Rube Goldberg (1883-1970)

Rube Goldberg takes the prize for the all-time nuttiest inventor. But Rube never applied for a patent because his inventions were in his comic strips. Rube's first cartoons appeared in the sports section of the San Fransisco Chronicle. In time, other newspaper began to print them as well.
One of Rube's most popular strips featured Professor Lucifer Butts. The professor dreamed up inventions that made the simplest tasks hilariously complicated. The back scrubber is a good example