Originally published at: Tragic Fate Ball: DIY digital Magic 8-Ball predicts how you're going to die | Boing Boing
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Nice, but what use is a single answer magic 8-ball?
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According to my sources, “Running with scissors.”
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There is a whole collection of short stories about a machine that can predict people’s death and what consequences that have for society and people in it. You can download it for free.
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Heinlein’s first published story, “Life-Line,” printed in 1939, deals with the exact prediction of death. In it, life insurance companies weren’t particularly happy with how well the machine worked.
I think my favorite “death prediction trope” from my childhood is from the movie, Krull. The cyclops tells a story of how he and his race lost their other eye. They traded it to a wizard (or maybe the Beast from the movie?) who would give them the ability to see the future. But they were tricked, monkey-paw style. A cyclops could see into the future, yes, but only the moment of his own death. I’m sure that’s not the only piece of storytelling that has used that trope, but Krull is the first place I remember hearing it.
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Do not taunt happy fun ball.
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Whoa, Krull. Haven’t thought of that film in YEARS.
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