Assembling the Useless Machine from Spikenzielabs
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- čas přidán 29. 09. 2014
- A fun (and completely useless) kit from www.spikenzielabs.com/
Direct Link to the Useless Machine Kit below www.spikenzielabs.com/Catalog/...
My website: www.techmoan.com
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Put a sign on it that says, "flip switch for customer service"
EyeSprocket make a complaint box but there's a shredder inside
EyeSprocket it should say flip switch and leave on for 10 seconds
and then install a phone line so you can call indian tech support scammers
Stick a counter on it to see how many times the switched it.
@@davep8221 I just found out they've got a version with a counter.
www.spikenzielabs.com/Catalog/spikenzielabs/the-useless-machine-with-counter?cPath=51&
“That’s a bag of stuff, that’s a thingamajig, there’s a watchamacallit, and there’s a bag of gubbins.”
Very technical
i just need someone to clarify these, thanks to you human.
In 1000's of years when they dig this up; archeologists of the time will debate for years as to it's purpose :p
lol, yeh, that little plastic box is going to get someone a research grant and a promising career haha
Bob Moore Like Stonehenge. Obviously some guys, drunk on met, thought it a neat idea to build a circle with big stones they found along the way home from the pub. And today we're interpreting the wildest stuff into it.
Just like the rubber ducky
Ceremonial
if you dont know what it is, then it must be ceremonial, burial, or alien related
I think there's another version of this that operates the same way for about 3 switches, but then goes random, with delays ranging from about 1 second to about 30.. it gives the impression it waits until you look away and has far more personality....😁
put a fake finger on the thing
+Ryan Metevier I'll just get my fake finger out....now whether to use my fake pinkie or pointing finger...
+Techmoan or middle finger lol
+Ryan Metevier I've seen this with a cat paw on it
+AutoJunkieMan that's a coin bank
theres anothee one that use cat hand (not a coin banks)
I bought this for my kid, and discovered this video searching about it. Then I discovered Techmoan. 8 years later, I've watched virtually every video he's put out. Amazing to see how far the channel has come from here.
Needs a sign. "DANGER: DO NOT FLIP THIS SWITCH"
I have really enjoyed watching your back catalog of videos. I enjoy your humor as much as the videos.
"bag of gubbins" i fucking love this guy
+tom got a friend that says that too when we're working on RC models! lol
+a Disrespectful Narwhal was the f word really necessary there?
+gonigeena of course he's disrespectful
+Clayton Katz LOL! :D
+gonigeena What the fuck are you on about?
"That's a bag of stuff" - Oh, you and your technical jargon!
I've never wanted a redundant piece of uselessness more in my life. Apart from a ZX80
+Nostalgia Nerd I want and need your body.
hahahahahaha i want one
CZcamsrs watch other CZcamsrs? You just blew my mind.
Love your channel, btw.
More usles thing Titan x with gtx 1080
There was nothing useless about a ZX80. I learnt Z80 machine code on one and that kickstarted my whole career.
put a label under the switch saying "Do not Switch!", then people will fuck with it.
Bite That Apple Reverse Psychology does wonders doesn't it?
Thanks to this video I went out and bought my wife one of these. She had great fun putting it together and is enjoying her "just because" gift.
Hi there, when is someone going to discover you and get you on The Gadget Show or similar? Your easy matter of fact videos are a pleasure to watch and have me smiling all the way through, even on the products I'm not interested in. You certainly have the X factor when it comes to presenting. Just keep on doing exactly what you're doing!
***** I think the only way I can carry on doing things the way I like is to do them myself. I would imagine if I was on TV then I'd have to change my style to fit into a strict formula.
+Techmoan To chime in just for a bit, I understand, but also know that there are some people who are so good that some industry standard formula doesn't even matter anymore and I think you may be one of them.
i think its our subconscious desire to have something perfect, or done "right" in our perspective that makes you keep switching it, its that deep feeling of hope that it will stay there that keeps you flipping that switch
How rude
HerpaDerp Says the one who is named "HerpaDerp." What are you 7?
