Ferris Students Win Annual RGMC Award

What do engineering students do in their spare time? During the spring they are gearing up for the annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Purdue, which took place last weekend. This year’s problem to solve was to peel an orange, juice it, and pour at least one teaspoon’s worth into a cup. Further rules stated that a minimum of 20 steps must be used and the gadgets must be limited by 5 x 6 x 6-ft. with no explosives, fire, or live animals.

The winning team from Ferris State University managed to stretch the process to 345 steps, breaking Purdue’s previous record of 125 steps. It began with a bell ringing which triggered a line of toy cars that traveled down a chute and up a Jacob’s ladder, causing dominoes to fall and start a train. The vehicle went down a track, causing a hobby horse to drop. After several more steps, a mixture of Diet Coke and Mentos exploded, hit a target, and the orange was squeezed and poured. We didn’t believe it either until we found the video that captured the event. Way to go, Bulldogs.

 

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