SME Rube Goldberg:
This cartoon, showing a machine that helps a numbskull become an engineer, was drawn for Purdue students by Rube Goldberg in the early '50s. According to Goldberg: Seal balances ball and applauds self, causing string to start one-man band. Co-ed, hearing music, does Charleston, kicking over oil lamp and burning string, dropping basketball on switch, which starts atomic machine, lifting numbskull so he can crib answers and become a successful engineer. (Rube Goldberg is a trademark of Rube Goldberg Inc.)
Rube Goldberg's Biography
Click here to visit the official Rube Goldberg website for more details about the competition!.
Click here to visit Theta Tau Fraternity's machine contest page.
What is the competition?
Inspired by cartoonist Rube Goldberg, college students compete to design a
machine that uses the most complex process to complete a simple task - put a
stamp on an envelope, screw in a light bulb, make a cup of coffee - in 20 or
more steps.
How can you get involved?
Email the event chair!
What is this years task?
The task for the 2005 Theta Tau Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (RGMC) is
to remove both old batteries from a two-battery flashlight, install new batteries,
and turn the flashlight on in 20 or more steps.
Check out the Archivesfor pictures of past machines.