Article published February 21, 2005
UT students poke fun at technology
Wacky contraptions perform simple tasks
UT student Emily Birukow works on a machine using 20 steps to remove and replace batteries in a flashlight. The contest honors cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who made fun of the complexity and inefficiency of early 20th century technology.
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THE BLADE/MADALYN RUGGIERO
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By ERIKA RAY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
It's quite simple, really.
If the batteries in a flashlight are dead, just unscrew the cap, swap out the batteries, screw the cap back on, and flick the switch to turn it on.
But University of Toledo students participating in yesterday's Rube Goldberg Machine contest used pulleys, twine, mouse traps, duct tape, water, cue balls, and even a six-shooter to accomplish the "simple" task.
Each of the three teams that participated in the 17th annual contest, held at Nitschke Hall as part of National Engineers Week, designed a machine akin to the game Mousetrap that used at least 20 steps to remove and replace batteries in a flashlight before turning it on.
The contest, which dates back to 1949, honors the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who drew wacky contraptions with elaborate mechanisms to perform simple, everyday tasks that made fun of the complexity and inefficiency of early 20th-century technology.
Each entry was judged on its theme, machine explanation, timing, and whether it completed the task without any human intervention. And first place wasn't even awarded to UT engineers represented by Theta Tau, a professional engineering fraternity, and Triangle, a fraternity made up of engineers, scientists, and architects.They were beat out by the 12 students from the Society of Physics, which is housed in UT's college of arts and sciences. The physics students represented the first team outside the college of engineering to participate in the competition, said Christine Smallman, director of college relations and facilities management at UT.
The theme for their device, which used 28 steps to complete the task in about 30 seconds, was "A Night at the Movies."
Graduate student Josh Thomas works on his contraption in the hallway of Nitschke Hall on the UT campus.
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THE BLADE/MADALYN RUGGIERO
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Before the task was complete, Ping-Pong balls fell through the "Slinky Dog" from Toy Story, a cardboard Titanic rammed into a white sheet representing an iceberg, and Tarzan and Jane sliced off Darth Vader's hand and light saber, which launched a stuffed cow from behind a French castle ala Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Jackie Must, a 24-year-old graduate student majoring in secondary education, said her team had the idea for the machine in September, and started putting it together about six weeks ago. "Every now and then we had a few kinks, but over all we had a blast," she said.
The five members of Triangle fraternity submitted an entry with a junkyard theme in their first contest appearance, but had several technical problems in their three runs.
"I attribute it a lot to inexperience," said James Cotton, 22, a fourth-year computer and electrical engineering major. "There are many things going on at once, and it's hard to get it to work, but it's a good exercise to working with different ideas."
Theta Tau's entry, titled "Blazing Saddle," had some problems throughout its 22 mechanical steps. The entry used different aspects of engineering and featured Western characters and objects, such as a saloon complete with a poker game and a bartender, and a six-shooter.
Liam Stewart, 7, of Swanton said his favorite part of the Theta Tau entry was the frog sitting on a float ball in a box of water "because it looks cool."
The physics team will travel to Purdue University in April for the national Rube Goldberg competition, sponsored by the national Theta Tau society.
Contact Erika Ray at: eray@theblade.com or 419-724-6088.
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