Who was this Rube Goldberg guy, anyway?

Writing the last post, it occurred to me that I had no idea who Rube Goldberg, the actual person, was. Turns out, he was an artist who drew cartoons parodying the machines-can-fix-anything philosophy of early 20th-century America. Pressured into an engineering degree by his father, Goldberg designed sewer systems for the city of San Francisco before quitting to become a cartoonist. As far as I can tell, he never built any of the machines that were named after him, just drew them (luckily for the city of San Francisco). But his legacy continues to inspire engineers to explore their artistic sides. Read a short bio or check out the official Rube Goldberg website.