A real page turner
January 24, 2012 8:18 AM   Subscribe

The page turner is a wonderful complex yet compact Rube Goldberg machine. The NYT has a bit of background on the creator behind it.
posted by mathowie (21 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
Previously
posted by Perplexity at 8:23 AM on January 24, 2012


I like this photo studio one better.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:25 AM on January 24, 2012 [4 favorites]


After some of the high-budget Rube Goldberg videos that make me wonder if they're faked with computer graphics and stealth edits of multiple takes, this was delightful and refreshing. My favorite bit was the annoyed hamster.
posted by exogenous at 8:31 AM on January 24, 2012 [3 favorites]


I like this photo studio one better.

Too many microcontrollers, not enough hamsters.
posted by DU at 8:31 AM on January 24, 2012 [5 favorites]


hitting "post" makes computer go "bing"
binging computer startles chicken
startled chcken leaps and loses feathers
feathers drift down and strike hair trigger
hair trigger mechanism releases ball
ball rolls down chute over tail of mouse
mouse scampers forward and frightens elephant
elephant falls onto end of teeter-totter
teeter-totter rockets bird seed into air
passing pigeons swoop down for seed
swooping pigeon strikes tripwire
tripwire opens crate of bananas
bananas cause frenzy among nearby monkeys
monkeys' letter jerseys spell out "GoldbErg"
monkey riot captured by amateur photographer
amateur photographer sells photo to local newspaper
local newspaper turns story over to AP
AP story is carried in national newspapers
MeFi mod sees story and realizes Goldberg spelled wrong on front page
Spelling of Goldberg corrected
posted by Shepherd at 8:44 AM on January 24, 2012 [10 favorites]


Eat your heart out, Breakfast Machine!
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:49 AM on January 24, 2012


I'm a little worried about the fact that I physically winced when the laptop fell on the floor but didn't bat an eyelid at the poor beleagured hamster.
posted by fight or flight at 8:56 AM on January 24, 2012 [10 favorites]


Cleans off dust from Mouse Trap board game.
posted by Fizz at 8:58 AM on January 24, 2012


Reminds me of this, especially the fiery bits.
posted by TheCoug at 9:04 AM on January 24, 2012


Excellent use of the Rubegolburg tag.
posted by found missing at 9:04 AM on January 24, 2012


This invention will have professional PR types scrambling to bury all their clients' bad news on page 4.
posted by chavenet at 9:08 AM on January 24, 2012


That was fun! It will probably turn up in a Wallace and Gromit cartoon shortly....
posted by Lynsey at 9:10 AM on January 24, 2012


This was great. Both the haircut and the use of the fire/sponge and hamster are just like the traditional ones that I remember seeing.
posted by Hactar at 9:15 AM on January 24, 2012


I see what you did there, exogenus.
posted by pinky at 9:17 AM on January 24, 2012


I'm a little worried about the fact that I physically winced when the laptop fell on the floor but didn't bat an eyelid at the poor beleagured hamster.

Me too! I wasn't paying close attention at the start, and thought the end result would be a mouseclick to refresh the page or something... WTF? The laptop is just disposable ballast?

OK, now we need a Rube Goldberg device that includes a Vietnamese village getting napalmed, a Ferrari Testarossa crashing head-on into a brick wall, and a herd of Elephants driven into a huge pit-trap - to add a packet of sugar to a cup of tea.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:22 AM on January 24, 2012 [3 favorites]


Shepard, the machine successfully just completed!
posted by mathowie at 9:23 AM on January 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


Pretty much destroys the argument about never working with children or animals...
posted by Chuffy at 9:30 AM on January 24, 2012


The laptop also made me wince, though the little hamster guy made me smile. Anyone else annoyed that he didn't get a treat for playing his part so well?

Also, nice use of SCIENCE! with Step #3, the glycerin + K = Fire!

(The photo studio one is amazing, too. Mario!)
posted by misha at 9:31 AM on January 24, 2012


I particularly enjoyed the super-gutsy use of that gas stove -- you've gotta be pretty confident of your timing to try something like that.

Also, the sponge was just a brilliant touch.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 9:41 AM on January 24, 2012


Pitagora Suitchi!
posted by The Tensor at 10:08 AM on January 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


As I was watching, all I could see was all the myriad ways it could go wrong.
posted by supercres at 12:11 PM on January 24, 2012


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