Frank Adelstein's Rube Goldberg Wedding Machine provides a generative metaphor for the mechanization of modern marriage ceremonies. In a sense, marriage has always been vulnerable to mechanization. The input- a combination of two humans, a few magic words, and officiant- guarantees a conventional, yet somehow still remarkable output in the form of a two-for-one. Or two-now-one.
To create this Rube Goldberg Wedding Machine, Frank and his cohorts followed an "organic, bottom-up process" which amounted to "total chaos, experiments, and duct tape." Here's the short version of the building process:
- Examine objects to come up with an idea how they can be used
- Design a way for them to perform their function
- Figure out how the object can connect to the other parts of the machine
- Design a way to trigger it and to prevent it accidentally self-triggering
Intelligent young lovers, take note. This four-step process beats any pricey pre-marital counseling sessions or workbooks. Frank and friends deserve credit for their insight into the basic mechanics of the marriage market as well as the marital assembly process.
A self-described "high-tech luddite", Frank can wax comedic on everything from churned butter to gifsicles to tv things. There are things one might hold against Frank, namely the 20 odd minutes I wasted on a game of Telephone Pictionary. But I don't hold grudges for long. Not when there's a marriage-machine-making assignment to pass on to the captive audience otherwise known as homeschooled children....
MORE ON ADELSTEIN AND MARRIAGE MACHINES
"I Want My FTP", the lyrics
"The Great Debate", a short story by Frank
"Japanese couple married by robot named I-Fairy" (video from Telegraph UK)
Free middle-school lesson plan on news about I-Fairy officiating weddings (Education.com)
Katy Waldman on wanting a robot at her wedding (Slate)
Alan Boyle wonders if we should just say no (Cosmic Log)
