Purdue Rube Goldberg Machine
The 2011 Purdue University Rube Goldberg machine shattered the world record for most steps ever successfully completed by such a machine.
In 244 steps the "Time Machine" traces the history of the world from Big Bang to the Apocalypse before accomplishing the assigned everyday task of watering a flower.
The record has been sanctioned by the Guinness Book of World Records and the World Records Academy.