A magic slate is a type of toy or writing tool that allows for temporary writing or drawing. It consists of a plastic frame and a film-like material that is attached to the frame. The film is made of a special material that can be written on and erased without the need for ink or any other external tool. The magic slate works based on the principle of static electricity. When a user writes or draws on the film with a pointed tool, the friction between the tool and the film creates static electricity. This static electricity causes the film to cling to the tool, capturing the marks made by the user.

The Classified History of the Magic Slate

Spy stories are great. They're great when they’re intricate, gritty thrillers and they’re great as cartoony, action romps. Some of the best parts of these stories are the tools spies use. In the grittier ones, you get to see the inventive ways covert operatives used and manipulated real-world technology. In the more over the top takes, you get to see all sorts of wacky, implausible gadgets. So what exactly do you imagine when you think about a spy’s arsenal? A pen with a recording device in it? A car that turns into a submarine? An umbrella that's secretly a dart gun? What about a piece of cardboard, wax, and plastic with a picture of Donald Duck printed on it? I speak, of course, about the venerable Magic Slate Paper Saver, the unsung, silent hero of the Cold War.

The Magic Slate is one of the all-time great cheap toys. It is a veteran of children's party gift bags and impulse buy displays at both grocery and dollar stores. It's no doubt been an integral part of many a last minute gift for an estranged nephew or grubby classmate. It works by pressing a blunt stylus into a sheet of acetate that rests atop a plane of colored wax. The acetate adheres lightly to the wax when pressed and the wax's color appears through the translucent plastic. You can then erase your creation by simply lifting up the acetate sheet. Everything disappears in the soft whisper of peeling plastic.

This unassuming toy has cut a strange, curving course through history. It traveled from the workplace to the toy box to the US Embassy in Moscow. It started with a utilitarian purpose, became a whimsical children’s toy, and then went back to work but this time in the high-stakes world of Cold War politics. The Magic Slate has been around since the Jazz Age, and like jazz, it is an American creation. Its inventor, R.A. Watkins came up with the idea in 1923, while working in a corset factory. He used a wax board and some leftover scraps of plastic. Watkins originally conceived of the device as a way to save paper. It was to be a reusable, erasable time sheet for use on the factory floor but Watkins took it home to his kids and learned where the real money was to be made. He patented the device and begin manufacturing the slates to sell as toys.

The Magic Slate was an enormous success and over time became something of a license magnet. There are Magic Slates emblazoned with the visage of nearly every youth-targeted intellectual property from the 1950s to the 1980s and even quite a few beyond that. Pretty much every Hanna-Barbera character has one, from the noble and beloved Cattanooga Cats to the loathsome, accursed Shirt Tales. There are Disney Magic Slates with characters like Bambi on them, but there are also Warner Brother’s slates for Tunes of a Loonier persuasion. There are slates for DC Comics heroes like Batman but also Marvel characters like The Hulk. The Magic Slate is a grand unifier. Magic Slate is the only brand I can think of that has tied into Benji, Gremlins, and Pokemon. It's profoundly universal. If a concept can be represented using images it and can and most likely will be printed on a Magic Slate frame.

The long life of the Magic Slate isn't all Groovie Ghoulies and Brady Bunch though. There came a time when it was called on to do important, dangerous work and the Magic Slate did not shy away from this portentous duty. In the book Dead Drop: The True Story of Oleg Penkovsky and the Cold War’s Most Dangerous Operation by Jeremy Dunn, there’s a mention of Magic Slates being used in the US Embassy in Moscow during the '60s. The Russians had gifted the embassy a carved, wooden facsimile of the Great Seal of the United States. This seal was found to be fitted with a hidden listening device and this revelation forced everyone working in the embassy to assume the whole place was wired for Soviet surveillance.

Magic Slate were cheap and plentiful. They provided a way to communicate silently while leaving behind no physical residue that could be reassembled and decoded if dispossessed of carelessly. All it takes is a flick of the wrist and it's all gone. The assumptions made by the workers in the embassy proved correct. The Soviets were, in fact, listening to their conversations. The Magic Slate served its country ably. With its duty discharged, the humble Magic Slate settled into retirement. It left the cold Moscow air behind for warmer climes, the toy aisle specifically. For two decades it got to rest its weary wax. The world grew more complicated every day and it seemed increasingly unlikely that anybody would need the old Paper Saver again.

