At some point, you'll have to change the batteries in a flashlight. It's not easy. There are usually a pair of hefty batteries to exchange. And there's the bothersome twisting of the lens cap.
The solution, of course, is to follow Rube Goldberg's example (the patron saint of the National Cartoonists Society), as these students did at the 22nd Annual Purdue Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. Break the grueling pace down into at least 20 steps, diluting the exertion into a series of effortless motions. For the winning team, that meant 125 time-saving steps.
The next contest: designing a kitchen drawer that can hold it. (via boingboing.)
Rube Goldberg. Possibly the coolest engineer ever! It's a good thing he stuck with cartooning, though. If he could design machines like that, imagine what he could do in management!
Honda had a really Goldberg inspired comercial for the Accord a few years ago. All the pieces of the car worked together to eventually present the car. That's what we need more of: more quality advertising!
Posted by: Kitsune | April 12, 2005 at 02:59 PM
I remember seeing that ad. I wonder if it's still online.
Posted by: mark | April 12, 2005 at 03:03 PM