Back Màquina inútil Catalan Leave-Me-Alone-Box German ماشین بیکاربرد Persian Machine inutile French מכונה חסרת תועלת HE Useless box Italian 役に立たない機械 Japanese 세상에서 가장 쓸데없는 기계 Korean
A useless machine or useless box is a device whose only function is to turn itself off. The best-known useless machines are those inspired by Marvin Minsky's design, in which the device's sole function is to switch itself off by operating its own "off" switch. Such machines were popularized commercially in the 1960s, sold as an amusing engineering hack, or as a joke.
More elaborate devices and some novelty toys, which have an obvious entertainment function, have been based on these simple useless machines.