ABC late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel knows a thing or two about making funny viral videos.
Viral Video: How to Zip a Zipper With Gumballs, Silly String and a Shark
“The Great Shark Wars of 1852!”


But he didn’t need to do much for this one — a demo of the Rube Goldberg machine that won a recent intercollegiate competition.
The intentionally inefficient machine, “A Simple Way to Get Ready For Work,” was made by an adorkable team from Purdue University. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” regular and former parking lot security guard Guillermo Rodriguez makes himself a willing guinea pig as the over-engineered contraption progresses from sending a gumball down a ramp to (eventually) zipping up his jacket.
Here’s the video of the Kimmel demo, and below it a video of the contest’s second-place finisher, from Washington University in St. Louis. The Purdue team’s machine gets rolling at around three minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF3nV0r87v8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nug-347xuac
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
Most Popular
- Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword
- Photos reveal strange sea creatures that scientists have never seen before
- Data centers could actually be good for your hometown
- You have more time than you think. Here are 5 science-backed ways to find it
- The Air Quality Index and how to use it, explained











