The Official Rube Goldberg Website : Home Rube Goldberg Machine Contest The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is a contest in which college students build devices to complete a simple task in a minimum of twenty steps in the style of American cartoonist Rube Goldberg. Local contests are held at various universities throughout the United States, and local winners are eligible to compete in the national contest. Judging[edit] Teams of college students arrive at the competition with a tabletop Rube Goldberg machine designed to accomplish the task of the year. The machine must use at least twenty steps and complete the task within two minutes. Sixty percent of the score is based on the machine's ability to finish the task in two out of three attempts. History[edit] The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest originated at Purdue University in 1949 as a competition between Theta Tau and Triangle fraternities, and it was held annually until 1956. Past tasks[edit] Past tasks include: 1989 contest[edit] 1990 contest[edit] 2007 contest[edit] one of the 2007 entries 2008 contest[edit]
The Beauty of the Mechanisms Watches became widely used after Swiss jewelers were forbidden to make jewelry. Since then, watches continued to be very appreciated pieces of technology.Creating and designing a perfect watch has became true art. It is not just about a technology of the mechanism which is “the heart of watch”. In order to produce a perfect watch you have to combine quality technology i.e. perfectly designed mechanism, specially chosen materials and elegant design. Stunningly Intricate: Curta Mechanical Calculator "QUANTUM SHOT" #471link What if Babbage's Difference Engine spawned a "laptop"? It's hard to find more desirable and satisfying (in a tactile sort of way) mechanical fetish item from the age of early computing... For years Curta calculators enjoyed a cult status among collectors, and as recently as in 2003 they were featured in William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition" book. However, I daresay, not featured enough. This marvel of mechanical engineering should be given more exposure, especially given the bizarre and spooky circumstances of its origin. (images credit: Larry McElhiney, Jack Christensen) (images credit: Helmut G. - Entirely mechanical, no electricity or batteries involved.- Designed by Curt Herzstark in 1938 and perfected inside a concentration camp.- Considered to be the most efficient portable calculator (until electronic calculators came in the 70s)- Simply a thing of beauty, stunning piece of engineering art. (image credit: Dave Hicks) First, you gotta feel it in your hand...