A Rube Goldberg machine is a device that people make to do a really simple thing in a really complicated way. It operates sequentially, each step triggering the next, like a chain. For example, you might have a ball roll down a ramp, then run into something that flips a switch, which knocks over a cup, which tugs on a string, and so on. Every bit makes the next bit happen.

Use is not the point of these machines. They’re more about how many steps it takes to link together to make one little thing go. The outcome could similar to popping a balloon, or turning off a light. Much of the fun is in trying to figure out how it all fits together.

People create them out of objects like marbles, dominoes, ramps, string and toy cars. You can use anything, really, as long as it provokes the next one in the chain. The decisions do not need to harmonize with each other. They just have to sustain the reaction.

It would be like if you’ve seen dominoes in a row that topple over one another, it’s kind of similar to that. That is known as a domino chain reaction. It’s rough and ready Rube Goldberg. The distinction is that a complete Rube Goldberg sequence will more often contain various types of parts and actions, rather than just one smashing into the next. But it’s still really just about this thing causing that thing, until it’s over.