William Heath Robinson, British cartoonist, was a man who truly epitomized the spirit of this blog. His improbable, zany and positively unsafe at any speed designs are just what man, and womankind have been dreaming up and actually making for years.
Robinson began his career as a children's book illustrator in the late 1890's. His art adorned such classics as the The Arabian Nights and a Midsummer's Night Dream. He didn't start with the crazy gizmo's until the his own books came out in 1902 and later in 1912. During the First World War he began to sharpen his craft with a series of war related cartoon collections. Published in 1934, Absurdities is a collection of inventions that included a machine to remove warts from the top of your head (you sat down in it) and another device to bring life back to stale scones.
Although not used this side of the Atlantic, we prefer a Rube Goldberg, a Heath Robinson can be described as a richly complicated invention that produced everyday results. I like the machine that threw water at howling cats or the pancake machine above.
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