Believe it or not, this Rube Goldberg/Jean Tinguely-style contraption is actually an astronomical clock by A.H.C.I. member Miki Eleta called BY2112ME that displays retrograde minutes, jumping hours, day of the week, a three-dimensional moon phase, and world time. And it’s all regulated by Eleta’s own constant force gravity tourbillon with chronometer escapement.

But the question I’m asking here is: what might this assembly of gears be and/or be doing if it wasn’t a clock? Please leave your ideas (fun or funny also welcome) in the comments.

And congratulations to Mark for his Gary Larson /The Far Side-esque winning entry in last week’s competition about a boat stranded in the snow. You can see Mark’s caption plus all of the other excellent caption suggestions at Photo Caption Competition No. 18: Boat In Snow.