 The US4049277 patent give a clear description of this model device (>1975). The cone in the upper chamber does in fact trap a metered amount of air for temp variation (liquid expansion) but the lower chamber where the Icosahedron (Die) is, must maintain liquid only to allow its buoyancy to rise to window surface. In other words the Die is lighter (less dense) than the liquid...otherwise bubbles would rise to the top first and interfere with the die flat on the window. The Alumni article was good...I'll have to find a Syco-Seer so I can get some magic back.
The one I had in the early '70s that was made of glass. It shattered when I dropped it. Don't remember there being anything inside but the liquid and the answer piece. Looked up the patent number and saw a reference to aanother ( liquid filled dice agitator, pat. no. 2,452,730) filled in Sept. 1944.
icosahedron a 20-sided polyhedron I first thought it was a dodecahedron so called shape of the universe.... I thoroughly enjoyed this video/this type I do hope some will indeed show this to their children! As a child my uncle bought one for all us kids just like when the Hula-hoop hit the market we were first on the block to have one! ha-ha........... ;o) O,,,
It seems I remember taking one apart or seeing one in the late 70's or early 80's and the "jar" was actually a glass jar with a metal cap or cover on it.
In geometry, an icosahedron (/ˌaɪkɵsəˈhiːdrən/ or /aɪˌkɒsəˈhiːdrən/) is a polyhedron with 20 faces. The name comes from Greek είκοσι (eíkosi), meaning "twenty", and έδρα (hédra), meaning "seat". The plural can be either "icosahedra" (-/drə/) or "icosahedrons". There are many kinds of icosahedron, with some being more symmetrical than others. The most well known is the regular convex or Platonic icosahedron.
The outlook is good for this series. Thanks for the video.
cerberus Thanks
+Amateur Redneck Workshop Do a Douglas Fir The Talking Tree in the What Makes It Work Series, Douglas is powered by 2 motors, for his mouth and eyes, powered by 3 C Batteries, or a 6V Power Cable
Wow, I have many fond memories, playing with one of these as a child, in the 70's! Thanks for sharing this.
👍
A 20 sided shape is called a icosahedron. Neat video Mr. Pete!
Edward David Thanks
Two things about the capsule cap: The cone-and-chamber design traps air bubbles out of the way of viewing the text; some air is needed to buffer pressure changes from temperature swings that could cause leaks. And the cone enforces a tumbling of the die to help prevent repeat answers. Since opposite sides of an isocahedron are parallel, if the float chamber had parallel ends as in the patent drawing, the die might not tumble reliably. With a cone shaped capthe die will float with a corner up, meaning also a corner is pointed down. Inverted, the die floats to the viewing window point first, then tumbles to a flat.
Thank you! I noticed these features as well, and you have completed the explanation of "what makes it work"
great vid as always, 20 sided die is called a Icosahedrons. These have been found dating to Roman/ Ptolemaic times,
Matthew Squires
Platon était GREC, not Roman
Yep, more commonly known as a d20
Interesting
Matthew Squires Thanks
My favourite part was "duo-decum, I don't know, I made that up"
Mrpete I'm blown away!!! I would have lost a month's lol (if I was a betting man that is) that it was made in a different manner that it was.Very much enjoyed this "What Makes it Work" episode. I still cant get over how I thought this was made- I was not even close Thank you sir two thumbs up!!!
Rosario W Thanks
Never seen one of those magic balls before,didn't know what a 20 sided die was called and had no clue as to how it worked.Now I know all of these,so you see Mr.Pete that is why your are well liked by a great many people.Thanks again for your time.
Nodrog Awson Thanks---great comment
Great video! Of all the things I took apart while growing up (My wife says I still haven't grown up!) I never cut my 8 ball open. It's long gone now so thanks for cutting one. I really wonder why the interior container has that complicated cap. Maybe the design was to stop splashing and inconsistency during the fill. Probably also designed to fit the filling machine and it has a smaller opening to seal on the production line. Please keep making great videos! We'll keep watching!
Ken Wolfe Good points
Very cool couldn't believe how well it was built. Thank you
Yes, you could play baseball with it
That was a fun video THANKS MR PETE
***** Thanks for watching
+Metal Tips and Tricks (Dale Derry) THANKS
Very fun, almost like the wayback machine! Please continue the series!
cat637d Thanks--I will
More complicated than I would have thought. I can't believe I haven't taken one
apart, I , like you want to know how things work. Thanks Lyle
Tom Bellus Thanks
I always wondered if there's some psychology in it, like predicting in what order will someone say the questions to have the most realistic answers. For example i was going to concert and for fun i asked:
Will it be fun? -No doubt about it.
