Rube Goldberg was an engineer, inventor, cartoonist and sculptor best known for his "Invention" cartoons which depicted complicated devices to accomplish simple everyday tasks. His cartoons inspired many Rube Goldberg machine contests where students design elaborate contraptions to perform basic functions. The document provides two examples of student-designed Rube Goldberg machines, one with 18 steps to put coins in a bank, and another with 13 steps to turn a book page. It explains how Rube Goldberg's silly inventions continue to engage students in creative engineering challenges.