finalmercer

Reuben (Rube) Goldberg began life as an engineer. However, as with most engineers, his other interests prevailed and he became a professional cartoonist. Rube began producing syndicated cartoons in 1915 and continued through most of his remaining life. In 1948, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartoons. What brought Goldberg the most fame was his series of cartoons featuring Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts. The premise of these cartoons was the professor’s use of overly complicated contraptions to perform otherwise simple tasks. The below example is a “Self‐Operating Napkin”, which, through a series of physical reactions, passes a napkin across the user’s face (which may be substituted for a harmonica to provide after‐dinner entertainment.)