A handmade PythagoraSwitch video. A collection of my DIY Pythagora devices.

LEGO brick

I tried making a PythagoraSwitch with blocks!

Have you been to LEGOLAND in Aichi yet? The more than 1.5 million LEGO bricks are simply breathtaking—there’s a level of awesomeness you just can’t capture in photos or videos.

I’m sure even non-LEGO fans will be impressed! It also sounds fun to build a PythagoraSwitch-style Rube Goldberg machine at home using LEGO.

Try combining large and small bricks to make inclines, stairs, and bridges.

If you’re good with LEGO, it could be fun to pick a theme—like space, an underground empire, or a jungle—and build around that.

Of course, you can also just use LEGO as part of your Pythagora machine.

Please think of ways to bring out the full charm of LEGO!

laboratory equipment

Ibaraki Christian School Junior High School Science Club PythagoraSwitch

This is a PythagoraSwitch-style contraption that uses various tools employed in science experiments along the way.

Many lab instruments have unique shapes—such as rounded bottoms—and the setup leverages these forms to impart intriguing motions to a marble.

It also uses not only marbles but steel balls, which are drawn to magnets placed along the path, adding another point of interest.

The sequence is sprinkled with curious phenomena, making it a device that can spark interest in topics learned in science class.

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Domino

Let's build a Rube Goldberg machine on a car track that does a full 360-degree loop!

Domino TV shows are the kind you just end up watching, aren’t they? In the 2023 New Year’s Eve Kōhaku Uta Gassen, there was a performance that used a lot of dominos, too.

I bet many people also use dominos as part of a Rube Goldberg-style setup like PythagoraSwitch.

So here are a few ideas for domino-based performances.

First, try substitutes: instead of dominos, show off a domino topple using erasers or books as a quirky twist.

TV and air conditioner remotes or CD cases might work as substitutes as well.

I also think “using a fall to play an instrument” is a great idea—for example, having a falling domino drop onto piano keys to make them sound.

In the style of B-Dama and B-Suke

How to Make a PythagoraSwitch in the Style of Bead-Bisuke [Part 4] — How to Make the Black Ball Army

Have you ever seen “The Great Adventure of Beadama and Beasuke,” featuring the green Beata, the red Beasuke, and the yellow Beagoro getting into action? Even though they don’t have faces, I find them really appealing.

How about making a PythagoraSwitch inspired by those marble characters? It might be easier to create if you imagine scenarios like a chase using a black marble as the rival, or a fun race with a white marble.

Mechanisms where the order gets dramatically reversed or suddenly reset would make viewers feel excited!

Wandering Paper Cup

[The Wandering Paper Cup] #PythagoraSwitch The wandering paper cup was shocking 🤣 Magnetic blocks, educational toys, home Montessori, at-home play

This is a PythagoraSwitch-style machine that begins with a cascade of marbles and showcases various motions like domino effects and centrifugal force.

There are many highlights—such as a single marble overflowing from the mass and rolling onto the course, or being swung left and right before returning to the track—but the paper cup near the end deserves special attention.

A marble drops from the course into the paper cup, and the subsequent incline causes the marble to move around together with the cup.

Because the cup constrains the marble compared to when it’s rolling on its own, judging how it will move becomes crucial.

If you put thought into the cup’s design, it could further accentuate that distinctive, wandering motion.

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