A Crazy Cambridge Contraption 281
lhdentra writes "A few friends and I got bored one weekend and decided to build a contraption. Remember the Honda advert? We think ours is better." This took dedication.
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A Crazy Cambridge Contraption
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"The lesser of two evils -- is evil." -- Seymour (Sy) Leon
for the clueless (Score:5, Informative)
Slashdot is getting scooped by memepool now.
Re:for the clueless (Score:2)
how does the tyre accelerate uphill just as the left hand side of it goes out of shot?
hmmmm.....
Re:for the clueless (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:for the clueless (Score:3, Informative)
Re:for the clueless (Score:3, Insightful)
That's the point! This Slashdot page just did some of Honda's marketing for them. The ad is such that at least a fair number of people will discuss it and even if you don't remember which car manufacturer it was, you'll be reminded by someone else.
The ad is really very brilliant. Great entertinament, but also a very effective way to spread the brand image.
Re:for the clueless (Score:2)
I wish more companies would try this sort of thing instead of resorting to the usual "'sexy' woman having orgasm" type of adverts.
plus imo it's better to have something like this that isn't 100% about the product than to have something just about the product but full of lies and BS ("this car will make sexy women have orgasms!" etc.)
Re:for the clueless (Score:2)
Re:for the clueless (Score:2)
Re:for the clueless (Score:2)
No. No, it's not. Probably half the posts to this article are either people incorrectly claiming the Honda ad was faked, or people responding with the correct information about the tyre weights.
I guess it's nice, because it gives everyone a chance to feel smart. But, it's a waste of time.
Re:for the clueless (Score:5, Informative)
Re:for the clueless (Score:5, Informative)
or
http://www.tcfilm.ch/MOVIE1/lauf.mov [tcfilm.ch]
Re:for the clueless (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:for the clueless (Score:3, Informative)
There are still a few perhaps more recent examples viewable via the wayback machine eg. here [archive.org] and here [archive.org] and here [archive.org].
You should have built... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You should have built... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:You should have built... (Score:2)
http://saintaardvarkthecarpeted.com/mirror/The%20C ontraption.avi [saintaardv...rpeted.com] e .avi [saintaardv...rpeted.com]
http://saintaardvarkthecarpeted.com/mirror/machin
ummmm.. down. (Score:5, Funny)
That's the most obvious slashdotting-bait site. (Score:4, Funny)
It is cambridge (Score:2)
They can work out velocity and angle of the bus coming towards them instantly in their heads but not have a clue on how to cross a road by themselves...
Re:That's the most obvious slashdotting-bait site. (Score:2)
Oh, That Cambridge (Score:3, Informative)
It took me awhile to figure out that this was Cambridge in the U.K. and not Cambridge in Massachusetts with the site currently being /.ed.
Re:Should not take you long (Score:5, Funny)
Huh?
Re:Should not take you long (Score:3, Funny)
You mean like advertisement?
Isn't it nice when things just... work? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Isn't it nice when things just... work? (Score:2)
I downloaded both movies yesterday or so (Score:3, Informative)
"The Contraption.avi" is 8368078 bytes and "machine.avi" is 5851896 bytes. If someone wants to do a torrent I'll upload to them but I've never made a torrent and I'm not starting right now.
ADDENDUM (Score:2)
Re:ADDENDUM (Score:2)
playing videos on Windows (Score:3, Informative)
If you're having trouble playing that Star Wars Episode 3 trailer you just downloaded, this'll to watch it just fine.
Re:ADDENDUM (Score:2)
Re:ADDENDUM (Score:2)
Re:ADDENDUM (Score:2)
you say "it doesn't work for me"
he says "you don't have the right codec, try this"
you say "umm, excuse me, I have everything I need"
he says "fine, I won't help you, it works for me with the codec I just suggested"
you say "you're an asshole".
you honestly think *he* is being an asshole?
Slashdotted... (Score:3, Interesting)
jolly good show (Score:5, Funny)
What is it?
I've spontaneously combusted
Well, I am sorry
Oh it's quite all right, I've grown tired of living
Ah, very good then
For the best
Yes indeed
Re:jolly good show (Score:2)
The real end to the the contraption... (Score:2, Funny)
Mirrored (Score:4, Informative)
Got them, can't view them (Score:2)
Mark
Re:Got them, can't view them (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Got them, can't view them (Score:2)
Re:Got them, can't view them (Score:2)
Media Player Classic has no problem at all with the files.
