M.J. Rose

The history and genius behind an iconic toy that appeals to the desire in us all to tell our fortunes and futures…

Why the Magic 8 Ball Still Holds Our Fascination
Can a classic toy stay relevant? Signs point to yes

By Robert Klara

“Abe Bookman’s toy was a flop. He should have seen it coming. After all, the toy was a fortune-telling device.

It was 1950, and for the previous four years, Bookman’s company Alabe Crafts had tried to market the Syco-Seer. Sold as a “miracle home fortune teller,” the toy was a cylinder filled with dark liquid containing a pair of floating dice, their surfaces scribed with fateful predictions. Users would ask a question, shake up the Syco-Seer and then wait for the device to give them the answer. Only there weren’t many users, and Alabe’s nesting the cylinder inside a crystal ball in 1948 hadn’t helped.

Then Brunswick Billiards called in search of a promotional toy. Would Alabe consider putting its fortune teller inside of a big eight ball? Alabe said sure. And the rest is toy history….”

For the rest click here to go to adweek.com.

A lost city, the legendary “City of the Monkey God”, was recently discovered in the Honduran rain forest…

Lost City Discovered in the Honduran Rain Forest

In search for legendary “City of the Monkey God,” explorers find the untouched ruins of a vanished culture.

A “were-jaguar” effigy, likely representing a combination of a human and spirit animal, is part of a still-buried ceremonial seat, or metate, one of many artifacts discovered in a cache in ruins deep in the Honduran jungle.

By Douglas Preston
Photographs by Dave Yoder

“An expedition to Honduras has emerged from the jungle with dramatic news of the discovery of a mysterious culture’s lost city, never before explored. The team was led to the remote, uninhabited region by long-standing rumors that it was the site of a storied “White City,” also referred to in legend as the “City of the Monkey God.”

Archaeologists surveyed and mapped extensive plazas, earthworks, mounds, and an earthen pyramid belonging to a culture that thrived a thousand years ago, and then vanished. The team, which returned from the site last Wednesday, also discovered a remarkable cache of stone sculptures that had lain untouched since the city was abandoned….”

For the rest click here to go to National Geographic.

The Arbatel: An ancient text book of magic with spiritual advice and world views from 16th century experts. But beware, once upon a time, if you had dared to study this book,  you may have been accused of being a witch despite the book’s positive message…

Arbatel: The Magic of the Ancients – An Occult Grimoire with a Positive Message

Buer, the 10th spirit, who teaches “Moral and Natural Philosophy”, from Dictionnaire Infernal, a book on demonology. Public Domain.

“The Arbatel de magia veterum (Arbatel: Of the Magic of the Ancients) is a Renaissance-period grimoire – a textbook of magic – and one of the most influential works of its kind. Unlike some other occult manuscripts that contain dark magic and malicious spells, the Arbatel contains spiritual advice and guidance on how to live an honest and honorable life…”

Read more here at Ancient Origins.