A living room featuring this kinetic art table has no need for coffee table books—or a television, for that matter. You can happily entertain yourself for hours just watching the steel ball create patterns in the sand.
According to Creators, artist Bruce Shapiro based his design off the myth of Sisyphus, in which a man is forced to push a boulder uphill for eternity. Like Sisyphus’s stone, the marble in this table doesn’t roll towards a final destination. Guided by a magnet beneath the surface, the ball creates intricate grooves in the top layer of sand until the table is unplugged. The table resets with a new path as soon as it completes a pattern.
Last fall, Shapiro took his table to Kickstarter, where he raised over $1,900,000. A commercial website for the product is currently in development. To witness the mesmerizing process, check out the video below.
[h/t Creators]
This article was originally published on www.mentalfloss.com as Hypnotic Coffee Table Creates Sand Art With a Magnetic Marble.
