The Rube Goldberg Machine

Growing up I used to enjoy making things out of odds and ends lying around the house and, being a boy, it was usually weapons or other marginally dangerous items like tanks fashioned out of my mother’s old wooden thread spools, ball point pens converted into water weenie squirt guns, stilettos made out of popsicle sticks, clothespin match guns and the good ole’ standby stick as sword (step 1: find stick, step 2: swing at your sibling, friend, etc.).

Recently, I discovered Rube Goldberg (1883-1970), an American cartoonist known for his cartoons depicting overly engineered contraptions, usually made from common household items, which accomplish otherwise routine tasks.

Although Mr. Goldberg is no longer with us, his legacy lives on though others who have brought his comic strips to life through their Rube Goldberg Machines.  So, for you home-grown engineers, I thought you might enjoy the following video from 2D Photography: