WATCH: A light-powered Rube Goldberg machine

 

Cartoon aficionados have seen this so many times before: a contraption that uses a complex series of machines machines to perform a simple task—always to amusing effect.

 

Such contraptions—called "Rube Goldberg" machines after the engineer and cartoonist who popularized them—have been the stuff of comics since at least the 1920's and are almost always mechanical in nature.

 

However, a Japanese fiberoptic Internet service provider has achieved the same effect by using mainly light and magnifying glasses for their setup.

 

 

An article on ThisIsColossal.com said the commercial said this is "worth a watch" even for those suffering from "Rube Goldberg fatigue."

 

"Each sequence in the device is powered (or otherwise set in motion) by a single beam of light sent through magnifying glasses and mirrors to burn strings, pop balloons, and melt bits of ice," it said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News