Stealing Good Design: Rube Goldberg greatness.

I have always loved dominoes and marble runs. When the PTA gave me money for "wet playtime stuff" for my class these were the first 2 things I bought (they're essential in my opinion!)
I also had a really tall marble run installed in my bathroom for a few months for the fun of watching it whilst having a bath. My 2 bed end-of-link new build doesn't really have the space or ability for it to not be a trip hazard though and my sister doesn't remember me having it so it can't of lasted that long. Maybe one day when I have my mansion with clay pizza oven, slide to connect upstairs and downstairs like this...

walk-in wardrobe like this...

and bunk beds for Ben and Tom to stay over like this...

I'll also have a fantastic marble run adorning the wall!

Or maybe I'll at least have this:-

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Wall-Graphic-Design-Proposal/3919991

If you are also a fan of the marble run you can visit the UK's biggest one that is, quite aptly, housed in "The House of Marbles" (in Bovey Tracey in Devon). Despite him thinking I was (losing my) marbles over how excited I was about reading of this attraction, an ex-boyfriend, who hadn't been there either, agreed to driving me there to ogle it (on condition I visited his parents who lived near it). I was horrified when he told me about this - how could he have lived so close to this marble museum for all those years without visiting it????!!!! So, we went, and it looks like this:-

If you want to see it in (in real life) here's their website:-

http://www.houseofmarbles.com/the-house-of-marbles-at-bovey-tracey

Or, someone has very kindly filmed it and put it onto youtube:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkHGjwPpBKw

Ahhh, reminds me of endless hours playing this with Kazmo...

And that kind of moves me onto Rube Goldberg machines.
I cannot define a Rube Goldberg machine without Wikipedia's help; so...

"A Rube Goldberg machine, contraption, invention, device, or apparatus is a deliberately over-engineered or overdone machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction."
The U.K equivalent might be a "Heath Robinson" contraption, apparently.

Think this:-

And of course someone has made a life-size one (in America)

Sorry I don't know how to "embed" videos; click below the pics...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Rdqrdw8qt3Y

Remember the band OK-GO who did that amazing synchronised treadmill video?

Well, they made a mouse-trap parody video:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_0i5WqiIcc

But, the reason I started thinking about all of these things is because of OK-GO's

Rube Golberg machine that was playing in a Barcelona design museum we visited this week.

You have to watch this!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

And why not remind yourself how good their treadmill video is while you're at it:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA

I actually just looked up OK-GO tour dates; they must do some great wacky stuff live but no future ones are listed, just previous ones including the flippin' Bristol Thekla!!! Gutted doesn't come close!

And finally, all these kooky videos reminded me of how trippy and cool this chemical brothers video was / is :-