Joseph Herscher
is a YouTuber notable for his Rube Goldberg machines.
contains examples of:
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General
- Awesome, but Impractical: Played straight with most of the machines featured on the channel. Subverted with "5 inventions that are surprisingly useful".
- Don't Try This at Home: Normally averted, but played straight in "Cricket Contraptions".
- Iron Butt Monkey: Downplayed. Joseph continues inventing despite being the victim of plenty of slapstick, but he is never seriously injured by any of his inventions.
- Lost the TV Remote: Defied in "5 inventions that are surprisingly useful" when Joseph creates a machine to ensure that the remote is never lost.
- Rube Goldberg Device: The entire purpose of the channel.
- Tablecloth Yank: Performed by several different machines.
Jiwi's Machines
- Bland-Name Product: In Episode 2, June orders a "Lapbook" from "Apples".
- Brick Joke: In Episode 4, the fake cake that Jiwi made out of shaving cream falls on his head from the shelf at the end of the episode.
- Ding-Dong-Ditch Distraction: In Episode 2, Jiwi creates a machine that creates a knocking sound on the door and distracts June.
- Disaster Dominoes: Played straight in Episodes 1 and 2, subverted in Episodes 3 and 4.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In Episode 2, the other entries on June's newspaper include "Parrot seeks goldfish" and "Seeking a ball for my chain".
- Happy Birthday to You!: Jiwi does this in Episode 4.
- Hopeless with Tech: June is shown to be this, as she didn't even know how to turn her laptop on without calling tech support, and she had no idea what a screensaver was.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Played straight in Episode 3 (with Jiwi interrupting June and Sam), then subverted in Episode 4.
- Live-Action Cartoon: This series is full of slapstick and cartoonish Rube Goldberg machines.
- Meaningful Name: "Jiwi" is short for "Jewish Kiwi".
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: In E3, June sits on the couch, lights a candle, and slowly undresses in an attempt to get Sam's attention. He is more focused on the bookshelf.
- Oh, Crap!: Jiwi does this several times throughout the series.
- Two Decades Behind: This series aired in 2015. However, Jiwi & June's clothing is straight from the mid-20th century, along with June's lack of desire to do anything other than clean up Jiwi's messes and find a man. The technology is also outdated, with Jiwi & June using landline phones and reading newspapers, and it is clear that June has never used a computer before (even though the computer itself is modern).
- Justified as an homage to Rube Goldberg-era cartoonists and inventors.
- Unfortunate Name: Frank Art from Episode 2's email address is "fart@me.com".
- The Voiceless: Jiwi's only line in the series is the "Happy Birthday" song that he sings in Episode 4.
What's Your Problem?
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Episode 7 "The Sibling Distractor" is all about this.
- Cat/Dog Dichotomy: In Episode 1 "The Cat Feeder", Alyssa's dog is very naughty, while her cat is very nice.
- Christmas Episode: Episode 9 "The Santa Catcher Machine".
- Don't Try This at Home: Averted. The show has no disclaimers of any kind, and in fact includes a series of bonus tutorials on how to make the machines at home.
- Epic Fail: In Episode 6 "The Compost Thrower", Joseph and Brett's attempt to build a compost cannon ends with Joseph covered in compost, including one piece that got in his mouth... and there's literally no compost in the bin.
- Mythology Gag:
- In Joseph's workshop, his hair-dryer jetpack from Jiwi's Machines is visible on the wall behind him.
- Episode 7 "The Sibling Distractor" includes a reference to Joseph's YouTube channel.
- Second Episode Introduction: John first appears in Episode 2 "The Sun Blocker".
- Shout-Out: To Rube Goldberg in "The Dish Doer".
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Unsuccessfully invoked in "The Sibling Distractor", where Joseph specifically asks Mikayla to throw up on camera.
