Complex Machines, Simple Tasks

Harvard Dynamo, the self-defined "boundlessly pan-scientific think tank" of the college, hosted "Rube Goldberg Day" on Saturday. The event was named after the famous cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who was known for drawing out complex devices to perform simple tasks.

Using the event's namesake as inspiration, Dynamo provided participants with an eclectic mix of materials and encouraged them to build a complex machine that achieved a simple goal: popping a balloon. The winning team, composed of graduate students from Harvard and other nearby schools, was awarded prizes of wind-up dinosaurs and rubber-duck squirters.

Video by Privanka S. Mitra, Bari C. Saltman, and Rebecca A. Schuetz/The Harvard Crimson.