The odds are that you’ve heard about the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient (2000+ years old) mechanical device that was dredged up off of Greece more than a century ago. Four years ago, scientists finally figured out what it was for, calculating solar eclipses and other celestial events. It was really big news at the time, because we hadn’t realized that the ancient Greeks had the knowledge and skill to pull off that kind of feat.

Well, these guys have built a mechanical computer that duplicates its function — and they did it entirely out of Lego!

Now that’s freakin’ awesome. 🙂

I’m sure you’ll be able to buy a Lego kit specifically for this, at some point, if there’s enough interest in it. I’m not sure I’d have the interest to buy it, but I know several people who might.

(Thanks for the heads-up, c-square!)