The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers defended their national title in complexity and inefficiency during Saturday’s 18th National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest with a machine that used 215 steps to shred five sheets of paper.

The annual competition rewards creatively and inefficiency in completing a simple task. This year’s task was to create a machine that employed principles of engineering and physics to individually cut or shred five sheets of paper in a minimum of 20 steps.

The team’s theme was “The Rube Goldberg Machine Ate My Homework.” In route to accomplishing the contest’s task, the contraption used an alarm clock, tank of water, hammer, marbles and a “Rube Goldberg-style player piano that played the “Hail, Purdue!” fight song.

The contest honors the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who specialized in drawing whimsical, complicated machines to perform simple tasks. The student-built machines are judged on completion of the task, creativity, the number of steps involved and how well they embrace the Rube Goldberg spirit.

Rock on!