If you’re not familiar with what a ‘Rube Goldberg Machine’ is (I didn’t know until I just looked it up), here’s the technical definition:

A Rube Goldberg machine, contraption, invention, device, or apparatus is a deliberately over-engineered or overdone machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction. The expression is named after American cartoonist and inventor Rube Goldberg (1883-1970).

Now, here’s the new record holder for the world’s largest Rube Goldberg machine in action:

With over 300 steps, this Rube Goldberg Machine took over 5,000 hours for the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers to build.

The record was previously set by … well … themselves.

Awesome.

[via Geek O System]