This Incredible Rube Goldberg Machine Shows All Of World History

Christina SterbenzNov 6, 2013, 20:13 IST

This crazy contraption, created in 2011 by the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers, held the Guinness World Record for the largest Rube Goldberg Machine ever (before another team from Purdue smashed the record the next year.)

Named "Time Machine," the deliberately complicated device showed world history from the Big Bang to the impending apocalypse through 244 different steps lasting about 2 minutes.

Here are just a few of the highlights:

The device starts with the Big Bang, as a ball dropped down a ramp causes a popgun to fire.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

Then we see evolution, where a rotating life form evolves as it passes across primordial ooze.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

At one of the cleverest points, a ball falls through trap doors adorned with dinosaurs, flipping them over to reveal skeletons.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

Here's the next moment, showing the dinosaurs' mass extinction. The team even added a crater-hole from the "asteroid."

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

In the Ice Age, a tiny human figurine slides down a ramp, thus killing a less-tiny Mammoth figurine.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

Seconds later, a winding spool pulls some strings to construct the miraculous pyramids in Egypt.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

In the Medieval Era, a fan propels a ship across a wooden sea, depicting exploration during the period.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

Then, a military tank wreaks havoc during World War II after traveling on a small conveyer belt.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

Below, a U.S. spaceship revolves around the moon during the Cold War, eventually powering a light bulb - which made Russia incredibly jealous.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

And then during the Technical Revolution, a makeshift mini-TV scrolls through pop culture icons.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

Lastly, the apocalypse comes, as the entire machine started "smoking" and a black curtain ascended.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

But there was still hope. From the question-marked box, a tiny flower grew - much like in the Lorax or WALL-E.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

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This Incredible Rube Goldberg Machine Shows All Of World History

The device starts with the Big Bang, as a ball dropped down a ramp causes a popgun to fire.

Then we see evolution, where a rotating life form evolves as it passes across primordial ooze.

At one of the cleverest points, a ball falls through trap doors adorned with dinosaurs, flipping them over to reveal skeletons.

Here's the next moment, showing the dinosaurs' mass extinction. The team even added a crater-hole from the "asteroid."

In the Ice Age, a tiny human figurine slides down a ramp, thus killing a less-tiny Mammoth figurine.

Seconds later, a winding spool pulls some strings to construct the miraculous pyramids in Egypt.

YouTube/PurdueUniversity

In the Medieval Era, a fan propels a ship across a wooden sea, depicting exploration during the period.

Then, a military tank wreaks havoc during World War II after traveling on a small conveyer belt.

Below, a U.S. spaceship revolves around the moon during the Cold War, eventually powering a light bulb - which made Russia incredibly jealous.

And then during the Technical Revolution, a makeshift mini-TV scrolls through pop culture icons.

Lastly, the apocalypse comes, as the entire machine started "smoking" and a black curtain ascended.

But there was still hope. From the question-marked box, a tiny flower grew - much like in the Lorax or WALL-E.

Check it out the full video here: