Tag Archives: Passover

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Subway Time Travel edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to return to the subject of puzzly events!

I’m a huge fan of events where puzzly-minded people get together and create something new. Whether it’s a festival of indie games or a Rube Goldberg machine about Passover, a prom-themed puzzle tournament or a crossword contest about a crossword contest, anything is possible when folks with a mind for puzzle fun collaborate.

The team at Improv Everywhere know this better than most, as they’ve put together some terrific live experiences to entertain unsuspecting strangers.

In the past, they’ve staged a repeating time loop at a coffee shop, recreated the opening of Star Wars on a subway, and (my personal favorite) made a cabbie the hero of a reunion right out of a romantic comedy.

This time around, they faked time travel with four sets of twins. Check it out!

You can explore the full details of the prank/performance here, as well as many other “missions” from their past, but sufficed to say, it took a fair amount of puzzly skills and improvisational style to pull this off!

I wonder what delightful trickery they’ll attempt next.

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It’s Follow-Up Friday: Passover Puzzling edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And in today’s post, I’m returning to the subject of Rube Goldberg machines.

[Click here or on the image for a larger version.]

For the uninitiated, a Rube Goldberg machine is an intentionally overcomplicated device that uses multiple steps to accomplish a simple task. It’s an exercise in creative inefficiency, and a delightful one at that.

But some Rube Goldberg machines are designed to give those odd intermediate steps greater meaning, so that instead of an elaborate series of domino-style mechanical events leading to one minor accomplishment, several things are accomplished along the way.

And every once in a while, a Rube Goldberg machine tells a story, using those intermediate steps to depict meaningful events along the way. It’s a colorful and inventive way to teach, one that definitely grabs your attention.

The Jewish festival of Passover begins tonight, and I recently stumbled across a Rube Goldberg device that presents the story of Passover, including the liberation from slavery in Egypt, the plagues, and Moses leading the Exodus.

Enjoy:

You know, if other important historical events were told in Rube Goldberg fashion, I think history classes would be far more popular. Just saying.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!