Ultimate Pleb What are you gay?
Ultimate Pleb
Don't listen to him, he's just begging for attention because he doesn't get enough of it
Jaxtronaut You're probably correct in this situation.
Hahaha, I couldn't keep a straight face when the listing of components at the first minute went from concise and accurate to utter nonsense. :D
A really fun piece of uselessness, thanks for sharing. I must admit I had worked out what it did fairly early during assembly as I have a very old coffin bank, wind-up, which grabs coins and pulls them in, a very similar mechanism but old skool.
Made me smile and laugh a bit to see it do what it does. Well done, product designer. :-)
And thank you for assembling and showing it to us. 👍🏼
I love this thing. I can't imagine how I'd feel after putting it together, but after ten minutes of youtube video, I stood and applauded. Too funny!
id love to see a box like that but when it pushes it to one side a arm comes up the other side and hits it back and its like a back and forth battle
Mutum
Those exist.
ah do you have a link?
Without I doubt! one of your best clips on youtube. Congratulations!
Reminds me of 'the internet' from the IT Crowd
I've really grown quite addicted to these videos. There's something very satisfying with understanding the intricacies of past and modern electronic devices that takes the "magic" out of them and makes them comprehensible. Thanks for making technology seem less alien and more human.
I like the ones that have preprogrammed responses to the arm, randomizing the closing.
I haven't seen any other CZcams video where someone assembles a useless machine with such a perfect combination of gravitas and humor. Well done and cheers :)
Another good cameo by the Seiko Sea Urchin :D
This is awesome! SpikenzieLabs is right in my neighbourhood in Montreal, and they're friends of mine. I gave one of these kits to my son for Christmas last year.
@Techmoan ,The end of the video when you switched on tbe machine made me smile.
The best video I've seen all year! I have to get one of those. Thank you for the video.
this is my favourite of all your videos so far.. I had a good giggle.. Amazing sense of humour.. and I loved the machine as well. 7 years after this video was posted, it's been suggested by Google. I would have loved to have a good play with that machine, but it seems to have been discontinued by Spikenzielabs
Some 40 years ago ,a very similar box was sold as "The Thing", as a tribute to The Addams Family TV show. You put a coin in a vertical holder on top of the box. The weight of the coin actuated a mechanism. A creepy looking hand reached up out of a door on top, took the coin, and disappeared back into the box. Identical design to "The Useless Machine" but with a zombie-like hand added.
Yepp ... had it also 50 years ago.
Would make a nice money box, small hand on the end of the perspex arm and a pressure switch to put the coin on. Had something similar in although wind up about 30 years ago :-)
I had the same thing - it was a tin box and a skeleton grabbed the coins and pulled them under a piece of cloth. I think they were pretty common back in the day.
they sell them on ebay from japan.
Techmoan When The remake of The Little Shop of Horrors was released on home video in the 80's they made a promo coin box in the shape of Audrey II. It broke down fairly quickly though. Be pretty collectable now!
*That's one game I would win at!!!*
_I would keep doing it till the batteries died!!_
then it would have won
Now with external PSU
Chuck Norris is already world champion
WATCHING THIS VIDEO IS THE INTERNET EQUIVALENT OF ACTUALLY FLIPPING THE SWITCH....
BRAVO DUDE!!!
Proper tutorial Mat, keep 'em coming!
There's an innate symbolism of man vs. machine that lurks in the background and yet drives our ironic lust for this POS! Well done.
That's an adorable little machine!
it is so NOT useless. Hence this great video, my snorted laughter and me ordering one! LOL. Loved all of it. Thanks mate. Even for me as bystander this was very therapeutic.
This reminds me of that switch in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
“Please do not press this button again “
Amazing and great for quality time with your kids. I'd carefully countersink the screw holes on top panel and replace the 4 panel screws with countersunk ones
I need one. I can't live without it.
Another great video! Congratulations! I really love your channel!
