Rube Goldberg was an early 20th century Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist. He was known for his depictions of wacky inventions which did something exceptionally simple through many complicated steps. We at the Rube Goldberg Society at UIUC create machines inspired by the spirit of Rube Goldberg's cartoons. Each year, we compete in collegiate-level competitions, demonstrate our machines at the annual Engineering Open House hosted by the University of Illinois college of Engineering, and provide demonstrations and guidance to local schools.
