Question: are you supposed to shake a magic 8 ball

Answer: No, To use the ball, it must be held with the window initially facing down. After ``asking the ball'' a yes--no question, the user then turns the ball so that the window faces up, setting in motion the liquid and dye inside. When the die floats to the top and one face presses against the window, the raised letters displace the blue liquid to reveal the message as white letters on a blue background. Although many users shake the ball before turning it upright, the instructions warn against doing so to avoid white bubbles, which interfere with the performance of the ball itself.