Link (Score:3, Informative)
Pure Genius (And Coral Link) (Score:5, Informative)
I managed to get to it via coral:
http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk.nyud.net:8090/lwh21/m
Enjoy!
Re:Pure Genius (And Coral Link) (Score:2)
Re:Pure Genius (And Coral Link) (Score:3, Funny)
What's it like to be so smart and well informed?
Re:Pure Genius (And Coral Link) (Score:2)
It's not CG, it's not magic, it doesn't even require any clever trickery. All you do is stick a heavy weight inside a wheel at the top and a little offcentre.
Gravity pulls the weight down, and assuming it's sufficient to counter the other forces involved it'll haul the wheel round as it goes, uphill if necessary, and come to a stop once the weight is at the bottom.
Even I find this simple, and I never took even the mos
Got the torrents up :) (Score:5, Informative)
Torrent is.. Up, but no Seeder, 40 peers at 70% (Score:2)
Re:Got the torrents up :) (Score:2)
Its a shame that Slasdot won't set up torrents to video and then post them up automatically if the video server dies.
Re:Got the torrents up :) (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Got the torrents up :) (Score:2)
The missing steps (Score:2)
2. We posted it's existance on Slashdot
3. 10,229,033 people clicked on the link
4. The server erupted into white-hot flame for the finale
But this IS the contraption! (Score:5, Funny)
1. Slashdotter creates site that requires each person to do a 12 meg download to find out what is on it, and submits it to Slashdot.
2. Timothy looks at it, decides it is cool. In the process of looking at it for review, he slashdots the site.
3. "Contraption" story is added to Slashdot. Thousands hit it within seconds, further banging away at some fragile server in the UK.
4. UK server-farms transformers start to smoke. One explodes.
5. Power spike would seem rather small, but it does make its away through an Atlantic cable where it hits an electric relay system near Cleveland, Ohio.
6. Cleveland's vintage "Enron meets East German War Surplus" relay blows out. Cleveland once again has a big blackout. Free TV's for all: loot early and loot often!
7. Ensuing crises causes calls for demands for the resignation of United States energy secretary.
8. Energy sec is good friend of President, so he can't fire him. But he has to do something, so he sacks the Surgeon General.
9. Without a surgeon general, health standards go down, including dental standards.
10. I get a nasty tooth-ache.
Thanks a lot, lhdentra!
Re:But this IS the contraption! (Score:2)
Mirrordot (Score:2)
Their next contraption should be: (Score:5, Funny)
http://slashdot.org/articles/04/04/09/1929235.shtm l?tid=188&tid=97
Uh (Score:2)
Never mind the Honda ad... (Score:5, Interesting)
- and it lasts 30 minutes. Hypnotic, beautiful
Re:Never mind the Honda ad... (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes it is. It's very well done. I got it for Christmas, and about half of my extended family - maybe a dozen or so people - watched the whole thing in near silence.
They do, however, cheat a few times. They really like the foam step, because they're able to use it as a checkpoint - get from A to B, stop, set up B to C, restart the foam reaction, film from B to C, and so on. The Honda commercial is very well done because it's brief (some of
Coralized Link (Score:2, Redundant)
mirroring (Score:4, Informative)
the original [talker.com]
the edited type movie [talker.com]
The honda wagon commercial - still a classic [talker.com]
Enjoy
Sorry Kids (Score:2)
Second that motion (Score:2)
Kudos to these guys for all the work, and I suppose it was worth the 54 seconds it took to watch it, but let's keep some perspective. At the mall I can get a similar show fo
Credits (Score:2)
Torrent that somebody else has already posted to contraption.avi [gotdns.com]
Re:Credits (Score:2)
Given the MPAA's penchant for litigation, one might not consider it wise to put what they put at the very end of those credits.
Rube Goldberg Machine? (Score:2)
Re:Rube Goldberg Machine? (Score:2)
No Contest (Score:2)
Cool, But Not Honda (Score:2)
It's not.
What you've done is cool as a standalone work. But reminding your viewers of the Honda commercial sets up an expectation that your video simply does not fulfill. Sorry.
codec? (Score:2)
Bah! once again the codec is not on my box. This is the worst thing about video on the web in general. Half the time I don't have the codec, and the file and/or the site doesn't even tell me what I need. Of course, this is with Media Player 10 on XP sp2. Maybe something else is better, but I DON'T CARE. I just want the stuff to work out of the box. You think they would have automated the codecc update process by now, but NooooOO! (end rant).