This is a spy story though, and like all great spies, the Magic Slate got called out of retirement for one last job. Its country needed it and the Magic Slate had no choice but to heed the call of duty once more. It was 1987 and the Slate’s old enemies were back at it. The Soviets had been caught bugging the embassy in Moscow once again. The Magic Slate ended up in the hands of visiting senators and aides were buying the toy by the dozens. The renewed use of Magic Slates in Moscow was reported on by a few news outlets and ended up being a major PR boon for Western Publishing, the company that owned the rights to toy at the time. They actually sent several crates, containing a total of thousands of Magic Slates, to the Secretary of State, the Director of Central Intelligence, and even President Ronald Reagan himself. These donations were rejected, however. It was too late, the surveillance issue had already been rectified. Unlike the heroes of most spy stories, the Magic Slate made it through its final mission unscathed and was allowed the peaceful retirement it deserved.

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How the Magic Slate Toy Saved America (Sort of)

One of the great things about writing a blog is that sometimes the research you’re doing leads to a more interesting story than you originally planned. Such is the case of today subject, the Magic Slate pad.

If you grew up taking road trips from the 50s to the early 90s, chances are at one time or another you had one of these toys whose idea was rather simple: a sheet of somewhat opaque plastic film was overlaid on a piece of thing cardboard covered in a colored wax (usually black or blue).

Magic Slates came with a writing stylus made out of wood or plastic that you used to press down on the plastic film which stuck to the waxed paper underneath making it look darker where you drew or wrote.

To delete what you wrote, you simply lifted the plastic film off of the wax paper and the film was blank again, ready for your next drawing or secret message.

The story of the Magic Slate starts to get interesting right from the beginning. In the early 1920s, the owner of a corset factory, Mr. R.A. Watkins was approached by a man looking to sell the rights to an invention he called the “Paper Saver” – a simple home-made device made from tissue and wax cardboard. The owner of the plant told the inventor that he’d like to sleep on it and would let him know first thing in the morning. However, the inventor was arrested that very same night, so he called Mr. Watkins and said he would give him the rights to the invention if Watkins would pay his bail. Watkins agreed.

Watkins tweaked the invention a little, replacing the tissue with a piece of opaque plastic film and got better results. He had planned to use the paper saver at work for doing inventory, creating timesheets and other things that would, indeed, save paper in the factory. However, while applying for the patent, he took the invention home where his kids starting playing with it. Watkins immediately saw where the real money was in this invention, renamed it the Magic Slate Paper Saver and made millions.

There was a time when every cartoon character, comic book hero, movie or TV show was licensed with a Magic Slate of their very own. Nearly every Hanna Barbara character from the Flintstones to the Jetsons had one, as did Mickey Mouse and the rest of Disney gang, Snoopy and his Peanuts pals, and all the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes characters, too. Television shows like The Munsters, Welcome Back, Kotter and Land of the Lost, and pop stars from the Beatles to The New Kids on the Block appeared on their own Magic Slates at one time or another. Though they’ve been replaced nowadays by hand-held video games and smartphones, you can still get them today on eBay where they can fetch anywhere from $4.99 for a Little Lulu Magic Slate to $999 one licensed from the Dark Shadows TV show.

Now, this is where the story of the Magic Slate gets even more interesting. You see, sometimes a toy is all fun and games, but sometimes it serves yet another purpose, as the Magic Slate once did.

During the Cold War of the 1960s, the Russians presented a carved wooden likeness of the Great Seal of the United States; however, it was suspected that hidden somewhere on the seal, and undetectable to the naked eye, was a hidden listening device. This suspicion meant that everyone who worked in the embassy had to assume everything they said was being listened to. Staying one step ahead of the Russians, the embassy brought in Magic Slates from America; after all, they were cheap enough, provided a way for workers to silently communicate with each other, and any information written down could be deleted with a quick flick of the wrist.

It would serve the world of espionage once again in 1987 when the Soviets once more bugged the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. While visiting the U.S. Embassy that year, Rep. Dan Mica, D-Fla., and Rep. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, used the pads to communicate to each other – Mica carrying a Winnie the Pooh slate and Snowe carrying a Rainbow Brite one.

