I test each section individually before I try the machine all the way through. How do you know the thing will work the way you want it to? I think of big tricks I want to include, and connect them with other tricks later on.
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I build my machines one step at a time, and in no particular order at all. I could tell they were a little annoyed that I was using their stuff in the machine-my mom wanted to garden and my dad wanted to clean the pool-but overall they were supportive and really wanted me to succeed in getting the machine to work. I have fun including parts of my environment in my machine, whether that’s a kitchen sink or a pond in my backyard. Most people will just build on a table, but I like to mix it up and try building in different spots around my house and yard. Rube Goldberg machines can be built wherever there is a lot of space.
![contraption maker walkthrough yard work contraption maker walkthrough yard work](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a5/16/8c/a5168cceefa44e93a66b414327be7d6c--oven-cooker-ovens.jpg)
I experiment with these objects, figuring out if they can roll, bounce, fall over, or even be used in combination with another object to create a trick. After that, I look for items around the house that I might want to use. Courtesy Cree Ossner When you’re working on a new Rube Goldberg machine, how do you begin?īefore I start building any part of a new machine, I establish a building location and a general path that I want the machine to take. Also, any kind of blocks can be super helpful too, since they can turn any flat item into a ramp when you put a block underneath one end. Ping-pong balls, dominoes, and popsicle sticks are some more common items I use in machines. Cups can roll along a table, and books can be used as dominoes.įinding random objects to use in Rube Goldberg machines is half the fun, but there are some materials that I use in pretty much every machine I make tape and string … String can make transitions between tricks a lot easier, and tape can prevent objects from moving around. For example, an empty paper-towel roll cut in half can be a great track for a ball. The best materials to use are ones that you can find around your house. But making machines is still just as fun as it was the first day. It took years of experience to get to the level of building I am at now. It consisted of only a few steps, starting with a marble rolling down a track, then some ping-pong balls rolling on my desk, and a domino line made out of books for the grand finale. I started making Rube Goldberg machines in late 2013, but the first one I posted to YouTube was in January 2014. I loved the idea of using household items in funny and interesting ways, and I knew I wanted to try and create one of these contraptions myself. I grew up watching a lot of YouTube, and Rube Goldberg machines were some of my favorite kinds of videos. Ossner spent a month constructing it, and then another month fidgeting while trying to film the entire chain in a single take.Ītlas Obscura recently spoke with him about creativity, problem solving, and what you need to know to make your own marvelously meandering machine, wherever you are.
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That shot kicks off a 70-step reaction that relies on a haul that might be heaped in your closet or garage right now-everything from coolers to skateboards, bits of toy wooden train tracks, a shovel, a tire, and much, much more. His latest-a sprawling outdoor setup he calls “ The Swish Machine”-begins with a basketball that sails through the hoop and lands on a lawn chair, propped up at an angle by a recycling bin. A 16-year-old high-school student from Middletown, New Jersey, Ossner has been making these contraptions for years. They’re also a great way to grease your mental gears if you’re spending a lot of time at home.Ĭree Ossner knows all about it. They’re spectacularly inefficient and superlatively mesmerizing that’s the whole point. These homemade gizmos, named for the 20th-century cartoonist and inveterate tinkerer, are thrillingly convoluted chain reactions. But none would be nearly as fun-or as delightfully, needlessly complicated-as nudging it through a Rube Goldberg machine. Any of these tactics would move the object along. If you want to move a ball from one place to another, you have several options.