Magic 8 Jar

Today's story was about asking questions and getting one-fits-all answers that just...didn't work. Answer Mountain reminded me a lot of that classic useless answer generator - the Magic 8 Ball! Here's how you can make your own out of a recycled glass jar. Unlike Answer Mountain, which can only handle one answer at a time, this one can produce six different useless answers!

(Note: If you'd like your Magic 8 Jar to be a longer-lived toy, you'll want to use a hot glue gun or a more heavy-duty glue like Gorilla Glue. If you use plain white glue, like I did, the glue may dissolve in the water after a few hours.)

-small jar with tight lid

-Styrofoam

-serrated knife

-scissors

-glue

-markers

-pen

-pencil

-tape (masking or blue)

-craft foam (optional)

You'll want a small, clear jar with a tight lid. It can be glass or plastic. You'll want to clean it out really well. You can remove the label if you want, but you don't have to, since you'll be covering the outside with tape. Once you've cleaned it, set it aside to dry.

Get a grown-up or older sibling to help you with this step.

Take a piece of Styrofoam packaging, and using a serrated knife (like a steak knife), cut a rough cube shape, around the size of a six-sided die like you might find in a board game. It doesn't need to be perfect! It's best if you do this on top of a piece of paper so that you don't get Styrofoam crumbs everywhere.

These next two steps are optional, but if you've got some craft foam lying around, it makes the surface of your answer cube easier to write on.

Trace your cube on the foam to make four rough square shapes. Cut them out, and glue them to four sides of the cube, leaving the top and bottom bare. Let the glue dry.

Once the sides are dry, trace the cube twice more to create two slightly larger pieces to be the top and bottom. Glue them on. Let the cube dry completely.

(If you didn't have any craft foam, you can write directly on the Styrofoam.) You'll want to use a pen with a fine tip for this to make it easier.

Choose six answers to write on each side! The answers can be things like "Yes," "No," or "I don't know," but you can write any answers you'd like!

Wrap the sides of the jar in tape. Masking or blue tape works best because you can decorate it easily, but you could also use duct tape.

Once the sides of the jar are covered, tear small strips of tape, and layer them in a circle on the bottom of the jar. You want to make a little window in the center of the bottom.

I put stripes and polka dots on mine. What will you put on yours?

Add water to the jar until it's almost full. Put your cube on top of the water, then close the lid very tightly.

Flip your jar upsidedown, ask a question, and give the jar a shake. The answer will be revealed!