Rube Goldberg devices are quite fascinating. However, whenever I see one in practice (below), I am nagged the entire time by A) worry that something minor will go wrong, causing failure and a lot of work; B) wondering about how much time this wasted; and C) who is the person who has that kind of time, patience and space in their home to devote so much real estate to something ultimately pointless. That said, they are freaking cool. This is by far the most elaborate one I’ve seen that’s actually real and not produced by people getting paid a lot of money. Of course there is the famous, much more elaborate Blue Ball Machine, which has been known to captivate many a mind (hat tip for first showing me years ago to Josh). Another crazy Rube Goldberg device below the jump.
The Modern Compendium of Miniature Automata is quite a cool little site featuring some clockwork style machines done up as flash animations. While some of his points may be suspect, his creations are magnificent. Even better, you can make your own. When you visit the flash animation, you are presented with a book. Open the latch on the book and then pages will flip open. Click on “identify” to take you to the automaton you are looking at in the book. You can create your own by adjusting certain parameters. See if you can find mine amongst the horde.
These sorts of creations touch my beauty nerve. They exemplify what I find coolest about science and technology. They also harken back to the late 19th Century when science was new and the possibilities were limitless. They still are, just scarier, at least from my perspective (and of course, the possibilities were surely scary back then). Plus it’s all very steampunk, which I love.
