Gadgets

The Rube Goldberg Marriage Proposal

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Marriage can be complicated. Everyone knows that. But marriage proposals can be complicated too – just ask Robert, a Gizmodo reader who constructed an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine to deliver his girlfriend’s engagement ring. Watch the big moment zip-line in.


September 27, 2010

Massive Mousetrap Hunts Taxi Crab Prey

Looks like the Make Faire had a taxi problem this weekend, which is probably why organisers invited Life Size Mousetrap creator Mark Perez to the event to do what he does best: Destroy them as elaborately as possible.


August 27, 2010
Gadgets

Rube Goldberg: The Man Behind The Machines

From the maddening board game Mouse Trap to that awesome OK GO video (to the hundreds of brilliant contraptions scattered across YouTube), Rube Goldberg machines continue to enjoy a widespread popularity. But who was Rube Goldberg in the first place?


May 26, 2010

What Dyson Does With All Those Unsold Bladeless Fans

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Maybe moving $US300 fans is harder than Dyson expected, or perhaps Dyson’s engineers are just flat out of things to do. Either way, this Rube Goldberg-ian balloon course, made from God knows how many Air Multiplier bladeless fans, is mesmerising.


May 5, 2010

The Time Square Bomb Was A Crappy Rube Goldberg Machine

Firecrackers, cardboard boxes and clocks are among the items remaining after a bomb failed to explode in New York Times Square. The device was a dangerous Rube Goldberg contraption and for once such a setup wasn’t cartoonish or amusing.


March 4, 2010

How OK Go Built The Craziest Rube Goldberg Machine Ever

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OK Go’s new music video for “This Too Shall Pass” is four minutes of pure Rube Goldberg insanity. And as these behind-the-scenes videos show, it was every bit as monumental an undertaking as you’d expect:


October 6, 2009
Gadgets

10 Rube Goldberg Machines For Food Lovers

Do you love eating? Do you love amusingly complex machinery? If the answer is yes on both counts, get a load of Eat Me Daily’s list of the top ten food-based Rube Goldberg Machines.


October 1, 2009
Gadgets

The Ultimate Breakfast Machine Is Complete!

Earlier this month, designer Yuri Suzuki called for help to create a Pee Wee Hermanesque breakfast machine. Now, the heavenly contraption is done. Here’s a rundown of the machine (not in English, but eggs and toast are pretty universal):


September 17, 2009

Help Wanted To Build A Rube Goldberg Breakfast Machine

Starting today, Japanese designer Yuri Suzuki will be soliciting help from visitors to the Platform21 show in Amsterdam to develop a working Rube Goldberg breakfast machine.


RFID Takes The Fun Out Of Rube Goldberg Machines

Meant to illustrate “designerly applications of RFID“, the Nearness concept from London design firm Berg also illustrates how to strip all of the fun out of Rube Goldberg machines.