From The Jetsons to The Pee-wee Herman Show, from Flubber and Casper to Wallace & Gromit, Gen-Xers and Millennials had endless examples of living life with ease, automation, and robotic assistance.
There were machines that could dress us, brush our teeth and hair, and make us breakfast, and we were fascinated with the possibilities behind living in such an assisted world.
A favorite example came from Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, in which Grommit assists his owner with starting his day by pressing a button, which shoots Wallace out of bed, drops him through a trap door in the floor and directly into a pair of suspended trousers, followed by the delivery of breakfast.
In case you've never seen it or need a reminder, here it is:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
Fascinated by the deft skill behind the animation and imagining what it would be like for a contraption like this to exist in real life, TikToker and kinetic artist Joseph Herscher challenged himself to recreate it.
And he succeeded, all the way down to the jam hitting the toast before they land together on the plate.
In a behind-the-scenes segment, Herscher demonstrated how he created each step in the scene, starting with the flip of the bed, then the trap door, then the drop into the trousers.
His first attempt to flip the bed backfired when a hinge broke off of the wooden platform he'd created, causing it to drop back to the floor. Herscher reinforced the platform to ensure it didn't drop again, and he was able to lay in the bed, be lifted up, and to slide out of it without issue.
The rest of the scene required similar care, including extra strong suspension for the pants to hold his weight, and even practice landing correctly in the trousers.
Finally, the biggest hurdle had to be launching the jam, popping the toast out of the toaster, and timing the two so the jam could hit the toast before it dropped back down to the plate.
You can watch the behind-the-scenes video here:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
Without further ado, you can see the final results of Herscher's innovation here:
Some TikTokers simply applauded the level of talent and precision this project required.
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
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@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
Fans of Wallace & Gromit felt nostalgic.
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
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@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
There were even a few mentions of Herscher being hired in a live-action remake of the 1993 animated film.
@josephmachines/TikTok
@josephmachines/TikTok
While Herscher might jokingly refer to himself as "the creator of useless machines" on TikTok, it's important to understand the level of intelligence, scientific understanding, artistic and creative ability, and extreme precision a recreated moment like this requires.
Not only did the moment inspire intense nostalgia for some, but it's also a great example of when science and art collide and how these fields make an impact.
@WhiteHouse/X