Will they play (name of the song) tonight? -Indications say yes.
Will the band somehow notice me? -Don't be on it.
I think that's cool.
Keep the series going. Great job Mr Pete. My wife is one of your biggest fans.
stefanoworx Thanks-I will
Pretty neat Lyle, the tetrahedron wow that is word that I have not herd in many years!
The airport that I learned to fly at in the early 70's as a teenager had a tetrahedron.
The Tetrahedron pointed into to the wind to show what direction the wind was blowing from.
That's a neat application of that geometric design
I finally broke down and watched this video. It amazes me the lengths one or two individuals went to patent this toy decades ago. I might be ignorant but would a 20 sided whatever with embossed or engraved messages not worked as simply as rolling the "die". Must have already been patented at the time. Thank you for dissecting this tool that my friends and I used in high school to determine an educated path on a Saturday night.
+Steve Graves Sure it would. Its just a stupid toy
Fascinating! Please keep up with the series of articles on how things work. No matter what you detail, there are always bits of information that can be used in today's real world.
Paul Kettle Jr Thanks
6:15 "I think that there's-- uh, oh I dunno-- perhaps twenty different questions on there"
7:03 "Twenty answers on there-- many more than I would have thought"
6:15 there're NO questions on 'there', let alone Twenty Different.
Hi mrpete,
The 20 faced part is probably made of some Polyethylene type plastic where the density is a little less than water so it floats, the liquid has to have a density around about 1, so, it's probably water with die and anti-bacterial agent or stabilizer of some sort.
Interesting how simple it gets after being refined enough to be manufactured in large quantities....
Pierre
pierre beaudry Thanks
icosahedron is the name of a 20 sided polyhedron. I had to look it up. I certainly do enjoy your videos especially your more recent trip to Rock Island! Thanks!
Thomas Cramer Thanks
No waist of time for me. I found it very interesting and look forward to many more. thanks
Lee Waterman Thanks
love it! it takes me back to when i first played with one a friend had i think i was 9 years old back in 73 very interesting.
gregm1775 Thanks
Hi Mr Pete, I don't think I have ever seen one of those, perhaps we did not have them in the UK. You were right about it being an invention of the 1940s. The patent you looked at is for an improved version, but it cites an earlier patent: US 2452730 A, filed in 1944 and published 1948. Keep up the good work! S
+ianalex2 ..These were popular in the USA in the 1950's....
Great video. We're all enlightened about a classic toy.
Howard Golden Thanks
Thank you for answering a question for the ages...
Great video. I wonder how they made these complicated molds in pre CNC times.
Latheman666 The same way they made everything then, craftsmanship.
Latheman666 Thanks
The patent name is hilarious. Imagine two little girls... "Do you think Johnny will ask me to the dance"? "I don't know, Mary. Why don't you ask the Liquid Filled Die Agitator Containing A Die Having Raised Indicia On The Facets Thereof".
+Rocketninja200 funny
I had a Magic 8 Ball when I was a young boy. Unfortunately, It fell victim to my insatiable desire to take things apart (as many of my toys did). Since, as you pointed out, they are very well constructed, I probably just threw it on the ground until it cracked open. Maybe I got into Dad's tools and pried it apart with a screwdriver after I had a crack started. Seeing that jar you sawed open makes me think it's made of poly-carbonate, which would have been a challenge, especially for a young boy. I have no regrets though. I learned how lots of things like electric motors, gears, and music boxes work.
+fall22123 THANKS
dodecahedron is correct i believe
Edit, a dodecahedron is a twelve sided die Drvshaft drew got it right with Icosahedron
Zach Satter It's a 12-sided one.
Zach Satter Thanks
Very interesting. Always wonderered how that magic ball worked. Made most decisions in my youth based on what the ball revealed.
Thank you, great stuff.
Roy
Roy Lucas Thats how congress decides
Lyle, another good one !!!! I don't think there is any question about weather this is interesting or not. The comments seem to explain it all. Please keep em coming !!! Your friend, Cliff
Clifford Fender Thanks
Interesting video. Enjoyed the demo. At least you were in front of the ball.
Most of the time, I am behind the eight ball
It is a lot more complex than I always thought it would be too. I am kind of proud that it is made as well as it is.
+traderjoes THANKS
I believe that the thickness and rugged construction is due to this being a ball and kids, being kids, will throw the thing and possibly break it. As you mentioned the liquid could stain carpet. I can imagine that early incarnations of the toy were not so robust causing parental anguish! It should have been a magic square!
cemx86 Thanks-its robust alright
I would never have guessed it was that complicated! Thanks!
