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Featured era: 2010
This Too Shall Pass
“Let it go, this too shall pass.”
- Featured era
- 2010
- Peak era
- 2010
- Company
- OK Go and Syyn Labs
- Category
- Viral Videos
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On Video
OK Go's "This Too Shall Pass" (Rube Goldberg machine version)
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- OK Go
- Added:
- March 1, 2010
- Length:
- 3:53
What Was It?
OK Go made two official videos for "This Too Shall Pass", but the one people remember is the second. In what looks like a single take, a giant Rube Goldberg machine built from more than 700 household objects runs through a two-storey Los Angeles warehouse in time with the song, ending with the band being hit by paint guns.
The band built the machine with Syyn Labs, drawing on about 55 to 60 people from Syyn Labs, Caltech (including some from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and the MIT Media Lab. Filming took two days and around 60 takes.
It premiered on YouTube on March 2, 2010, and CNN called it "instantly viral". Frustrations with their label, EMI, over video embedding and radio promotion led the band to leave on friendly terms and start their own label.
Things You Probably Forgot
- A TV playing "Here It Goes Again" before being smashed
- Glasses of water playing part of the melody
- The band drenched by paint guns at the end
- The other video, with Notre Dame's marching band
The Story
- 2010 The marching band video, with the University of Notre Dame band, came out on January 12.
- 2010 The Rube Goldberg machine was filmed on February 11 and 12.
- 2010 The machine video premiered on YouTube on March 2.
- 2010 After leaving EMI, the band saw the single reach the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in May.
Its Legacy
The video is still on OK Go's channel. It cemented the band's name for elaborate one-shot videos, and Syyn Labs went on to build a machine for The Colbert Report and make adverts for Disney and Sears.
Memories
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