Rube Goldberg’s cartoons of funny complex inventions that would do simple operations have inspired artists, scientists and engineers for many years. Some of his cartoons included solutions for how to get the cotton out of an aspirin bottle and how to make a simple alarm clock . Goldberg had a background in engineering that informed the contraptions that he drew.
Each year a Rube Goldberg contest is held where college students nationwide compete to design a machine that uses the most complex process to complete a simple task. Past tasks have included put a stamp on an envelope, screw in a light bulb, or make a cup of coffee.
The contest began as a rivalry between two engineering fraternities at Purdue University and was held from 1949 into the 1950’s. The contest was revived again in 1983 and in the past few years the winners often make the rounds of the evening talk shows with their contraption.
The 2012 contest happened on March 31st at Purdue University where the task was to inflate and pop a balloon. The winners were a team from St. Olaf College and their machine had an end-of-the-world theme that incorporated music ranging from the “Jaws” theme to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to the “Indiana Jones” theme.
The scoring system rewards machines that combine creativity with inefficiency and complexity. Machines have to have at least 20 steps to complete the task in less than two minutes.
The St. Olaf machine had 191 steps. The team completed one perfect run and one run with one human intervention.
For 2013 the task is to hammer a nail. Details on the upcoming contest and other Rube Goldberg contests and activities can be found at www.rubegoldberg.com
Image Source:
Youtube video of Purdue team breaking the World Record
Youtube Video of the 2012 St. Olaf machine
www.rubegoldberg.com
Links:
Youtube video of Purdue team breaking the World Record
Youtube Video of the 2012 St. Olaf machine