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?

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"!

Anyway still learning from this and other useful forums about how to
repair one's household surroundings.

terry wrote:

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

Yes, Americans seem to think that Goldberg was the original but all he
seemed to do was to copy Heath Robinson. WHR died in 1944, and
Goldberg's cartoons pf bizarre machines didn't seem to appear until the
late 1940s.

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?

Rowland Emmett, some of his work still survives - there's a water clock
that he built in a shopping centre in Nottingham. He was also a
cartoonist but differed from Heath Robinson by building his machines.

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

The only references i've ever heard relating to Rube Goldberg were for
bizarre chain-of-events scenarios in Half Life, using Garys Mod

"terry" wrote in message
...
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?

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"!

Anyway still learning from this and other useful forums about how to
repair one's household surroundings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg

On Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:07:27 -0000, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:

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

The only references i've ever heard relating to Rube Goldberg were for
bizarre chain-of-events scenarios in Half Life, using Garys Mod

Wikepedia has a good enough reference to both of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Robinson

There was quite an argument from some merkins on a thread last year
claiming Heath Robinson was a Goldberg plagiarist.

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? ;-)

SJP wrote:
"terry" wrote in message
...
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?

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".

I always liked the WD40 & Duck Tape story.


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"!

Anyway still learning from this and other useful forums about how to
repair one's household surroundings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg

Interesting, as is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Robinson


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Dec 28, 8:50*am, Bruce wrote:
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 hehttp://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/arc...b/batters.html

and some pictures of Emett's designs and how they turned out hehttp://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? *;-)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to Bruce and all who have commented. I can indeed vouch for
Heath Robinson being pre 1940s.

At age 11 visiting grandparents near London, immediately after WWII in
1945, they had some of the original pre-war Heath Robinson
publications (I suppose one could call them 'Adult comic books' ) with
all the drawings of improbable situations and happenings. He seemed to
like railway topics a lot?

The publications had survived from 'before' September 1939, when WWII
had started as result of Hitler's Germany invading Poland and refusing
to withdraw. Also remember grandfather had some 'Michelin Man'
adverts, also from the 1930s.

Thanks for the mention of the Emet(sp?) exhibition; however it is
rather a long way, about 1400 miles, from here to Ontario and if you
have any appreciation of the current costs and public opinions of Air
Canada services ....... ?
You do?
Well nuff said; eh?

As a side note we are only about 2000 miles from Ireland. And until
the 2007 Air Canada fiasco it was possible to be in London UK, from
here, in 4 hours 20 minutes. Now the Transatlantic flights fly
overhead without stopping and we are forced to backtrack into the
North American mainland to get on them! Another alternative is to fly
south to Newark in the USA! Then from there connect on one of the
frequent flights to many of the European capitals!

On other hand Vancouver BC is some 5000 miles and several time zones
t'other way! Big country! Eh?

Bruce wrote:

Frederick Roland Emett was your man. His name has
often been misspelt

Including by you.