terry wrote:

Must be dimming memory???????????? But can anybody help out please.

Was/is Rube Goldberg (that's in the USA, so called, version of
English!) the equivalent of the original UK Heath Robinson?

Also vaguely remember some improbable machines by Emmett? In the
immediate post WWII years. Including one at the Festival of Britain
(When was that; 1953?) same year as the coronation of Elizabeth II?


'Twas in 1951. Frederick Roland Emett was your man. His name has
often been misspelt - he became so used to it that he allowed several
different spellings to be used and never complained. He drew cartoons
of improbable machines for "Punch" magazine but went much further and
actually built many of them.

At the Festival of Britain there was an typically improbable but fully
operational miniature railway designed by Emett, called the "Far
Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway".

There is a small picture of it in action he
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/arc...b/batters.html

and some pictures of Emett's designs and how they turned out he
http://www.lakesideminiaturerailway....rtottering.htm

Perhaps his most widely known achievement was in the form of the
improbable machines he designed for the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
that was released in 1968.


Also various other terms/descriptions for ingenious ways of fixing
(usually temporarily) and/or keeping something mechanically moving or
operating. e.g. "String and baling wire", 'On a wing and prayer", or
in earlier times "A ha'porth of tar an a couple of rope lashings".

While apologising for being OT it is, sort of, related to 'Do It
Yourself', is it not?

Or, as here in Canada, we would utter a short interrogatory "Eh?".
Note the question mark! Meaning "Do you not agree"!


Emett was highly regarded in Canada and possibly the best tribute to
his life is given by the Ontario Science Centre, where his devices are
regularly exhibited. There's an Emett exhibition on next month:

http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/holiday/emett.asp

Worth a visit, eh? ;-)