Who Is the Man Behind Rube Goldberg Machines?

Reuben "Rube" Goldberg was a talented and prolific cartoonist with an engineering background. He became famous for his humorous drawings, which commented on America's relationship with technology in the first part of the 20th century, an innovative period that saw many new inventions.

His cartoons depicted impractical machines that operated as a chain reaction to perform a series of steps, over-complicating simple tasks such as wiping one's chin with a napkin and opening doors.

What is a chain reaction in a cartoon? Well, Goldberg cleverly styled his doodles to US Patent applications so the reader could track every step in the series and see that he designed his funny machines to actually work. His ideas resonated with audiences, and in 1931 Rube Goldberg was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as an adjective meaning "accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply." In time, people were inspired to build Rube Goldberg machines and watch science come to life in a zany and creative fashion.

A Rube Goldberg Machine Made of Magnets and Marbles

YouTuber Kaplamino makes physics fun and educational with magnets, and that's why this Rube Goldberg machine may just be our favorite here at Magnets.com. Kaplamino uses magnets and marbles to play with gravity, magnetic energy and motion. A marble starts a four-minute chain reaction carried out by magnets, wooden blocks, dice and what even looks like uncooked strands of spaghetti. We especially like the motion from magnetic chains swinging components to the next step in the sequence.

We love seeing magnets being used in new and creative ways, so this captivating video gets an enthusiastic like and subscribe from Magnets.com. Watch it now to get more chain reaction ideas using magnetic reaction—our favorite kind to see!