Most of us seem intent on making things as easy as possible, but St. Louis sculptor Daniel Heggarty takes some delight in the unnecessarily complicated. Inspired by a lone exercise bike that was just begging to be made into something wonderful, Heggarty added bits and pieces to his complex creation day by day until eventually he ended up with a room-sized contraption that would make Rube Goldberg proud.

Unlike actual Rube Goldberg machines, this one doesn’t have a simple end result achieved by overly complex motions. It runs off of a 220 volt farm motor, and the only goal the machine seems to have is to entertain onlookers. From a foot kicking a bucket to a perpetually opening and closing umbrella to the dry cleaning rack that plays scales on a pair of xylophones, the huge machine is full of humor and silliness.

The post Delightful DIY: Massive Goldberg-Style Do-Nothing Machine first appeared on Gajitz.

Plenty of movies have depicted breakfast machines: automated contraptions that, with a touch of a button, prepare a hearty and nutritious breakfast for the (usually) nerdy and groggy inventor. Before now, the fabled breakfast machine has been nothing but a beautiful dream for those of us who can’t open our eyes enough to make a slice of toast before noon. The kind geniuses at Amsterdam design group Platform 21 have decided to bring that dream into the realm of Things That Actually Exist (Kind Of).

The unique philosophy of Platform 21 includes bringing together professionals and amateurs to make awesome things happen. This project was no exception: they invited members of the public to come and help them with the epic project. Over a period of seven days, the team went from having nothing more than a handful of ideas to having a fully functional breakfast machine that had been lovingly built by a diverse group of people.

Each visitor contributed something unique to the project. Some brought in items, some sketched out ideas, and everyone dug in and put the pieces together. When there was a problem to be solved (such as how to get a perfect layer of jam on a piece of toast) the group all pitched in to come up with a solution.

There were bumps and obstacles along the way, as can be expected, but on the seventh day the machine made a delicious all-day breakfast for everyone: omelets, toast with jam, coffee and orange juice. Unfortunately, the breakfast machine isn’t fully automated and does still require the breakfast eater to be somewhat aware of what they’re doing, but it still looks like an easier way to make a morning meal for a crowd than doing it all the old-fashioned way.

The post Wakey, Wakey: Breakfast Machine Finally Brought to Life first appeared on Gajitz.