I'm going to try this recursively... (Score:2)
22. As the string breaks, a second cube suspended beneath the poster falls, opening out the paper for the finale.
Just as soon as I figure out how to make the second cube turn the alarm clock back by a few seconds.
That, and a way to make my neighbors not make a fuss about the infinitely looping racket.
Better than the honda commercial?? (Score:3, Interesting)
All that said. I'm sure it took a *lot* of time and effort, it was cool to watch. It's just annoying for them to say 'ours is better' just to get more attention. If they had just said, here's a cool rube goldberg contraption, take a look, I wouldn't have been let down at all.
Inspired by (Score:2)
(/me runs, ducks and hides)
mac guy here (Score:2)
MPlayer OS X (Score:2)
Re:Pictures, anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Honestly, thanks (Score:2)
Scuttlebutt has it that Honda were actually pretty uneasy about the concept, since W+K in essence took the only two prototype cars and took one to pieces to make the piece, leaving Honda with just the one. Not sure how accurate that rumour is exactly, since the entire ad industry is a murky pool of rumours and hearsay anyway...
Re:Pictures, anyone? (Score:2)
Dunno if that's a link that expires or not, but it's on this page if not: http://www.mirrordot.org/
Link to the AVI: http://www.mirrordot.org/media/9395b32628854ab464
Re:Slashdotted already (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:5, Informative)
I believe the tires were weighted internally to achieve this behavior. Counterintuitive, but not cheating.
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:4, Informative)
Actually the only cut in the Honda cog is at the exhaust (muffler) section when it rolls across the floor (because they couldn't fit all the components in [dailyrecord.co.uk]), apart from that and the 606 takes later, its all real, we discussed this here when the advert was first released [slashdot.org]
Of course the big hoo-haa was Honda (or their agency [wk.com]) was taking all the credit and collecting numerous prestigous creative awards [brandrepublic.com] when they (or their ad company) blatently "borrowed" the idea from Rube Goldberg's "Lauf der Dinge" [imdb.com] (the way things go) without giving any credit to Rube, all while giving some bullshit story about being inspired by Mousetrap (the board game) if you see Rube's film (1987) you will see the plagiarism for yourself.
I guess Picasso was right ? "good artists copy, great artists steal"
That is, award winning multi million dollar production companies certainly do.
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:2)
Most of Rube's stuff wouldn't actually work (too many variables, like the reactions of animals), but was funny to look at. Fiscli and Weiss's work wasn't funny, but it is amazing that it actually worked.
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:2)
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:2)
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:2)
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:3, Informative)
The room that the machine was set up in wasn't long enough to incorporate the entire setip, so it was done in 2 parts, with the rolling muffler being the transition shot between the 2 halves.
Re:Faked Honda Commercial (Score:2)
Rube Godwin (Score:3, Informative)
See title. Rube Godwin's Law was named after the fact that in any fierce Internet argument (first Usenet, now elsewhere), whenever someone discusses ungainly contraptions, someone will always ask "but can you kill Hitler with it?"
Re:DIY - Incredible Machine (Score:2)
The interesting thing about gravity is that it works on things that you can't see as well as things that you can. For instance, a heavy enough weight inside of the tire can definitely have the effect that it will make the tire roll uphill.
Re:DIY - Incredible Machine (Score:3, Informative)
Indeed, an article (which I found from googling) describes it.
http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh
Talks about the nuts and bolts in the tires themselves.
Re:DIY - Incredible Machine (Score:2)
Re:DIY - Incredible Machine (Score:2)
Re:DIY - Incredible Machine (Score:2)
Re:DIY - Incredible Machine (Score:2)
Re:Rube (Score:2)
Re:Rube (Score:2, Interesting)
Myself and about 15 of my friends recently entered one of these contraptions into the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest [rube-goldberg.com]. Purdue University hosts the national contest every year where winners of several different regional events compete to have the best working, most complicated Rube Goldberg machine. This year the task was to remove two old batteries from a flashlight, replace them with new batteries, and turn the flashlight on. Former tasks have been casting a ballot, making a cup of coffee,
Re:Rube (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Let the Slashdot effect begin! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:British Standards (Score:2)
And you're not allowed to produce any sound that can be heard from outside of your room, either.
And the yearly snow sculpture... nay, monument... to male genitalia wasn't just against the rules, it was probably outright illegal.
How fortunate those things never happened, because University students are really big on following the rules.
Re:I refuse to watch.. (Score:2)