Kinetic Whimsey • Productive Rocking

Some kinetic ideas just make us smile. This is one of those. The action created by rocking a chair back and forth is used to power a kniting machine which, in turn knits a cap. Slow and easy!

photo © nicolas genta

The video is short and worth a quick view. Oh, to be a student again!

This ingenious device is the project of students Damin Ludi and Colin Peillex at the ECAL University of Art and Design in Switzerland. Via Apratment Therapy.

Isaac Newton vs. Rube Goldberg - Kinetic Fun

2dHouse takes pride in doing Rube Goldberg machines right. David and I are always fans of a good Rube Goldbderg contraption and I have shared a number here on this blog including......

• Rube Goldberg Contraption Page Turner by Joseph Herschner
• Rube Goldberg Inspires Another Machine - Melvin the Mini Machine  by HeyHeyHey
• Krazy Kinetics • Worth A Smile

But this new one crossed my screen via Colassal. It combines creative kinetics with skilled cinematography to create a hilarious short video well worth watch over coffee break.  Enjoy the work of 2dHouse.

2dHouse has clearly spent some time doing this. They have a whole section of their website dedicated to Rube Goldberg contraptions, some done as in house projects to learn new techniques and others as advertisements. All are incredible in their blend of ingenuity with motion. 

Rube Goldberg Inspires Another Machine

The combination of Rube Goldberg ingenuity, video, the Internet and sharing has continued to produce entertaining mechanisms. The following is one such kinetic creation from the design studio HeyHeyHey. It is a clever contraption that completes a task in the most inefficient method possible.

via Colossal

This video follows a much, much more elaborate contraption from the Melvin series, Melvin the Magical Mixed Media Machine.

This is how we whittle away time during our coffee breaks! Enjoy!

Kinetic Whimsey • Complex Corkscrew

I just have to share this with you here on David's blog. I expect you folks will appreciate the complexity and humor of this incredible machine.  

Yesterday, I got drawn into the Automata Blog by Dug North yet again (visit if you never have - great stuff!) and he had a post about this entertaining machine by artist Rob Higgs. It is the most elaborate (and heavy) corkscrew you will ever encounter and the mechancial aspects are marvelous. OneofOne.org in the UK has created an interesting video of it in action including interviews with the artist (who lives in an old boat) here but there are also several quicker YouTube versions showng the machine in action as well.

David continues to make kinetic sculptures with the sole function of entertaining the viewer through motion with an appreciation of simplicity in mechanical design. This corkscrew is directly opposite David's work in that it is an over-complex machine to perform a specific task. And it does so admirably well.

Certainly makes me smile! Enjoy.

Water-Powered Kinetic Escapement

Here are a couple of You-Tube videos sent to me by follower Dwight Souder showing a pair of water-powered clocks.  The creator, Nigel Loller, has done an excellent job describing the unique parts of his clocks and their escapement mechanisms. These videos will intrigue those of you that follow my work because of a love of mechanisms. Enjoy!

Thanks, Dwight!