I grew up with machines. I started my life with spring-driven locos and ended with sophisticated industrial machines. I got bored and retired. I thought I finished with the machines. Well, I was greatly mistaken. I am already in love with this stuff. I made home-coming back to the toy world! What a surprise!
Awesome climax! Excellent Xmas gift :-)
Great video as usual
Watching the final two minutes is strangely addictive - especially while at work!
I bought one because of this video. I hope Spikenzielabs is giving you a commission! :)
I keep it on my desk at work. My colleagues love it!
When I was a kid, probably around early 1960s, my brother had a box like that but the lever that turned off the switch was a small green hand.
I think it was The Thing from "The Addams Family." You remember The Thing. It was a hand in a box. I recall that it delivered the mail.
All of you stuff is great, but these little gems from time to time are a fun bonus. Thanks for the laugh! ;-)
Some bits of tape make holding the nuts in place during assembly much easier. Likewise, for holding the sides in place until the top is on.
Absolutely Loved It! I also hoped for the puppets to have a go! Thdt would be a real Techmoan classic!
According to Wikipedia, this form of the useless machine appears to have been invented by MIT professor and artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky, while he was a graduate student at Bell Labs in 1952. Arthur C. Clarke wrote of it: "There is something unspeakably sinister about a machine that does nothing-absolutely nothing-except switch itself off", and he was fascinated by the concept.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useless_machine
The noise created when peeling protective film off a sheet of acrylic is possibly the most satisfying sound on earth.
OMG THAT'S HILARIOUS. I need to get one of these to prank my mates
Love it! Great review as always.
BRILLIANT had to wait until the end
I love it when a kit includes gubbins ;) Great vid!
Hi brother, i love your chanel and the way you review stuff, we love you in Mexico!!!
too cute for words, I have a friend who's daughter will love to build it and spend hours and hours flipping the switch :)
first video i have seen from you ... subbed right away
I love this gadget! Thank you so much for providing the website! Its so funny :p
Most humorous review sir!
I wonder if there a more sophisticated model that makes more of a 'song and dance' about it?!
Well that one made me laugh out loud. Well done, now I'm going to have to go look at the website.
Funny story about that screwdriver and the hand thing involving a hard drive I thought I might fix. A nice trip to the e.r.
What are those "posts" made out of? The four hollow cylinders that go in the corners. I can't find anything like them.
Geez what a pain to put together! I cracked the top piece, had to gorilla glue to back together, had to get a bag of rubber bands and my locking pliers to do the self tapping screws bit, and managed to crack a bit of the top part, but I got it together and it's as useless as it can be. I will be taking it to my office and seeing who wants to flip the switch!
But does it take pictures or video? Too funny. Thanks for sharing.
Tom
as soon as you lined up the "finger" i knew it turned itself off and i laughed so hard lol. awesome little device and totally useless hahahaha
This reminded me of a toy bank i had when i was a kid. You would put a coin in a slot on the top of the box and a hand would come out grab the coin and drag it in to the box. It was good fun as a kid and highly addictive like this machine though it did serve an actual purpose.
Just like a coin grabbing box I had 50 years ago. Put a coin in a slot which completed the circuit and a small plastic hand came out and grabbed the coin, and took it in the box.
For jokes you would probably put a sticky note on the inside of that flap that says "Haha!" or "HUEHUEHUE" or something silly.
Your item descriptions are on point
"Bag of stuff" "Thingamajig". Lol
This is actually an interesting case study in engineering techniques, the Useless Machine. This is a simple motor/switch logic implementation; I've seen microcontrollers and servos used, and I've even seen a 100% clockwork version. That's right. Wooden gears and wound springs.
how does it still rotate half a turn after the switch is pressed into the 'off' position? I didn't see a capacitor.
In this application, both strokes are driven by the batteries. The toggle switch is a double pole, double throw switch. When in one direction, the motor is driven one way. When the switch is the other way, the motor runs the other way. The microswitch inside the box is in series with the "backward" half of the toggle switch, so when it's fully retracted, the circuit is open and the motor is stopped.