Eventually word of their use got back to Western Publishing Co., the manufacturer of the toys at the time, prompting their spokesperson, Kim McLynn, to state ″We always knew they had practical uses, but we never dreamed they’d play a role in national security.″ As a result, they sent several crates containing thousands of Magic Slates to the State Department, the CIA, and even President Reagan.

And that’s the story of how a backseat toy once saved democracy in America.

Speaking of espionage, I spy with my little eye a sign that says there’s a Stuckey’s location just ahead. Let’s pull in and grab a couple of their new, bigger 10 inch, 10 ounce Stuckey’s pecan log rolls for the road ahead. While were there we might as well get some of their fine pecan candy for our family and friends. You know they’ll be expecting it. And with the holidays coming soon, let’s pick up a few hats, t-shirts and mugs. They’ll make great gifts for the office Christmas gift exchange.

Don’t worry. If we forget anybody we can always go to stuckeys.com and have them deliver anything from their wide selection of Stuckey’s merchandise. Now pass me one them Stuckey’s pecan logs and let’s get back on the road.

Whether your next road trip is by car or by rail, it’s not really a road trip without taking Stuckey’s along. From our world famous Stuckey’s Pecan Log Rolls to our mouthwatering Hunkey Dorey, Stuckey’s has all the road trips snacks you’ll need to get you where you’re going.

For all of the pecany good treats and cool merch you’ll need for your next big road adventure, browse our online store now!

Stuckey’s – We’re Making Road Trips Fun Again!

Magic Slates for the 21st Century

Did you have a Magic Slate as a kid? It’s a thin cardboard pad with a dark rubber-like bottom layer and a thin sheet of opaque plastic on top. You could draw on it with a stylus, creating dark lines. Then to start over, you would peel up the plastic, lay it back down and your canvas would be cleared. Definitely NOT a high tech tablet/drawing tool. Enter the The Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet. It’s an electronic alternative to paper, pencils, and pens. Like the Magic Slate, you can draw on it with a stylus or your finger. But to clear the screen, you just press a button. They are available for $29.97 at Amazon.

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About The Author

Julie Strietelmeier

I created The Gadgeteer in 1997 as a fun way to share my passion for gadgets which began when I was a little kid. Some of my other interests include ukulele, photography, productivity hacks, and minimalism. Learn more about me and my favorite gear.

16 thoughts on “Magic Slates for the 21st Century”

WANT! They are currently unavailable at Amazon but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more. That would be so convenient at home on the fridge or at work playing with design ideas. I use a whiteboard now but this would be handy for on the go sketching.

@Mark Darn! I have known about the Boogie Board for awhile now. Jackie Cheng sent it to me in an email. But I waited for Amazon to get them back in stock before I posted about it. They were in stock this morning, so I posted. 🙁 I managed to order one for myself. I hope it actually ships. Follow them on twitter and you’ll know when they back back in stock. @Boogie_Board

I’m with David Simpson on the need to save the drawing. As a coach, I would want to be able to leaf back and forth between the past six or seven drawings.
I would also like to be able to save a certain number of drawings and then transfer them (via a micro SD or USB cable) to a computer.
I like the idea of replacing paper.
But even a pad of paper can save several drawings. And I can always scan them into a computer later. Yes, I know the Gadgeteer doesn’t make these things. I will send this post to the makers of the Boogie Board.

Way too cool, and thanks for the trip down memory lane about the Magic Slates!! 🙂 Now, if I ever had enough talent to draw stick men that actually LOOKED like stick men!!
Awww, I want it anyway. I won’t have to worry about ripping that top heavy plastic page with my red plastic stylus anymore.

This always seems to be out of stock….glad you snagged one. You’ll have to do a review when/if you get it.

@Blacknimbus They are supposed to have more today and Monday. Just follow them on twitter to find out when they are available.

@ Justin . . you may be on to something here . . . if it comes to “yeah, there’s a Boogle Board app for that” you MAY have actually uncovered something the iPad can do!!

