Most people don’t recall much from the film Wild, Wild West beyond the giant, steam‑powered tarantula. That kind of out‑of‑the‑ordinary tech sticks in the mind. When villains wield gadgets that feel ripped straight from a comic‑book, the impact is unforgettable. It isn’t limited to cinema either—any contraption that looks engineered for over‑the‑top, world‑shaking chaos earns a place in this roster.

10 Car Flamethrower

Defending your ride and belongings can take many shapes. Unfortunately, we live in a world where thieves sometimes target what you’ve paid good money for, or even cause direct harm. So, what can you do?

Most vehicle owners rely on standard alarm systems—easy to operate, affordable, and effective against the average crook. But what happens when a simple alarm just isn’t enough?

In the late 1990s, a South African inventor answered that need with a literal fire‑breathing solution. The BMW Blaster, created in 1998 by Charl Fourie, was a non‑factory‑standard security add‑on that turned a car into a moving flamethrower.

Fuel lines pumped liquefied petroleum gas to a pair of nozzles mounted on either side of the vehicle. A foot‑pedal combined with a switch let the driver unleash a five‑meter‑long jet of flame, targeting anyone within arm’s reach. Priced at $650, the device was legal in South Africa and a few hundred units changed hands. Safety groups warned against it, arguing that such a weapon could provoke carjackers to resort to gunfire from a safe distance, rather than being a truly deterrent.

9 Killdozer

When a machine earns the moniker Killdozer, a wild backstory is inevitable. Marvin Heemeyer’s armored bulldozer is the quintessential example, and his saga even inspired a feature film.

Heemeyer lived in Granby, Colorado, where a property dispute spiraled out of control. After selling land to a concrete firm, the city rezoned the area, erecting a factory that cut off his access to his own workshop.

Incensed, Heemeyer used his welding expertise to construct an armor‑plated bulldozer in his garage. The homemade shield—three inches of bullet‑proof plastic and steel—proved impervious to police gunfire and even small explosives, which barely dented its surface.

Inside the fortified cabin, Heemeyer enjoyed air‑conditioning and a set of monitors that let him survey the outside without exposing himself. He equipped the machine with a .50‑caliber rifle and other firearms. When he finally unleashed the Killdozer, it plowed through thirteen structures, including a concrete plant, a judge’s office, city hall, and numerous homes, as though they were made of cardboard.

The rampage ended when the bulldozer became stuck in a basement. With the National Guard already on standby, Heemeyer chose to end his own life rather than be captured.

8 Euthanasia Machine

Dr. Jack Kevorkian earned the nickname “Dr. Death” for his controversial work, but the device most associated with him was a portable set‑up for home euthanasia. Yet the true modern “killing machine” belongs to Dutch physician Philip Nitschke.

Nitschke, a pioneer of legal euthanasia in the Netherlands, built a 3‑D‑printed suicide apparatus known as the Sarco. It resembles a coffin you can step into and seal from the inside, ensuring only the occupant can control it.

The Sarco replaces the air inside with liquid nitrogen, a readily available and legal substance. After a brief bout of dizziness, the user loses consciousness, and death follows within minutes—designed to be swift, painless, and self‑administered.

7 AI Machine Gun

In November 2020, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated by a mysterious barrage of gunfire. Initial reports suggested a human shooter, but further investigation revealed a different story.

The weapon was a machine‑gun mounted on a truck, operated autonomously via satellite‑linked artificial intelligence. No human was physically pulling the trigger.

Thirteen rounds were discharged, four aimed directly at Fakhrizadeh’s head. Remarkably, his wife, seated beside him, escaped unharmed. Early narratives of a gunfight were later corrected to reflect the AI‑controlled nature of the attack.

6 The DMZ Machine Gun Robot

The Korean Demilitarized Zone stretches 160 miles across a heavily fortified border where civilian entry is forbidden. While the area has become a wildlife sanctuary, it also hosts high‑tech security measures.

Samsung developed the SGR‑1, an autonomous robot armed with a 5.5 mm machine gun and an automatic grenade launcher. Deployed on a trial basis in 2010, these sentinels rely on motion, thermal, and radar sensors to detect intruders.

The robots can issue verbal warnings, accept voice‑recognition clearances, and, if necessary, unleash lethal or non‑lethal firepower such as rubber bullets. Their exact numbers remain undisclosed, but the 2010 trial proved successful enough for continued use.

5 Lightning Gun

Some weapons feel tailor‑made for sci‑fi enthusiasts, and the lightning gun engineered at Picatinny Arsenal fits that bill perfectly. By directing a laser‑guided electrical discharge, the device can strike a target with a bolt of lightning.

The underlying science is intricate, involving plasma generation, electron stripping, and the physics of light traveling through air. Since metal objects—like Jeeps or aircraft—conduct electricity far better than surrounding air, the gun can channel a controlled lightning strike to a specific target.

