The Magic 8 Ball
Who
Abe Bookman, an American engineer born to Russian Jewish immigrants
When
1946
Where
Cincinnati, United States
Abe Bookman turned a spirit-writing device made by his employer's mother into a sealed sphere of dark liquid with a twenty-sided die floating in it. Sold from 1946 and shaped as a billiard ball from 1950, it has been in continuous production ever since — an object whose entire function is to answer questions.
Sources
Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.