+Chaka Wolf THANKS
Did I like this video? Yes Definitely. Do I like the "What Makes It Work?" series? It is decidedly so! Every time I picked one of these up over the years I wanted to cut it open to see what was inside. Thanks for doing it for me! Now I'm going to look up that patent number and read more about it.
MrGoosePit Thanks--glad you liked
Very interesting! I remember those Magic 8 Balls when I was a kid. Been a long time and brings back memories!
davida1hiwaaynet Thanks
Very nice design, the funnel in the back is designed to capture and hold bubbles so they don't cloud the display.
I must have had a sheltered childhood - never seen anything like it before although I have heard the phrase used.
Really well designed and constructed as you say and interesting to see you doing an autopsy on the carcase to see how it was made.
Dan Whiteford Thanks
Well well. not only have I never seen one of those before but now I know how it works. Interesting that it gives 10 positive responses, 5 don't bother me and 5 no ones. Likley to encourage you to come back to it.......
Godshole Thanks
All of your videos I have seen, you are ON the ball.
lol
This is great !! I always wondered what all was inside of one .. I used one as a softball at one time 20 years ago and it never broke .. Just to show how tough that really are ..
+Herbert Humphrey Thats one tuff ball
My husband is always watching your videos but never comments, so I just wanted to let you know that he really enjoys you!
+Theresa Robinson THANKS
the most captivating thing about this ball is the answers, from 20 answers 5 are negative , 5 are ambiguous and 10 are positive. That means who came up with them studied human expectations when it comes to questions people don't know the answer to.
Everybody wants a yes in one form or another.
I think you were right, some people might actually believe what the ball says, unfortunately
Maybe that's antifreeze, perhaps propylene glycol.
I like this series, who doesn't like taking things apart.
+stefantrethan THANKS
Very interesting. Its always fun to look at how seemingly simple things are made. There's a lot of engineering and failed tests behind a complex design like that. I can just hear it on Monday morning.. "some kid managed to break into it & got the goop all over the place how are we going to stop that?"
Metallurg33 Thanks
Super enjoyable! Now I am curious how they made them in the 1960's. The ball you dissected looks like it was welded with ultrasound. Mr. Pete, do you know if ultrasound welding was available in the 1960's?
CNC Dude This is a very good question, I would also be interested in the answer to that query. Cliff
CNC Dude Thanks
I have worked with plastics for over 25years now and without the burn and sniff test I could not tell you what it is but all plastics have there own distinctive smell when burnt.. thanks for the video sir...
Kevin Willis Thanks--I need to burn some.
Thank you so much for this video. Ever since I was a little kid and played with one of those things (and your about right, for only 10 minutes or so before I lost interest) I have wondered just what was inside. Finally, after 50 some odd years I find out. Thanks.
user990077 Thanks
Who 'da thunk ?!? Very entertaining and instructive as usual. Thanks!
Don Foster Thanks
Very interesting, please continue, well enjoyed watching it.
The plastic container pieces were put together with a process called vibraweld or sonic welding, It welds the plastic together with very fast vibration and the marks around the outer edge was from cleaning up the welded seem.. A product that comes to mind is like a dishwasher drain pump...;.l Thanks for the videos...
+Danny Harrison Interesting-good to know
What purpose has that second chamber under that funnel shaped bottom? I guess that the liquid is moving between that two chambers and creating some vortex to spin the icosahedron or to slow his rising speed.
+cortana2007 THANKS
9:06 Many toys and other plastic parts that are made in 2 or more pieces are welded by friction. Glue normally is weaker than friction welding. Don't know if that ball is put together that way, but it's very probable.
excellent video, always wondered how it worked. i have one, but didnt want to cut it open. great series also.
commando340 Thanks
I would guess that it would be called an ikosicagon, since the Greek lord for 20 is ikosi (I-ko-si)
Vary good do keep them coming. You have a great imagination for some one so young.
jim stone Thanks
While I'm intrigued by the construction of this toy (of which I know at least one floated around my house as a kid), I'm impressed not just with the construction of the "icosahedron" but mostly that they achieved such balance that you did get very random results. Quite tricky when you think of the mechanics and buoyancy issues involved.
I also revel in your political incorrectness in describing people who believe in such things...
ramosel Thanks
Thanks for answering a question from my childhood.
toddlfrank Thanks
Shape of the "cup" is interesting. It makes it so that amount of air left in container during assembly doesn't matter "much". Can't have lots of it, but some air doesn't matter. Excess air is trapped in the separate portion when the 8Ball is turned around. Reminds me of the mosquito/fly traps people have been doing.
