![]() In 1987, the Phi Chapter of Theta Tau, a national engineering fraternity, started the annual National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Purdue University.Įach year, groups compete to make the most elaborate, creative contraptions. Today, people even hold Rube Goldberg machine contests. People love building their own complex machines to carry out simple, mundane tasks. They were built purely for the joy of engineering and watching science in action. Over time, the cartoon inventions leapt off the pages and became real-life working machines. He loved that his work made people laugh. ![]() It meant “ accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply.” For Goldberg, his inventions were a way of seeing the humor in everyday situations. In 1931, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary added “Rube Goldberg” as an adjective. There, his movie script “Soup to Nuts” introduced a trio who would soon become famous as the Three Stooges. Rube eventually even made it to Hollywood. ![]() Some of them were soon displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The public quickly fell in love with Rube’s “inventions.” They did easy tasks through a series of steps involving chain reactions. They featured complicated machines that were described as new inventions. He used his engineering background to create funny cartoons. Then, he moved to New York where he landed a job as a cartoonist for the Evening Mail. He began drawing cartoons for local San Francisco papers. Goldberg went to work mapping out sewer pipes and water mains in San Francisco. There, he earned his degree in mining engineering. Instead, he went to the University of California at Berkeley. Still, he chose not to pursue a career in art. He even received some basic art instruction when he worked with a sign painter. Reuben Lucius “Rube” Goldberg was born on July 4, 1883, in San Francisco, California. Whew! Did you follow that series of events? Why on Earth would someone invent such a complex machine? To answer that question, we must take a closer look at Rube Goldberg. This allows a pendulum with a napkin attached to it to swing back and forth to wipe the chin. This sets off a rocket that causes a sickle to cut a string. The extra weight in the pail pulls a cord which opens and lights an automatic cigar lighter. The parrot jumps for the cracker, and its perch tilts and drops seeds. That jerks a ladle, which throws a cracker, which shoots past a parrot. That’s a pretty simple task, right? Well, wait until you hear how the machine does it!įirst, a person picks up a soup spoon. We’ll describe a Rube Goldberg machine that wipes a person’s chin with a napkin. It performs a very basic job in a complicated way. ![]() A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption that uses a chain reaction to carry out a simple task. Have you ever seen a Rube Goldberg machine in action? You probably have, even if you didn’t know what it was. ![]()
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