02-18-2009, 10:09 AM
I've always been intrigued by these, and just happened to think about it this morning so I thought I'd share the wealth, and see which ones you like or can find that others may enjoy watching.
In case you didn't know...Rube Goldberg Machines (some resources):
Official Site
Rube Goldberg
*sometimes I wonder how these people have found the time to do this...of course most are usually contests, etc...but for instance check this one out:
Example One
Rube Goldberg Biography
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author.
Reuben Lucius Goldberg (Rube Goldberg) was born in San Francisco, on the 4th of July 1883. After graduating University of California Berkeley, with a degree in engineering, Rube went on to work as an engineer for the City of San Francisco Water and Sewers Department.
Rube, an avid cartoonist, decided after six months, engineering was not his calling. He shifted gears and instead became an office boy in the sports department of a San Francisco newspaper. In this capacity, he began to submit drawings and cartoons to the editor, until he was finally published. Success was immediate, and Rube soon moved from San Francisco to New York where he began working for the Evening Mail, drawing daily cartoons. This led to syndication, and the rest is history.
A founding member of the National Cartoonist Society, a political cartoonist and a Pulitzer Prize winner, Rube was a beloved national figure as well as an often-quoted radio and television personality during his sixty-year professional career.
Best known for his INVENTIONS, Rube’s early years as an engineer informed his most acclaimed works. A Rube Goldberg contraption – an elaborate set of arms, wheels, gears, handles, cups, and rods, put in motion by balls, canary cages, pails, boots, bathtubs, paddles, and live animals – takes a simple task and makes it extraordinarily complicated. He had solutions for How To Get The Cotton Out Of An Aspirin Bottle, imagined a Self-Operating Napkin, and created a Simple Alarm Clock – to name just a few of his hilariously depicted drawings.
The promise and pitfalls of modern technology make Rube Goldberg’s inventions even more relevant now than when they were originally created. From think-tanks in Silicon Valley, the New York Times, and Sunday morning’s Meet the Press, hardly a day goes by without the name Rube Goldberg being invoked. In fact, Rube Goldberg is an adjective in Webster’s Dictionary.
Today, Purdue University hosts the annual National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest which brings Rube’s comic genius to life for millions of fans. Covered widely by the national media, the winning team and their working invention always appears on Late Night with David Letterman. A documentary film of the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is set for release in 2009. A coffee table book of Rube’s work is being published by Abrams in 2010 – along with a calendar and children’s pop-up book.
At a time when the U.S. is looking to inspire young minds, Rube Goldberg’s legacy represents the best in American innovation, humor and unconventional thinking; an inspiring model for us all.
More examples:
Example Two
Example Three
Enjoy
In case you didn't know...Rube Goldberg Machines (some resources):
Official Site
Rube Goldberg
*sometimes I wonder how these people have found the time to do this...of course most are usually contests, etc...but for instance check this one out:
Example One
Rube Goldberg Biography
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author.
Reuben Lucius Goldberg (Rube Goldberg) was born in San Francisco, on the 4th of July 1883. After graduating University of California Berkeley, with a degree in engineering, Rube went on to work as an engineer for the City of San Francisco Water and Sewers Department.
Rube, an avid cartoonist, decided after six months, engineering was not his calling. He shifted gears and instead became an office boy in the sports department of a San Francisco newspaper. In this capacity, he began to submit drawings and cartoons to the editor, until he was finally published. Success was immediate, and Rube soon moved from San Francisco to New York where he began working for the Evening Mail, drawing daily cartoons. This led to syndication, and the rest is history.
A founding member of the National Cartoonist Society, a political cartoonist and a Pulitzer Prize winner, Rube was a beloved national figure as well as an often-quoted radio and television personality during his sixty-year professional career.
Best known for his INVENTIONS, Rube’s early years as an engineer informed his most acclaimed works. A Rube Goldberg contraption – an elaborate set of arms, wheels, gears, handles, cups, and rods, put in motion by balls, canary cages, pails, boots, bathtubs, paddles, and live animals – takes a simple task and makes it extraordinarily complicated. He had solutions for How To Get The Cotton Out Of An Aspirin Bottle, imagined a Self-Operating Napkin, and created a Simple Alarm Clock – to name just a few of his hilariously depicted drawings.
The promise and pitfalls of modern technology make Rube Goldberg’s inventions even more relevant now than when they were originally created. From think-tanks in Silicon Valley, the New York Times, and Sunday morning’s Meet the Press, hardly a day goes by without the name Rube Goldberg being invoked. In fact, Rube Goldberg is an adjective in Webster’s Dictionary.
Today, Purdue University hosts the annual National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest which brings Rube’s comic genius to life for millions of fans. Covered widely by the national media, the winning team and their working invention always appears on Late Night with David Letterman. A documentary film of the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is set for release in 2009. A coffee table book of Rube’s work is being published by Abrams in 2010 – along with a calendar and children’s pop-up book.
At a time when the U.S. is looking to inspire young minds, Rube Goldberg’s legacy represents the best in American innovation, humor and unconventional thinking; an inspiring model for us all.
More examples:
Example Two
Example Three
Enjoy