Magic 8 Ball

Many of the methods of predicting the future involve chance. Some examples include picking the petals from a daisy and saying "He loves me, he loves me not,…" or getting your fortune read from a fortune teller. Tarot cards and fortune cookies are also examples of using chance to predict the future.

One such fortune telling device is the "Magic 8 Ball". A user is supposed to ask the Magic 8 Ball a yes/no question and then a randomly selected side of a 20 sided die appears. The sides are:

• Signs point to yes.
• Yes.
• Reply hazy, try again.
• Without a doubt.
• My sources say no.
• As I see it, yes.
• You may rely on it.
• Concentrate and ask again.
• Outlook not so good.
• It is decidedly so.
• Better not tell you now.
• Very doubtful.
• Yes - definitely.
• It is certain.
• Cannot predict now.
• Most likely.
• Ask again later.
• My reply is no.
• Outlook good.
• Don't count on it.

You can easily recreate this in Excel:

1. Create a screen as shown.

2. Hide the text in A8:B28 by making it white. Also hide the number in C2 (which should be 0).

3. Name the range A8:B28 "predict"

4. Insert the appropriate vlookup formula.

5. Record a macro that looks up the answer. (Tools > Macro > Record New Macro)

Click on cell C2, type =int(rand()*20+1), stop recording the macro (Tools > Macro > Stop... or something similar).

6. If you were to go into the visual basic editor, you would see this code.

7. Attach your code to a button. First, make the forms toolbar show up.

8. Click on the button tool and add it to your spreadsheet. When you add it, you can attach the macro to it.

9. Set C2's value back to 0 and save. Then, someone can use your magic 8 ball.