These are an interesting application of a technology I’ve been keeping an eye on for awhile, cholesteric liquid crystal displays (ChLCD). ChLCD uses stable reflective liquid crystals, so like electrophoretic (“e-ink”), its reflective and doesn’t require power to maintain an image. Back in the mid-90s this seemed like a real competitor to e-ink, but apparently e-ink won this round for ebooks. One of the interesting things about ChLCD was that potentially you could have video rate updates for full motion; I guess something about that didn’t pan out since Kent Displays (the developer) doesn’t appear to talk about that anymore. Anyway, this is a neat application of ChLCD, where instead of making a traditional display, they use it to make a pressure sensitive surface using nearly no electronics and very cheap manufacturing. The pressure of a stylus changes the state of the liquid crystals underneath from nearly transparent so that the colored (in this case black) backing shows through to a color chosen to contrast well with the backing color. Power is used to erase the surface by resetting all the liquid crystals to transparent. There are no pixels here, it’s all one continuous surface. http://www.kentdisplays.com/technology/whitepapers/2008/A_Flexible_Touch-Sensitive_Writing_Tablet.pdf Apparently someone has figured out a way to read the state of these liquid crystals, but that would make for a much more expensive product, since you’d actually have to build a pixel array, instead of just a big glop.

How is this powered? User replaceable/rechargeable batteries? AC adapter? I want one of these by the phone.

BaldSpot: It has an embedded (nonreplaceable) watch battery. Their website claims that’s good enough for “over 50,000” times. It might be interesting to take one apart. The actual LC surface is probably flexible (think about wrapping it around something; if you can remove the backing, the surface should be translucent or perhaps even transparent. In theory you should be able to cut the surface into shapes with scissors, though you almost certainly need to do something about sealing the edges.

I just got mine today and it’s awesome! So thin and the writing feel is great. Definitely excited for the “memory” version, but the current one is great for quick notes at home or in the car. Great price! Only thing I miss is a simple pen clip holder thingie, but that’s all.

This static electricity causes the film to cling to the tool, capturing the marks made by the user. The marks made on the film are not permanent like ink or pencil marks. They can easily be erased by lifting the film away from the surface.

When the film is lifted, the static electricity that was holding the film to the marks dissipates, causing the marks to disappear. The magic slate is designed to be reusable, allowing the user to write, draw, or doodle multiple times on the film. To erase the marks, all that is needed is to clear the film by lifting it away from the surface and allowing the static electricity to fade. Magic slates are popular among children as they provide a mess-free and convenient way of practicing writing or drawing skills. They are often used in educational settings to promote creativity and learning. Additionally, magic slates are lightweight and portable, making them ideal for travel or on-the-go entertainment. In conclusion, a magic slate works using static electricity to capture and erase marks made by the user. Its reusable nature and mess-free functionality make it a popular tool for children and a convenient writing and drawing option..

Reviews for "The Mechanics of Magic Slate: A Dive into Its Inner Workings"

1. John Doe - 1 star

I was really disappointed with the magic slate. It claimed to offer hours of entertainment and creativity, but I found it to be incredibly boring. The drawing tool was difficult to control and the lines came out very faint. Plus, the drawings would often fade away after just a few minutes, which was very frustrating. Overall, I wouldn't recommend the magic slate to anyone looking for a fun and enjoyable drawing experience.

2. Jane Smith - 2 stars

I purchased the magic slate for my daughter, hoping it would provide a mess-free and convenient way for her to doodle and draw. However, we were both disappointed with the results. The surface of the slate was too smooth, making it difficult for her to draw anything recognizable. Additionally, the pen often left scratch marks on the slate, making the drawings look messy. It didn't live up to our expectations and ended up gathering dust in a corner of her room.

3. David Brown - 1 star

I found the magic slate to be completely useless. The concept of writing or drawing on a surface that can be magically erased sounded intriguing, but the execution was far from satisfactory. The slate was flimsy and easily bent, which made it difficult to write or draw on. Furthermore, the drawings would often smudge or get erased unintentionally, which was incredibly frustrating. I regret buying the magic slate and would not recommend it to anyone.

4. Emily Johnson - 2 stars

I was not impressed with how the magic slate worked. The drawing tool provided was uncomfortable to hold and the lines it made were not smooth or even. Trying to draw anything more than simple shapes was a real challenge. Additionally, the slate itself was quite small and didn't provide enough space for any creative expression. It just wasn't as fun or practical as I had hoped it would be. Overall, I was left disappointed with the magic slate.

The Enchanting Technology of Magic Slate: What You Need to Know