Nineteenth-century computer pioneer Charles Babbage is taken back—via Lego. Andy Carroll, an apparently highly-skilled Lego builder and mathematician, created this functional mechanical computer, modeled after Charles Babbage
s Difference Engine, which was a precursor to modern-day computers.

Amazingly enough, this machine is able to solve mathematical problems known as second- and third-order polynomials, and is able to calculate those to three or four digits.

Difference Engine mechanical computer made from legos [Boing Boing]