4 Sun Gun

Many of us recall the childhood thrill of focusing sunlight through a magnifying glass to scorch leaves. The Nazis, however, imagined scaling that simple principle to a planetary weapon.

Rocket scientist Hermann Oberth drafted a plan to launch a massive orbital mirror that would concentrate solar rays onto a chosen point on Earth—essentially a colossal, space‑based sun gun. The concentrated beam could incinerate troops and terrain below, much like a child squashing ants.

The project demanded millions of dollars and a fifteen‑year timeline, including a supporting space station equipped with hydroponic farms and solar generators. Though the schematics were detailed, the initiative never left the drawing board.

3 Bob Semple Tank

Imagine being tasked with defending a nation against a potential invasion, yet lacking conventional military resources. New Zealand’s Minister of Works, Bob Semple, answered that challenge with a homemade armored vehicle.

During World War II, New Zealand feared Japanese attacks, but its army was tiny and allies were tied up elsewhere. Semple repurposed a tractor chassis and covered it with corrugated manganese armor, creating the so‑called Bob Semple Tank.

The tank lacked a functional turret, struggled over rough terrain, and could barely top ten miles per hour. Nevertheless, its improvised armor proved surprisingly resilient, and the vehicle was fitted with several machine guns—making it a daunting, if unorthodox, foe on the battlefield.

2 The Infernal Machine

Giuseppe Marco Fieschi may be an obscure name, but his 1835 plot to assassinate King Louis‑Philippe of France birthed a truly bizarre weapon.

Fieschi, a known thief and step‑daughter’s lover, assembled a 25‑barrel volley gun he christened the Infernal Machine. The device was positioned in an apartment overlooking the street the king would travel.

When the monarch passed by, the gun discharged a chaotic barrage—though not every barrel fired, the weapon still unleashed over 400 projectiles. The onslaught killed 18 people and mortally wounded the king’s horse, while the king himself escaped serious injury.

1 Robot Soldiers

The Terminator remains an iconic symbol of an unstoppable killing machine—cold, relentless, and devoid of humanity. This cinematic fear has seeped into real‑world concerns about autonomous robots.

Boston Dynamics, famous for its agile robot dogs, has pushed the envelope with Atlas, a bipedal humanoid capable of complex movements. While the robot dogs can tow cars, open doors, and carry gear for soldiers, Atlas represents a step toward truly humanoid machines.

The uncanny valley effect—our discomfort with entities that appear almost human—adds an eerie dimension to these creations. As Atlas and its kin become more sophisticated, the prospect of machines that move like people yet cannot be ‘killed’ in a conventional sense looms large over the future of warfare and society.

Most of us try to get everyday chores done in the simplest, most direct way possible. Yet the legendary inventor Rube Goldberg delighted audiences by sketching out wildly elaborate contraptions that accomplish tiny tasks through a hilariously convoluted series of steps. In this roundup we’ll explore 10 surprising places where his spirit of over‑the‑top engineering still shows up, proving that sometimes the longer route is the most entertaining.

10 Surprising Places to Spot These Whimsical Machines

10 Board Games

Several tabletop titles have tried to cash in on the allure of Rube‑Goldberg‑style contraptions. Among the examples are games like Internal Contraption and Factory Fun, which embed mini‑machines into their play mechanics.

The crown jewel of this niche is the classic 1963 release Mouse Trap. Players assemble a sprawling apparatus piece by piece as the game progresses, eventually using the finished device to snare a tiny mouse token. The chain includes a shoe that kicks a bucket, a diver that dives into a bathtub, and a series of capital‑lettered labels that echo Goldberg’s own cartoon captions.

Mouse Trap’s popularity even spawned a life‑size touring version that traveled across the United States, giving crowds a hands‑on lesson in basic mechanical principles while they chased a giant, squeaky mouse.

9 Computer Games and Apps

Digital realms have also embraced the chaotic charm of Goldberg machines. In Minecraft, for instance, creators have built massive Rube‑Goldberg sequences that trigger countless actions—culminating in a spectacular tower explosion.

Dedicated titles such as The Incredible Machine and the official Rube Works Game let players design their own elaborate devices to solve quirky challenges. A quick search for “Rube Goldberg” in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store turns up a treasure trove of apps ranging from educational puzzles to pure entertainment. Even games not explicitly about contraptions, like Pull the Pin, Cut the Rope, and Fruit Ninja, reveal the influence of Goldberg’s chain‑reaction logic.

8 Fine Art

Rube Goldberg himself produced more than 50,000 cartoons featuring his signature over‑engineered devices. Inspired by his legacy, contemporary artists have woven similar machines into their works. For example, Clint Hansen’s piece A Simple Coffee Machine directly depicts a whimsical brewing contraption.

