# Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson - to what extent were they aware of each other?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rube-goldberg-and-heath-robinson-to-what-extent-were-they-aware-of-each-other/339136>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 9, 2006, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rube-goldberg-and-heath-robinson-to-what-extent-were-they-aware-of-each-other/339136 "2006-01-09T11:01:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rube-goldberg-and-heath-robinson-to-what-extent-were-they-aware-of-each-other/339136/1 "2006-01-09T11:01:07Z")

</div>

Rube Goldberg (1883 to 1970) and Heath Robinson (1872 to 1944) were more or less conteporaries and their work, although obviously creative and individual in both cases, does share a set of similarities.

To what extent were they aware of each other’s existence and output?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rube-goldberg-and-heath-robinson-to-what-extent-were-they-aware-of-each-other/339136/2 "2006-01-10T10:24:55Z")

</div>

A candle burns through a piece of string, releasing a weight, which falls onto a seesaw, propelling a bowling ball onto a shelf, where it rolls to the end and knocks over a bottle; the contents of the bottle pour into a suspended jug below; the extra weight causes the jug to pull on a piece of string attached to its handle; the string passes through a pulley to the trigger of a rifle, which fires; the bullet knocks out a wedge that was chocking the wheel of a small trolley on a ramp; the trolley rolls down the ramp and knocks over a broomstick, which falls on a hamster cage, startling the hamster, which begins to run frantically on its wheel; a piece of string wrapped around the wheel’s spindle is wound in, pulling a cork from a barrel of milk, which pours into a trough; attempting to get to the milk, a pig strains against its tether, pulling over a stack of books, which fall on a computer mouse, clicking the ‘Submit Reply’ button.

Or in other words. \<bump\>

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lachesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lachesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lachesis)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rube-goldberg-and-heath-robinson-to-what-extent-were-they-aware-of-each-other/339136/3 "2006-01-10T15:54:48Z")

</div>

i got nothin’, but i had to give you a free bump and a nomination for “Most Original Revival Posting”.

that was beautiful. Rube would be so proud.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rube-goldberg-and-heath-robinson-to-what-extent-were-they-aware-of-each-other/339136/4 "2006-01-10T16:34:31Z")

</div>

I had no idea that either of the two gentlemen were in fact real people!

I can assure you that the spirits of both of them are alive and well in the contraption I’m currently using to find leaks in a bundle of heat exchanger tubes. The epoxy is setting as I type…