Chain reactions rube goldberg biography
Rube Goldberg
American cartoonist (1883–1970)
For the namesake contraption, see Rube Goldberg machine.
Rube Goldberg | |
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Goldberg in 1929 | |
| Born | Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (1883-07-04)July 4, 1883 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 1970(1970-12-07) (aged 87) New York City, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York |
| Alma mater | UC Berkeley |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, sculptor, news reporter, cartoonist |
| Known for | Rube Goldberg machines |
| Spouse | Irma Seeman (m. ) |
| Children | 2, including George W. George |
| Website | rubegoldberg.org |
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), better known as Rube Goldberg (), was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor.
Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. The cartoons led to the expression "Rube Goldberg machines" to describe similar gadgets and processes. Goldberg received many honors in his lifetime, including a Pulitzer Prize for political cartooning in 1948, the National Cartoonists Society's Gold T-Square Award in 1955, and the Banshees' Silver Lady Award in 1959. He was a founding member and first president of the National Cartoonists Society, which hosts the annual Reuben Award, honoring the top cartoonist of the year and named after Goldberg, who won the award in 1967. He is the inspiration for international competitions known as Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, which challenge participants to create a complicated machine to perform a simple task.
Early life and education
Goldberg was born on July 4, 1883, in San Francisco, California, to Jewish parents Max and Hannah (née Cohn) Goldberg. He was the third of seven children, three of whom died as childr Deliberately complex contraption A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a series of simple unrelated devices; the action of each triggers the initiation of the next, eventually resulting in achieving a stated goal. The design of such a "machine" is often presented on paper and would be impossible to implement in actuality. More recently, such machines have been fully constructed for entertainment (for example, a breakfast scene in Pee-wee's Big Adventure) and in Rube Goldberg competitions. The expression is named after the American cartoonistRube Goldberg, whose cartoons often depicted devices that performed simple tasks in indirect convoluted ways. The cartoon above is Goldberg's Professor Butts and the Self-Operating Napkin, which was later reprinted in a few book collections, including the postcard book Rube Goldberg's Inventions! and the hardcover Rube Goldberg: Inventions, both compiled by Maynard Frank Wolfe from the Rube Goldberg Archives. The term "Rube Goldberg" was being used in print to describe elaborate contraptions by 1928, and appeared in the Random House Dictionary of the English Language in 1966 meaning "having a fantastically complicated improvised appearance", or "deviously complex and impractical". Because Rube Goldberg machines are contraptions derived from tinkering with the tools close at hand, parallels have been drawn with evolutionary processes. Many of Goldberg's ideas were utilized in films and TV shows for the comedic effect of creating such rigamarole for such a simple task, such as the front gate mechanism in The Goonies and the breakfast machine shown in Pee-wee's Big Adventure. In Ernest Goes to Ja Inspired by the work of illustrators Heath Robinson (UK) and Rube Goldberg (USA) these seemingly ridiculous chain-reaction machines combine incredible feats of engineering with utterly pointless design. Depending upon which side of the Atlantic you hail from, you’re likely to have come across the name Heath Robinson or Rube Goldberg in reference to these whimsical contraptions, which use a series of elaborate, inefficient and often daft steps to perform simple tasks. Heath Robinson (1872–1944) was an English Illustrator who produced a body of work featuring ridiculous machines and devices, often requiring multiple operators to control a plethora of pulleys and leavers. The machines were designed to perform odd and often surreal tasks, such as cat-burglar training and spaghetti stretching (below). Most of his machines were seen to be patched together from loose odds and ends which has led to his name being commonly associated with instances of ‘quick-fixes’ or cobbled together repairs. Rube Goldberg (1883–1970) was Robinson’s American equivalent, also known for his humorous illustrations depicting equally ridiculous machines. Unlike Robinson, Goldberg was also an engineer and inventor and this was reflected in his illustrations which portrayed much more practical designs, albeit for equally silly outputs. The Rube Goldberg machine has now become a cult icon across America and there are now national competitions in which contestants must rely on their creativity to design and build the most convoluted machine possible. Watching these machines in action is incredibly satisfying, as they demonstrate a process of cause and effect through a wonderfully complex system of parts. Although these machines aren’t going to win any prizes for their efficiency, the level of detail and organisation that goes into their construction is immense. We’ve spent some time searching the web for the Rube Goldberg, who was born in San Francisco in 1883, was originally an engineer. He graduated from the College of Mining Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley in 1904. For six months he mapped water and sewer lines until he could stand it no longer. He then took a lower-paying job cartooning at the San Francisco Chronicle. "What he cared about most was if he made you laugh," said his granddaughter Jennifer George, whom we spoke to in 2018. Her 2013 book, "The Art of Rube Goldberg," describes his extensive output of cartoons, writing and even sculpture, before his death in 1970. Goldberg left California for New York in 1907 and was hired by the New York Evening Mail. One of his early cartoons for the newspaper showed a badly injured man who had fallen from a 50-story building and a woman asking "Are you hurt?" The man replied "No, I am taking my beauty sleep." It was a hit, and over the next two years he drew 449 more in the Foolish Questions series. Readers loved sending in suggestions. He also created a series called "I'm the Guy." It featured statements such as "I'm the guy who put the hobo in Hoboken" and "I'm the guy who put the sand in the sandwich," starting a national fad. Among his cartoon characters was Boob McNutt, who always managed to screw up as he attempted to help someone. Goldberg's invention drawings began in 1912 and made him into a household name, according to an exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. The first of his elaborate contraptions was "The Simple Mosquito Exterminator," a classic Rube Goldberg machine. A mosquito enters window, walks along a board strewn with small pieces of steak, falls unconscious because of chloroform fumes from a sponge, and falls on platform. He wakes up, looks through the telescope to see the reflection of a bald head in a mir Rube Goldberg machine
Origin
Top five: Chain reaction machines
Top Five
Who Was Rube Goldberg, and What Are Rube Goldberg Machines?