Other creators, such as Vanessa Bates with Klockwerk Orange Patent Pending and Mike Savad’s Steampunk—Coffee Break, embed Goldberg‑like elements into more abstract or surreal compositions, blending humor with visual intrigue.

Recent artistic interpretations sometimes forgo functional machines altogether, opting instead to convey chaos, frustration, or commentary through machine‑like motifs. Peter Kuper’s Election Recap, for instance, mimics a Goldberg diagram but deliberately omits the “A” step, using missing alphabet letters and a chaotic collage of symbols to satirize the political climate.

7 YouTube

YouTube serves as a perfect showcase for homemade Rube‑Goldberg spectacles. Creators have posted machines that automate everyday chores—turning pages, watering plants, even lighting up Christmas trees—demonstrating the playful potential of chain reactions.

One of the platform’s most viral examples is OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” music video. The sequence launches with a toy truck toppling dominoes, then weaves through spoons striking water‑filled glasses, a falling piano, a typewriter, a shattered TV, and culminates in paintball guns firing at singers—all synchronized to the song’s rhythm.

Like many of these elaborate setups, the machine is designed for a single, awe‑inspiring run; once the final action fires, the contraption must be rebuilt for another performance.

6 Education

Given Goldberg’s background in engineering, his machines naturally lend themselves to teaching physics and mechanics. Organizations bearing his name provide lesson plans and host contests that encourage students to design their own contraptions.

Beyond scientific principles, educators use the projects to nurture project‑management skills, leadership, creativity, and problem‑solving. While some pupils joke about learning “how to make art out of random junk,” most agree that building a Rube‑Goldberg device is an unforgettable, fun‑filled learning experience.

5 Toys

Any toy that sparks a chain reaction can be considered a miniature Goldberg masterpiece. Marble runs, roller‑coaster sets, LEGO builds, and domino cascades all trigger successive motions from a single push or drop—the essential ingredient of a Rube‑Goldberg device.

You don’t even need a commercial set; everyday household items—weights, strings, duct tape, broken toys, kitchen utensils, balloons—can be repurposed into a whimsical machine. Scour the garage, toy chest, or attic for objects that can spin, swing, or tumble, then experiment with unexpected combinations.

Imagine using a running blow dryer as a catalyst, figuring out what can ignite it, and then guiding a toy car onto a track—all orchestrated by your imagination. The sky’s the limit when you think like Goldberg.

4 Private Homes

Families have taken the contraption craze into their living rooms, especially during the 2020 COVID lockdowns when YouTube saw a surge of home‑made machines. Some clever setups even tackled social distancing, devising ways to pass the salt across a table without the participants getting too close.

One inventive household constructed an elaborate house‑wide Rube‑Goldberg that culminated in a foosball goal, turning a simple game into a multi‑room spectacle. While the final result was entertaining, the cleanup was a whole other adventure.

These projects are fantastic for keeping kids occupied when school is out. Start simple—perhaps a nerf dart knocking a stack of books to launch a teddy bear off a dresser—and watch their creativity explode into increasingly complex machines, complete with imagined elements like singing canaries or avalanche‑triggering monster trucks.

3 Sports

Sports-themed Rube‑Goldberg displays often end with a ball soaring through a maze of ridiculous actions before scoring a basket or goal. Even the Harlem Globetrotters have dabbled in the genre, crafting their own over‑the‑top scoring sequences.

Red Bull’s high‑octane advertisement featured a cascade of athletic feats: skydivers, skateboarders, and race‑car drivers each triggered the next stage of the machine, releasing the equipment needed for the subsequent athlete. The result was a seamless blend of human skill and mechanical whimsy.

2 Music

Musicians have turned the Rube‑Goldberg concept into auditory art, building machines that literally play songs. Some setups drop marbles onto resonant surfaces, while others spin gears that pluck piano strings, turning kinetic energy into melody.

One especially intricate arrangement incorporates an orchestra of percussion instruments—drums, cymbals, chimes, and xylophones—each struck by bouncing balls, all coordinated by a computer to produce a rhythmic masterpiece.

1 Movies

Film is a natural canvas for Rube‑Goldberg spectacles, allowing directors to showcase elaborate chain reactions that captivate audiences. Classics such as Home Alone, Toy Story, The Goonies, and Edward Scissorhands each feature memorable machines that drive the plot forward.

Breakfast‑making contraptions have become iconic, appearing in films like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Back to the Future, and Pee‑Wee’s Big Adventure. These over‑engineered kitchen rigs let eccentric characters prepare a simple meal with theatrical flair.

A less obvious example surfaces early in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indiana Jones triggers a deadly trap by removing an idol. The elaborate sequence heightens tension, proving that a drawn‑out mechanism can be far more entertaining than an instant demise.

Keep your eyes peeled the next time you watch a movie—Rube‑Goldberg‑style machines pop up in the most unexpected corners, adding humor and ingenuity to the storytelling.