2006

To cut or shred into strips five sheets of 8½ by 11, 20-lb. paper individually with a shredder and place the shredded paper in a recycle bin.

Task: To cut or shred into strips five sheets of 8½ by 11 paper and place the shredded paper in a recycle bin.

Theme: The Rube Machine Ate My Homework

Step Count: 215

Result: Won 1st place at the Regional and National competition. Won the People’s Choice Award at the Regional and National competition.

Discussion: Our second consecutive appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Video of the machine running

This video is a closeup of the final step of a machine that changes the batteries in a flashlight in 125 steps. It was the 2005 winner of the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, and is in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Largest Rube Goldberg Machine (now held by another machine). It was built by a group of about 15 college students in the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers (PSPE) in about 4000 man-hours.