Do you like to watch machines?

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I just discovered that I really, really like to watch machines. The big, factory kind of machines which have lots of moving parts that do the same movements over and over again. I could watch those for hours. I'm especially fascinated if I don't know exactly what they're for and how they function. Weird. Do you know that feeling?

I know that exact feeling. I love watching machines, as well - I can watch them for very long stretches of time without boredom. I also love watching things spin, or repetitively move, or making things move like that myself.

Yes. In private, I can be transfixed by watching machinery......inexplicably mesmerizing! I am also compelled to watch mechanical objects being taken apart.

My fascination with this is something I keep private. Interestingly, I really think this is a major difference between an 'on the spectrum' and any given NT person. Yes, I do like to watch front-loading washers.

Yes. Definitely.

First time I can think of was when I was little. The pizza place down the street had a gumball machine that delivered the ball by an elaborate Rube Goldberg series of devices. I could have spent $10 on gum watching that machine go, but mom cut me off at $1.

Yes, there are things that can put me in a sort of trance. Light reflections, deciduous trees or other thick greenery in a good wind, bodies of water, and moving machine parts (certain kinds). It can be slightly involuntary, but not hard to shake. Sometimes I just let myself though, it feels very relaxing.

Yes. Especially large industrial machines. Newton's cradle is cool but doesn't quite hold the appeal of large steam operated pumps, water wheels / grinding machinery etc.

Those terrific little kids toys, with the little dump-truck going up & down, round & round, then tipping it's load of plastic boulders & going back for the next load.

Big Loader, I think it's called.

Love those.

I love machines too.
One of the best jobs I ever had was being the fireman on a steam lcomotive at a theme park. Fireman is the term for the guy who shovels coal into the firebox and keep the water level up in the boiler, polishes the paint, and keeps the oil topped off.

It was a glorious job. You could close your eyes and feel the thing working all around you, the heat blazing off the boiler, and the engineer's seat area was a maze of levers and whatnot. Every trip was the same. The coal varied, so I had to learn how to read it for methane content (more methane= more sparkle= less needed)

I also work on engines and motorcycles as hobby since I was about 12 or so. I love mechanics.

But, I love sitting and looking at machinery I don't understand, like farm implements or older industrial stuff, to figure out what it does. My brain likes to make 3d pictures of the apparatus and run it at full speed. Or, as fast as I can handle anyway.

I like this one quite a bit.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA6t04tWtBI[/youtube]

Yes, in fact we lived in an apparent for about six months when I was 4. At the time, I couldn't read anything so I became fascinated with vacuum Cleaners because they appeared in the ads in the newspaper and they where around the house; I actually used to cut out the vacuum ads and save them. Anyway, when we moved to the apartment there was a maintenance man who would go around and vacuum the hallways in the building. So when I heard him vacuuming I would sneak out of the apartment and watch him vacuum. He usually returned me back to the apartment. When I go to my Grand Parents beach house I still enjoy watching the sand sifters clean the sand. I could go on and on but to answer your question, yes.

Some that are really fun are things with gear assemblies where you can keep track of all the motions within the gear box. The insides of clocks are a really good one for that.

This video was featured some time ago and I understand this little boy was found to be an Asperger's individual (no kidding!)

Cool vacuums

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvk5eoz_PrE[/youtube]