February 20 2005 Who is Rube Goldberg Reuben

February 20, 2005

Who is Rube Goldberg? Reuben Lucius Goldberg Born July 4, 1883 Was an engineer for 6 months designing sewers Left engineering to become a cartoonist Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author Created satirical cartoons of machines and gadgets that he saw as excessive

What is a Rube Goldberg Machine? “A symbol of man’s capacity for exerting maximum effort to achieve minimal results. ” ~Reuben Lucius Goldberg

“Simplified” Pencil Sharpener Open window (A) and fly kite (B). String (C) lifts small door (D) allowing moths (E) to escape and eat red flannel shirt (F). As weight of shirt becomes less, shoe (G) steps on switch (H) which heats electric iron (I) and burns hole in pants (J). Smoke (K) enters hole in tree (L), smoking out opossum (M) which jumps into basket (N), pulling rope (O) and lifting cage (P), allowing woodpecker (Q) to chew wood from pencil (R), exposing lead. Emergency knife (S) is always handy in case opossum or the woodpecker gets sick and can't work.

History of Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Began as a rivalry at Purdue University between Theta Tau and Triangle in the 1940’s and 50’s Contest was revived in 1983 by Phi Chapter of Theta Tau National Contest has been held annually at Purdue University since 1987 Machines have been featured on National television shows, such as Good Morning America, and the Late Show

Machine Specifications Must complete assigned task Base may be no larger than 5 by 6 ft May be no taller than 5 ft Minimum of 20 steps Machine must take no more than 2 minutes per run No corporate names or logos on machines No live animals Must not imply profane, indecent or lewd expressions

Specifications (cont. ) No objects may leave the boundaries of the machine. No flames No hazardous materials No explosions Must be safe according to the judges No sabotage of other machines

Team Restrictions No limit on the number of members a team may have Each member must be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at UT

Judging Criteria General Impression (35 pts) – Theme (0 – 10 pts) – Rube Goldberg Spirit (0 – 10 pts) – Explanation/Description (0 – 5 pts) – Team Chemistry (0 – 5 pts) – Submitted Machine Description (0 – 5 pts)

Judging Criteria Timing Issued (0 pts) – Description Length ( -5 – 0 pts) – First Run Length ( -10 – 0 pts) – Second Run Length ( -10 – 0 pts) Don’t take more than 2 minutes for a run or you will be penalized by the judges!

Judging Criteria Run Related (65 pts) – Completed task – Run One (0, 10, or 20 pts) – Completed task – Run Two (0, 10, or 20 pts) – Flow of machine easy to follow (0 -10 pts) – Rube Goldberg style steps (0 -15 pts) – Human Interventions (-3 pts each) – Objects leaving machine (-5 pts each)

Tips and Hints Machine should have some sort of theme, consistent throughout – Examples – Disney, Mission Impossible, etc… Mechanically powered steps are more in the spirit of Rube Goldberg. Judges at the national contest tend to look more highly at mechanical steps than electrical Make sure all steps are visible and easy to follow! BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN!

Tasks From the Past 1998 – Shut off an alarm clock 1999 – Set a golf tee and tee up a golf ball 2000 – Fill and seal a time capsule 2001 – Select, clean, and peal an apple 2002 – Capture, raise, and wave an American Flag 2003 – Select, Crush, and Recycle an aluminum can

2003 Purdue 1 st

2003 Toledo 2 nd

2003 Texas 3 rd

2005 RGMC Task Remove both old batteries from a two battery flashlight Install new batteries Turn the flashlight on

Questions?

Why should you do Rube? Social Activity A way to actively participate in your organization Encourages Creativity Power Tools! Another activity for you organization to list for Outstanding Student Organization Award A chance to prove your organization is the best IT’S FUN

Why Rube will be better this year Biggest contest yet! Sunday before E-week People’s Choice Award Better communication between judges and teams to make sure you know what the judges are looking for

How does your organization start a team? Simply tell Beth or Trish that you are planning to have a team Visit www. rubemachine. com for official rules and information Build your machine and be ready for Sunday, Feb 20 HAVE FUN!