A while back, a tangenteer (tangents.org blogger) wrote ab0ut a type of obstacle course based upon cause and effect relationships between different objects. You know, like the board game Mousetrap – a ball rolls and falls into a bucket, which triggers another ball that goes down a ramp, etc. I forgot what this is called (and who blogged it! Was it me or derek?), but I think it’s a Japanese word. Anyway, I came across this website for a Dutch department store called Hema, and they have an animated one of those obstacle course thingys using their products on their website. Just follow the link above and watch to see what happens! It’s pretty creative, and I thought people might like it!
I’ve always known those sorts of things as Rube Goldberg contraptions
see link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg
Yes, you’re right Mysmichelle – Rube Goldberg. Pretty far off from the Japanese word I was looking for, ha! Thanks for your help and your comment!
Was this the blog post you were thinking of L?
https://tangents.org/4/2008/05/21/japanese-inventions/
That’s it! Thanks for the research D! I thought it was my blog post, but I wasn’t sure… I’ve gone off on over 500 tangents, it’s hard to keep them straight!
Google is your friend 😉
Just remember to add “site:tangents.org” to your search to limit the results to just this site. Of course you can put whatever site you want after site: to search just that site.
put whatever’s site after site? He has been racking up the posts lately. Way2go admin!
I just knew it was not my site… scientific posts are not my speciality. I thought it might be Pavlovian but wasn’t that a dog experiment?
I actually have a mad scientist friend and he goes ON about rube goldbergs contraptions. It’s funny because I always tell people he reminds me of the scientist in the ‘back to the future’ movie…….and that movie actually opens with a rub goldberg contraption.
I love your blog. You have a way of keeping the common interesting. I hope that is true in your life as well 🙂
Well, thank you, and yes, I find my life very interesting. But not because I make it that way, I can thank my 4 young kids and menagerie of pets for that! Thanks for reading my blog!
I think Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure also opens with a Rube Goldberg contraption… Can anyone think of any other movie that has them?
BACK TO THE FUTURE!!!! Remember Doc Brown’s contraption that gives Einstein his food… however…
ooops… that was already mentioned, but it is 4.49AM