h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have long been a Heath Robinson fan! There's not much (or at least there wasn't the last time I looked) of his art online ... luckily there's a big book of his work in the local library. He was a genius, his art is actually very artistic, he did really lovely 'straightforward' art. As for his silly stuff, that's hilarious! I'll check a bit online if I can find *good* quality images ... he has so much detail in his works, a lot of that gets lost easily on the 'net.

Share if you find them!

I didn't know about Heath Robinson before I researched this. In this country, Rube Goldberg is the legendary figure, and we grew up with his devices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alnxReLU9q4

I know of Rube Goldberg too, largely thanks to Mad Magazine. Al Jaffee, especially, featured some great Rube Goldberg-style devices in his cartoons. In the best kind of Rube Goldberg device, the initiating act is something simple and natural, such as slapping your head when you realize you've forgotten to water your plants before going on holiday. Then there is an amazing process of intermediate steps ... which ideally should include not only intricate, often costly or destructive physical processes but also chemistry, living creatures, and in Jaffee's case even ESP, that finally end in the simple end result you wanted, such as your plants getting watered.

Anyways here is another nice video (sadly without ESP):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOMIBdM6N7Q

Elektra's chuckling over here.

That's a great one! And your analysis is spot-on.

The more chemistry and live animals are involved, the more delicious the thrill, I think.