"Rube Goldberg machines," named after the 20th-century cartoonist who drew them, "would perform very simple tasks," Herscher explains, "in the most elaborate and indirect way, and people find them very funny, as well as clever."

The device in question, garnering over 100,000 hits on YouTube and the attention of local news, was originally a joint project between Herscher and his roommates, but he was the only one who retained interest. It took six months to complete, and ended up spanning three living room walls. It was entered into Cadbury's recent Unleash the Goo competition, placing as a runner-up.

The 23-year-old Auckland resident has always worked with his hands. Growing up, he used his skill to keep himself occupied and found ways to make life easier around the house. "I didn't have any brothers and sisters, so I used to do these things when I was bored," Herscher says to GayNZ.

"I used to make contraptions out of cardboard and hot glue. I made something that hung from the ceiling that would hold my books, so that I wouldn't get tired arms. And something that would pull a switch to turn the light on and off, so that I wouldn't have to get out of bed. And I made something for when my mum came home - the door would open and pull a string that played a tape of me saying 'welcome home'."

Herscher will be working with a high school class his device inspired to engineer one of their own. He has also been commissioned to create a waterfall device for 42Below.

A video of the machine in action, part of an April 2, 2008 interview on TV3's Campbell Live, is embedded below. More entries can be viewed on the Unleash the Goo YouTube channel.