Pasi Savolainen Thanks
It's a bi capped pentagonal anti prism otherwise known as an icosahedron. You referred to it as a prism which is pretty close. A pentagonal prism is formed by spacing apart two pentagons and rotating one pentagon so that each of its 5 vertexes align with an edge of the other pentagon. A dot is placed over the face of a pentagon and lines are drawn from each vertex to the point to form a cap. The same is done on the other pentagon to form a second cap. Now you have a bicapped pentagonal antiprism. This may be better understood by considering a trigonal prism which is familiar to most people simply as a prism. (The one that difracts light into a rainbow of colors.) Each vertex of one triangle is placed in registration with a vertex of a second triangle. If you were to rotatate one triangle of the prism so that each vertex aligned with an edge of the other triangle you would form a trigonal antiprism. If you were to place two caps on you would get a bicapped trigonal antiprism. I was shocked by the complexity of the Magic 8 Ball. Great video.
BTW, I used to work at that local nuclear power plant you refer to in some of your videos--Lasalle. I think its address is in Uitca, IL. I would pass through Streator from time to time.
Pretty neat! I think the fluid is mineral spirits with food coloring, just a guess.
Junk Mikes World Thanks
WELL, I certainly enjoyed this episode!
Joe Rogers Thanks
I learned something again from mr pete.
Are you interested in maybe new ideas for this subject? I haven't finished watching them all, but I'm willing to bet I can come-up with some ideas for dissection.
thanks for confirming my thoughts on the subject mrpete
Mario Tibbrine Thanks
If you look up patent # 4049277, it it for a bubble - free die agitator, which looks to be what is actually used in the 8 ball, but that didn't come about until 1975. It would be interesting to see what one of the older ones contained inside.
general0ne Thanks
Thanks for this fun dissection. I don't quite understand the function of the complicated funnel like shape of the white plastic portion of the fluid container. It must have to do with controlling the flow of the liquid in and around the dodecahedron for effect. It would have been interesting to replace the fluid with water containing floating particles to watch the flow. The real trick is getting the ball to float, not too fast or too slow, and not to sink. It surprised me that the fluid will get inside the dodecahedron as it is two piece and hollow. Is the fluid thicker than water? Thinner?
cemx86 Thanks--seems thin like water
Mr.Pete, you forgot to explain how it always comes up with the right answer all my most burning questions. Guess I'll have to read the patent. Haha!
blmeflmm66 Thanks-lol
how would you like to make the molds for this thing?
icosahedron -- I had one for years as a kid that had gotten broken before I paid a nickle for it at a yard sale. I took it apart...the icosahedron still lives on my desk :)
Tim Hyatt Thanks--neat
Since seeing my first one as a boy, I've always wondered what made the 8-ball "tick." Very interesting.
Robert Ross Thanks
I've always wondered how a sewing machine works can you cross section one of them?
I liked that video.
James Eggerth Thanks
Things that make you go..........." I always wondered how that worked." Very cool.
theSMYRNAcowboy Thanks
Good job and keep up the hard work.
+David Riddell THANKS
This was pretty cool! I thought, as you did, that the inside would not be very impressive. But that was neat.
Reenactor Guy Thanks
Welcome/
Enjoyed this. I would have thought like you it was just a round ball with the block inside and fluid. Leads me to think the reason for the cartridge was to reduce the weight.
xonkkram1 Thanks
mrpete222 No thank you, you may not know how much you have taught me But I will say it is a lot. I have learned to hobby machine to a pretty good degree from a few books and the internet.(something 20 years ago I could not have learned as well) you and the others that take time to make these videos are awesome! I can not leave out the guys on a few groups that love to help to.
Mark
xonkkram1 Keep watching---100s more to come! lyle
thank you mrpete222 very interesting; outlook good
stevenacarter77 Thanks
great series! keep it up.
Jeff Conti Thanks--I will
I love Icosahedrons, ODESZA uses them for their logo and I like using them in space scenes.
Loved it.
russtuff Thanks
+AvE would love this.
The shape is an icosahedron, cool video by the way!
I would have sworn that the Magic 8-ball I played with as a kid contained a number of tetrahedrons, but I never took it apart (it was actually my cousin's) so I can't be sure. When you can only see one face at a time, you can't be sure whether it is a tetrahedron, octahedron, or icosahedron. It is a neat effect that the single color faces with raised lettering show up as white-on-blue when surrounded by the ink.
