#HTE

Japanese Rube Goldberg Machines are Somehow More Simple and More Complex at the Same Time

Japan’s NHK network has an educational children’s television show called “Pythagora Switch.” The program is meant to nurture the imaginations of children aged four through six by introducing them to “mysterious structures, interesting ideas and various phenomena,” and to that end the segments are always bookended with short videos of Rube Goldberg machines.

YouTuber KeN KeN has compiled many of these interstitials on his channel. It’s tough to describe what these machines are like without watching them, so we’ve pulled a bunch for you. They’re paradoxically more simple and yet more complex than we’re using to seeing with Western Rube Goldberg machines, and because they’re so short—most are less than 30 seconds—they’re addictively watchable:

If you’ve not guessed, the type/single character that each machine ends up spelling out is the show’s title/first character.

There are tons more of these videos here.

Via The Awesomer

See Also: