Another Rube Goldberg machine

I've always loved a good Rube Goldberg machine. The name comes from Reuben Garrett Lucius "Rube" Goldberg (1883–1970), an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways.

These devices made their way into movies as far back as 1932, in an Our Gang short called Hook and Ladder. Doc Brown had one for feeding his dog in Back to the Future (1985). You can find others in Brazil (1985), Wallace and Gromit (1989-2010), The Rock (1996), and many more.

Rube Goldberg machines have been popular with advertisers as well. Here's the latest in a long line.


Here's Doc Brown's dog feeding machine.