The Volokh Conspiracy

[Eugene Volokh, May 26, 2008 at 10:21am] Trackbacks

Rube Goldberg Video, Fun for Small Kids:

Thanks to my friend Fred Bernstein for the pointer; my kids (age 3 and 4) are enjoying it, at least mildly; try it on yours:

Reader NickW reports that these are connected to the Japanese educational television program PythagoraSwitch.

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NickW:

Japanese educational television:

PythagoraSwitch

5.26.2008 11:39am

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PatHMV (mail) (www):

Nick's got it. I first learned of these delights last year from SippicanCottage. Why didn't American television ever come up with something like this?

5.26.2008 12:07pm

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Paul McKaskle (mail):

Wonderful video. But the reference to Rube Goldberg may be lost on current students. A year or so ago in my Civ Pro class I said that a decision or result was very "Rube Goldberg" in its analysis and then I asked the class if they knew what I was referring to. Only one or two out of about ninety students knew the name or what I was talking about. Sigh!

5.26.2008 12:55pm

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ABC:

Well Pat, I guess we had the "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12" pinball from Sesame Street...

5.26.2008 12:56pm

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John Armstrong (mail) (www):

Of course, this demands a look at Cog, an ad for the Honda Accord.

5.26.2008 1:50pm

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Ex parte McCardle:

Thanks for the video, my 5-year-old loves it and wants to try to build one of his own. My crystal ball shows me a massive clean-up job in my future.

5.26.2008 2:35pm

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Joe Bingham (mail):

Wow, if I can't get a job at IJ, this is where I'll shoot for.

5.26.2008 3:21pm

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Glenn W. Bowen (mail):

is 6"6" small enough? I've been watching these vids for about two years:)

5.26.2008 3:33pm

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pgepps (www):

ah, yes. that 1-12 pinball was one of the few really good things to come out of Sesame Street....

5.26.2008 4:50pm

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PabloF:

I guess my girlfriend is right - I still AM a small kid!

5.26.2008 6:05pm

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another commenter (mail):

I'm 33 and I now want to build one

5.26.2008 8:09pm

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Waldensian (mail):

That singing will be haunting my nightmares tonight.

5.26.2008 10:02pm

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theobromophile (www):

my kids (age 3 and 4) are enjoying it

Perhaps I'm closer to the cube root of my age than my actual age. :)

I found out what a "Rube Goldberg device" was when I did Science Olympiad. If there are any former Science Olympians out there, this should bring back memories (probably amusing in retrospect, painful at the time) of Mission Possible.

5.27.2008 2:19am