4 ms·

Here in Japan there is a TV station called NHK which make a series of awesome Rube Goldberg machines called 'pythagora switch' and film them for a children't sh

by po 15y ago

Here in Japan there is a TV station called NHK which make a series of awesome Rube Goldberg machines called 'pythagora switch' and film them for a children't show. The video quality and construction is great and they use nothing that you couldn't find in your house. Some are very simple but the mechanics they use are frequently absolutely shocking. They always end by raising a small flag and arranging the letters of the show. I'm surprised I never saw them until I moved here. I could watch them for hours. I found a DVD of it that comes with a book in the store here and I was going to buy it as a gift for my family but I realized it's probably the wrong region. I can't find an example video online right now. In Japanese it's called: ピタゴラスイッチ http://www.nhk.or.jp/kids/program/pitagora.html http://www.nhk.or.jp/kids/program/pitagora.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PythagoraSwitch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PythagoraSwitch

icebraining 15y ago
Youtube had dozens, but apparently NHK removed them :(
- po 15y ago
  Yeah it's a shame. I finally found some examples on vimeo: http://vimeo.com/13420214 http://vimeo.com/13420214
  - sumukh1 15y ago
    And here is another: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2435046286370275454 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2435046286370275454
aiham 15y ago
He mentions that show in the description to his video[1]: "Much credit must be give to the amazing Pitagora Suicchi ones for all their original ideas!" [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrCb_fNmSTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrCb_fNmSTA
- po 15y ago
  Oh I didn't notice that. Several of the ideas are direct implementations of things done in the NHK show. For example the hammers pushing the ball uphill, the group of balls getting trapped in a pit while one rides over the top and continues along to later release them, etc.. There should be a design patterns book for this stuff. :-) These fan-made videos are great but they also make me shake my head in wonder at the production quality of the original. Everything is so well constructed and precise.
edanm 15y ago
There is also the 29-minute long "Art film", "The Way Things Go". Basically 29 minutes of a Rube Goldberg machine, including a lot of pyrotechnics. Pretty interesting stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Lauf_Der_Dinge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Lauf_Der_Dinge

by po 15y ago

icebraining 15y ago

Youtube had dozens, but apparently NHK removed them :(

po 15y ago
Yeah it's a shame. I finally found some examples on vimeo: http://vimeo.com/13420214 http://vimeo.com/13420214
- sumukh1 15y ago
  And here is another: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2435046286370275454 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2435046286370275454

aiham 15y ago

He mentions that show in the description to his video[1]: "Much credit must be give to the amazing Pitagora Suicchi ones for all their original ideas!" [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrCb_fNmSTA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrCb_fNmSTA

po 15y ago
Oh I didn't notice that. Several of the ideas are direct implementations of things done in the NHK show. For example the hammers pushing the ball uphill, the group of balls getting trapped in a pit while one rides over the top and continues along to later release them, etc.. There should be a design patterns book for this stuff. :-) These fan-made videos are great but they also make me shake my head in wonder at the production quality of the original. Everything is so well constructed and precise.

edanm 15y ago

There is also the 29-minute long "Art film", "The Way Things Go". Basically 29 minutes of a Rube Goldberg machine, including a lot of pyrotechnics. Pretty interesting stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Lauf_Der_Dinge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Lauf_Der_Dinge