'Unfolding Lives', a monumental sculpture in the form of a paper fortune teller by Judith Forrest and Terri-ann White (2010), at the Perth Cultural Centre, forms a memorial to the Forgotten Australians, institutionalized Australian children.'Fortune Teller (it will all end in stars)', a large photorealistic pencil drawing by Australian artist Cassandra Laing (2007), depicts two hands holding closed a paper fortune teller decorated with an astronomical theme and foretelling Laing's soon-to-come death from breast cancer.The outside and two inside surfaces of the fortune teller are decorated with the words 'frog', 'pond', and 'plop', each spelled with one letter on each point of the fortune teller. 'Frog pond plop (Opening 6)', a concrete poem by Sylvester Houédard translating the most famous haiku of Matsuo Bashō, was formatted as a paper fortune teller (with pictorial instructions) by Edward Wright, Nazli Zaki,and Matilda Cheung, and published in a numbered edition in 1965 by Houédard's Openings Press.Several fine artists have been inspired by this form: Īs a salt cellar, the same shape stands on a table with the four points downwards the four open pockets may be used to hold small pieces of food. This usage has also inspired the design of a similarly shaped gripper in soft robotics. Instead of being used to tell fortunes, these shapes may be used as a pincer to play-act catching bugs such as lice, hence the ' cootie catcher' name. The holder then lifts the flap and reveals the fortune underneath. These flaps often have colors or numbers on them.

Once the holder has finished switching the positions of the fortune teller, the player chooses one of the flaps revealed. The holder switches these positions a number of times, determined by the number of letters in the color selected, the number originally chosen, or the sum of both. Once the number or color is chosen, the holder uses their fingers to switch between the two groups of colors and numbers inside the fortune teller. The holder then asks for a number or color. In a common method, the player asks a question of the person holding the fortune teller this question will be answered by the device. Manipulations are done by various similar methods. This may be done with index fingers and thumbs of two hands, or with the thumb and three fingers of one hand. To use the fortune teller, the person telling the fortunes holds four fingers in the four corners of the paper, keeping two pairs of corners together and the other two pairs separated so that only half of the internal sides of the corners are visible. All four corners are folded up so that the points meet in the middle, and the pockets of paper in each of the four corners are pulled away from the center.The resulting smaller square is turned over, and the four corners are folded in a second time. The four corners of the square are folded into the center, forming a shape known in origami terminology as a blintz base or cushion fold.The corners of a sheet of paper are folded up to meet the opposite sides and (if the paper is not already square) the top is cut off, making a square sheet with diagonal creases.Another common name for it is a cootie catcher it has many other names.Ī paper fortune teller may be constructed by the steps shown in the illustration below: The same shape may also be used as pincers or as a salt cellar. These messages may purport to answer questions (hence the name) or they may be activities that the player must perform. The person operating the fortune teller manipulates the device based on the choices made by the player, and finally one of the hidden messages is revealed. Parts of the fortune teller are labelled with colors or numbers that serve as options for a player to choose from, and on the inside are eight flaps, each concealing a message. Origami toy used for various children's gamesĪ fortune teller is a form of origami used in children's games.

Paper origami step by step