Rube Goldberg contestants seek to outwit, outshred each other
Students from Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame put their creative skills to the test as they come up with imaginative and interesting ways to shred paper on March 4.This year's teams are challenged to individually cut or shred five sheets of 20-pound, 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper in no fewer than 20 steps. The competition honors the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who specialized in drawing whimsical, complicated machines to perform simple tasks.
Journalists can begin coverage of the 23rd annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at 10 a.m. before the event begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Armory on the Purdue campus. The contest is free and open to the public.
Video highlights from the contest will be available via satellite uplink after the contest from 3:30-3:45 p.m. EST on Saturday (March 4).
Satellite information:
U/L TYPE: Analog
Band Type: Ku-Band
SBS6/05 (74'W)
U/L: 14123.000 MHz Vertical
D/L: 11823.000 MHz Horizontal
Allocated Bandwidth (MHz): 43.000
If there is difficulty with the satellite feed, contact Jesica Webb, (765) 494-2079, (765) 426-1071 (cell), (765) 423-5980 (pager), jwebb@purdue.edu.
Last year's local winner, Purdue's chapter of the Society of Professional Engineers went on to win the national competition and later appeared with their winning machine on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
In addition to a satellite uplink of contest highlights, a news release with competition results and photos will be issued the day of the contest. An ISDN line is available for radio interviews, but journalists must arrange interviews prior to the contest. Video b-roll is available by request.
A link to the competition story will be available after the contest on Purdue's home page.
Journalists planning to cover the contest with questions regarding teams and the news release should contact Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu. The day of the contest, Sequin can be reached by cell phone at (317) 938-5209.
Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related Web sites:
Purdue Rube Goldberg page
Creativity takes center stage at Rube Goldberg Machine Contest
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