Magna Doodle
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Magna Doodle is a children's magnetic drawing toy, consisting of a drawing board, a magnetic stylus, and a few magnet shapes. It was invented in 1974 and over forty million have been sold to date.
The key element of the Magna Doodle is the magnetophoretic display panel, filled with a thick, opaque white liquid containing tiny dark magnetic particles. These particles can be drawn to the surface by the stylus or the shapes, or to the hidden back side by a sliding eraser bar. The middle layer is divided into a honeycomb of cells, keeping the liquid static and the particles evenly distributed across the panel. The liquid is formulated so that the particles can be pulled through it in response to the magnetic forces, but not due to gravity.
The Magna Doodle was produced by Tyco until 1998 when most of Tyco's toys were sold to Fisher-Price. The Magna Doodle is currently produced by the Ohio Art Company and used to be distributed in the United Kingdom by Fisher-Price. Fisher-Price have discontinued the Magna Doodle and have produced their own alternative called the Doodle Pro. The Doodle Pro is still available in the UK from the distribution company Megatel LTD.
Product use
- A Magna Doodle was seen hanging on the door in Chandler's and Joey's flat in the television series Friends. Different drawings appeared on it in each episode. Joey took the Magna Doodle with him when he went to Hollywood in the spin-off series Joey.
- A highly modified Magna Doodle device was used by the Grongi in Kamen Rider Kuuga.
- Because the Magna Doodle uses no ink or graphite, many SCUBA instructors use it as an underwater whiteboard when instructing students. It is also used by divers who wish to pass short notes. The Magna Doodle is not specifically designed to work underwater and many of its components can rust or otherwise deteriorate over time.
External links
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