The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest

began as a rivalry between two Purdue engineering fraternities and was popular at Purdue in the 1940s and 1950s. 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.

The cartoon above, showing a machine that helps a numbskull become an engineer, was drawn for Purdue students by cartoonist 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.

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