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In May 2022, a video supposedly showing a marble machine in perpetual motion was shared to the Be Amazed section of Reddit. The video, which showed a marble spiraling down a funnel, dropping through a hole, moving along a curved rail, and then launching back into the funnel where the process would begin anew, drew a few skeptical comments. After all, a perpetual-motion machine is impossible, as it would break at least one of the first two laws of thermodynamics. Our first inclination when we saw this video was that its creators used digital animation. We've encountered several similar seemingly impossible videos featuring colored ball sorters and musical marbles that used computer-generated technology. The latest video supposedly depicting the perpetual marble machine, however, was authentic footage and featured a physical product. But a perpetual-motion machine? No, this sample gadget did not upend our understanding of the world. Rather, batteries and a magnet created the illusion that the marble could perpetually move through the contraption. These marble machines were available for purchase, as of this writing. We found several versions of the product on Amazon and Etsy. You can search for perpetual marble machine if you'd like to buy one for yourself. Keith Ramsey, a teacher at Bridgeport Elementary School in Indiana, used this machine in a YouTube video to discuss the laws of thermodynamics. Ramsey says:
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