Rube Goldberg: The Fertile Imagination Behind Those Wacky Contraptions

Although Rube Goldberg (July 4, 1883 — December 7, 1970) was best known for his amusing cartoons of zany, complex machines used to perform simple tasks, he also was a sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. In 1948, Goldberg won a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning. In addition, he was a founder of the National Cartoonists Society. Today, Goldberg lives on in Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, international competitions inspired by his wacky imaginary contraptions.
 
Quote: “Many of the younger generation know my name in a vague way and connect it with grotesque inventions, but don’t believe that I ever existed as a person. They think I’m a nonperson, just a name that signifies a tangled web of pipes or wires or strings that suggest machinery.”
 
Sources: Wikipedia, AZQuotes
 
Learn more about Rube Goldberg on Wikipedia. >>
 
Watch a brief video about the life and career of Rube Goldberg [4:08]. >>
 
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