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"Turbo Encabulator" the Original

Dave Rondot · comedy · Watch on YouTube

Satire & parodyMechanical & precision engineering

What it is

The earliest filmed version of the Turbo Encabulator technical-jargon parody, shot in the late 1970s with narrator Bud Haggert. It deadpans a stream of meaningless engineering language.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Used as the canonical reference for the jargon-parody trope, and as a joke whenever technobabble appears.

  • 4 people recommended it
  • 4 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2016, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “I think you're gonna like this one [1].”

    Classic parody video the commenter thinks the reader will like

    Anarch157a, 2019-05 · Recommendation · in “Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements (1908)”

  2. “Bud Haggart's industrial training videos for the Turboencabulator from the 70s/80s are things of beauty.”

    Classic engineering parody training videos

    NelsonMinar, 2021-07 · Recommendation · in “New mystery AWS product ‘Infinidash’ goes viral despite being entirely fictional”

  3. “the older Turbo Emcabulator video is far superior”

    Argues the original is better than the Rockwell version

    causality0, 2023-11 · Recommendation · in “Rockwell Retro Encabulator [video]”

  4. “Bud Haggert still teaches smart people something very important about communication with interdisciplinary crowds”

    Teaches communicating with interdisciplinary audiences

    Joel_Mckay, 2025-11 · Recommendation · in “Learning to read Arthur Whitney's C to become smart (2024)”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: turbo encabulator, parody, technobabble, bud haggert, engineering humor

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