Peter W. Meek Thanks--I was surprised too
Enjoyed...interesting!
outsidescrewball The funiest part of that video is where mrpete says what he think about ouija boards and magic 8 ball believers..... :)))
outsidescrewball Thanks
Fascinating for sure. :)
ChrisB257 Thanks
It is an Icosahedron (20 faces) and it is the biggest of the Platon-Solids as there are:
*) Tetrahedron
*) Cube
*) Octahedron
*) Dodecahedron
*) Icosahedron
which were all seen as Objects with highest possible symmetry.
A lot better made than i'd have given it credit at a glance. Cool :)
+aserta THANKS
The word is icosahedron (means twenty-sided, just like tetrahedron is four-sided).
It is one of the five Platonic Solids, which each have all identical faces and meeting angles at the edges and at the vertices. Perfect symmetry any way you look at them.
Tetrahedron (four equilateral triangles)
Cube or hexahedron (six squares)
Octahedron (eight equilateral triangles)
Dodecahedron (twelve pentagons)
Icosahedron (twenty equilateral triangles)
It has been proven (in several different ways) that there are no other possible Platonic solids.
There is a good Wikipedia article which has much more information, including (for those with fancy CNC equipment) a listing of the Cartesian coordinates of each of the vertices. With that, you could mill each one out, once you figured out a way to clamp it down to machine the underside of the piece.
Here's a nice set carved from crystal:
i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac185/pwmeek/misc/Platonic%20Solids_zpsxxem6zuf.jpg
Peter W. Meek Thanks--good info
Is that a real one made by Mattel or a onehunglo ripoff?I opened a real one a few years ago and the inside container was different.I was just wondering if Mattel was making then as cheap as they could now days.
+joseph fulks THANKS
Love to know your thoughts on the inverted cone use in the capsule? Might have something to do with the icosahedron and how a flat is supposed to come to the surface to be read or maybe something more magical...like the smell of india ink and bristol board. Have to say I did try to bust one by throwing it down on the cement as a kid...didn't work, Thanks for revealing the magic of them...mechanically quite well done...but alas I won't trust them ever again. ~PJ
pjsalchemy The cone or funnel inside is a bubble trap so the die can float all the way up against the clear window. Without that the die would be hard to read. And without an air bubble or bladder the plastic would crack with atmospheric pressure or temperature changes.
Moholo 88 I should have read all the comments first, then I would have seen the patent www.google.com.ar/patents/US4049277 provided by generalOne and the article provided by MrGoosePit magazine.uc.edu/famousalumni/designers/magic8.html. Both are very informative reads and well worth a look.
pjsalchemy Thanks--not sure
Moholo 88 mrpete222 The US4049277 patent give a clear description of this model device (>1975). The cone in the upper chamber does in fact trap a metered amount of air for temp variation (liquid expansion) but the lower chamber where the Icosahedron (Die) is, must maintain liquid only to allow its buoyancy to rise to window surface. In other words the Die is lighter (less dense) than the liquid...otherwise bubbles would rise to the top first and interfere with the die flat on the window. The Alumni article was good...I'll have to find a Syco-Seer so I can get some magic back.
pjsalchemy That was good info.
The one I had in the early '70s that was made of glass. It shattered when I dropped it. Don't remember there being anything inside but the liquid and the answer piece.
Looked up the patent number and saw a reference to aanother ( liquid filled dice agitator, pat. no. 2,452,730) filled in Sept. 1944.
Timothy Sielbeck Thanks
icosahedron a 20-sided polyhedron I first thought it was a dodecahedron so called shape of the universe.... I thoroughly enjoyed this video/this type I do hope some will indeed show this to their children! As a child my uncle bought one for all us kids just like when the Hula-hoop hit the market we were first on the block to have one! ha-ha........... ;o)
O,,,
Opinionator52 Thanks--hard to pronounciate
It seems I remember taking one apart or seeing one in the late 70's or early 80's and the "jar" was actually a glass jar with a metal cap or cover on it.
TheDraac Thanks--I suppose they had many variations
That’s what I recall too.
the term for a 20 sided figure is an Icosahedron.
Thanks
Until we meet again.....On your next video. And goodnight Mr. Callibash wherever auctions take you.
lol 🤙
not enough views!!! great channel
Thanks for watching.
In geometry, an icosahedron (/ˌaɪkɵsəˈhiːdrən/ or /aɪˌkɒsəˈhiːdrən/) is a polyhedron with 20 faces. The name comes from Greek είκοσι (eíkosi), meaning "twenty", and έδρα (hédra), meaning "seat". The plural can be either "icosahedra" (-/drə/) or "icosahedrons".
There are many kinds of icosahedron, with some being more symmetrical than others. The most well known is the regular convex or Platonic icosahedron.
Joseph P. Polnaszek Thanks--good to know