The Magic 8-Ball, manufacture by Mattel, is a toy used for fortune-telling. Invented in 1946 by Abe Bookman of the Alabe Toy Company, it is a hollow, plastic sphere resembling an oversized, black and white 8-ball. Inside is a white, plastic, icosahedral die floating in a dark blue liquid. Each of the 20 faces of the die has an affirmative, negative, or non-committal statement printed on it in raised letters. There is a transparent window on the bottom of the 8-ball through which these messages can be read.