Do they do one that's a box with a big button that when pressed lights up a little sign that says "please don't press that button again?"
"strangely addictive" , hehe. love it
A fun office toy, better then those kinetic ball toys that was popular in the 80s / 90s (that was on the desks of every up-and-coming Yuppie).
I have to say I prefer the units from the 1950s and 1960s that had a hand reach out and turn the switch off, sometimes with a sound effect. But I'm glad to see that someone has resurrected the idea.
"No, I want it on. Cheeky flippin... ON! Some people! Oh for crying out loud." Amazing. A machine that is literally useless. I need one.
I love all the technical jargon used when going through the box LAWLZ = )
That is so freaking cool! I want one
I love this! Does the box or the instructions tell you what it does in the end or do you have to put it together to find out? I'd like to give this to someone as a gift but don't want him to know what it does until he assembles it.
K5ING It does explain what the kit makes up on the box, but a quick flick through the the instructions lets the cat out of the bag (or the finger out of the box) anyway.
Techmoan
My son loves to tinker and put stuff like this together and thought it would be a kick to see that "THATS IT??!!" moment when he sees what the payoff to all the labor he put into it. Thanks for the reply, and thanks for all the review videos you do. They're brilliant.
The fascinating part is that even after the switch is turned off the machine doesn't shut off until the lever/finger returns.
Ahh yes, Science.
Strangely interesting. Clocked the Costco batteries as I use them also.
LOL...I was trying to guess what this would do when finished but I was way off...Cute, will make a great gift item.
I bought this as a funny gift for a family friend. He liked it. It's honest
you should have put it in a box that said projector or remote something,
then sit back and watch the frustration take hold ;-
You really turn that thing on--
XD But seriously, I want one now!
I have to get one!
Hi again Tech, I was wondering, I saw one of these on a video before, and it would switch off in different speeds every time, sometimes with some lag, other times really fast, it was super cool that it varied like that, this one seems to always turn off at the same speed, is that right?
Thanks!
Yes, it's the same every time.
ayy, it was jason vs the useless machine wasn't it?
+Ricardo Fortuny I little late but those are controlled by microprocessors like an arduino and use a servo for the "hand". that way they can vary the speed and do other functions. These are mostly just switches.
i love the usage of technical terms ;P
Riku matthews batcheriez
Hahaha, I saw these machines years ago, and while I never had one, I can totally understand you!!! It's addictive!!! Just watching you pressing the button is like: Yes, please, do it again!! :). By the way, don't you feel it's like some real entity lives inside the box? I think that's the reason it's addictive, it's like you fighting the thing inside the box :D. Congratulations for the video, really nice!!
A pretty fitting metaphor for life
i would've probably wired in the circuit for the pen that shousts "NO!" everytime you push a button. whenever you would flick the switch, the machine would shout "NO!" and turn off the switch.
Puts me in mind of the old "Grabbing Hand Bank". 😁
I got this for my dad for Christmas 2014, it's yet to be topped. He's changed batteries a few times.
N.B. To maintain an element of mystery, remove the packaging and get rid of, or sharpie over any part of the instructions that give away the end product. They don't even know what they are building.
That was fun to watch, you are so right with those tubes and screws. I would have to get my vise and cordless drill out for that. LOL Leave the swear's out in that event.
That's amazing!!
idk why but this amuses me greatly
the unboxing part was hillarious!
Brilliant!
i really can't watch his videos without thinking about James May
fuck, now I can't either.
GuysWhereDidYouGo welcome to the club... i just want him to say "Oi! why you gotta be so useless man?!"
I want him to say 'cock' that will make my day.
James May LOL Same tone James uses when he's planing self cleaning tires.
Allan Juntilla and now I will never be able to again!😂😂🤣
Nothing wrong about something being useless, when it knows it's useless and tells you about it. You're not being duped. I find the concept amusing. :D