Rube Goldberg:

A Creative Cartoonist

Rube Goldberg

About the Man Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and

author Went to college to become an engineer But because he wanted to be an artist got a job

as an office boy in the sports department of a San Francisco newspaper

moved from San Francisco to New York drawing daily cartoons for the Evening Mail

Through his "INVENTIONS", he discovered difficult ways to achieve easy results

believed that there were two ways to do things: the simple way and the hard way

Rube Goldberg Cartoon Gallery

High School and College Contests: Create a Rube Goldberg Machine

Here is an example of a Rube Goldberg machine built by college students.

A Picture Example

1. Turn the handle on a toy cash register to open the drawer.2. The drawer pushes a golf ball off a platform, into a small blue funnel, and down a ramp.3. The falling golf ball pulls a string that releases the magic school bus (carrying a picture of Rube Goldberg) down a large blue ramp.4. Rube's bus hits a rubber ball on a platform, dropping the ball into a large red funnel.5. The ball lands on a mousetrap (on the orange box) and sets it off.6. The mousetrap pulls a nail from the yellow stick.7. The nail allows a weight to drop.8. The weight pulls a cardboard "cork" from an orange tube.9. This drops a ball into a cup. 10. The cup tilts a metal scale and raises a wire.11. The wire releases a ball down a red ramp.12. The ball falls into a pink paper basket.13. The basket pulls a string to turn the page of the book!

Simple Machines are the Key The Lever

A lever is a board or bar that rests on a turning point. 

This turning point is called the fulcrum. 

An object that a lever moves is called the load. 

The closer the object is to the fulcrum, the easier it is to move.

More Simple Machines Inclined Plane

It is a flat surface that is higher on one end. 

You can use this machine to move an object to a lower or higher place. 

Inclined planes make the work of moving things easier. 

Even More Simple Machines Wheel and Axle

The axle is a rod that goes through the wheel.  This lets the wheel turn. 

It is easy to move things from place to place with wheels and axles.

Even more Simple Machines Screw

An inclined plane that winds around itself. 

A screw has ridges and is not smooth like a nail. 

Some screws are used to lower and raise things.  They are also used to hold objects together.

Still More Simple Machines Wedge

used to push two objects apart

A wedge is made up of two inclined planes.  These planes meet and form a sharp edge. 

One More Simple Machine Pulley

Made up of a wheel and a rope 

When you pull on one side of the pulley, the wheel turns and the load will move. 

Pulleys are good for moving objects to hard to reach places.  It also makes the work of moving heavy loads a lot easier.

Let’s Identify Simple Machines

Click here to find a kitchen full of simple machines.

During this unit, you will design and create a Rube Goldberg cartoon

Then, when you are an adult, you might even make a commercial like this…

Here it is!