Gravity-Defying Contraption Intrigues and Baffles the Masses

Rube Goldberg machines are overly complicated, overengineered mechanisms built to complete a simple task. Despite this, they are incredibly beguiling to watch. The contraptions can be extensive, like the band OK Go's video for "This Too Shall Pass," or simple, like the board game "Mouse Trap." In a new YouTube video from Canadian production company 2D House, a Goldberg machine takes a turn for the unbelievable, and we have never seen anything like it.

At the beginning of the video, "Isaac Newton Versus Rube Goldberg," the machine looks basic enough. Pieces start falling into place, each action triggers another, and so on down the line. But then things become gravity-defying, as parts of the contraption behave in ways that inspire curiosity and questions. Midway through, the camera turns upside down (or perhaps it turns right-side up, depending on where it actually began). The machine appears to have zero respect for the laws of physics.

The video is proving to be a big hit online, with more than 385,000 views and counting, but it's leaving some people scratching their heads. One YouTube commenter wrote, "At first I was confused. Then I got it. Then I was confused again." 2D House plans to release a "Making of" feature soon to explain their Goldberg device. Until then, we'll try not to let our curiosity get the best of us.

[Related: World's Most Extreme Rube Goldberg Machine]

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