Cockeyed.com Science Club
 Science can be a tough, lonely job. And frankly, kind of boring to read about sometimes, unless it's filled with the scientific properties of backwash and statistical data about free throws. That's where the Cockeyed.com Science Club comes in. Rob Cockerham and his intrepid pals have been putting theories to the test for nearly a decade and documenting their work online.
In the early days of the Web, Rob made Yahoo! our very own Elvis (which still lives in our HQ), but we didn't let that influence our positive Pick in 2003. Recently, we caught up with the perpetually smiling science guy again to get the facts behind the lab coats. Why did you start the Science Club? Well, in the beginning, 1998, there were an unbelievably small number of web sites putting up original material. The whole Internet seemed to be made up of text and animated GIFs. Very few regular people were taking funny pictures of themselves and putting them online. Heh, pretty different than today... So after a couple of episodes of How Much Is Inside?, we expanded our attempts to document all sorts of mischief in pseudo-scientific terms. Then was the Hot-Pocket Dissection the very first experiment or were there early, unrecorded attempts before that? As a matter of fact, there was a Science Club adventure that came before Hot-Pocket Dissection, and which never made it online. One of us had picked up a free pine seedling, and we shot photos of planting it in the yard and digging up some phony Roman artifacts. It was only half an idea, and the photos were terrible. Hot-Pocket Dissection was 100 times better ... great pictures and interesting (I think) results. Who knew that a Hot Pocket only contains three-quarters of one slice of pepperoni? I think it still stands up pretty well today. We agree! But what are your credentials for performing all these scientific experiments? Where did you get the mail-order degrees you talk about on the site? Well, I'll tell you, the secret is to get your $449 degrees from mail-order universities which have really familiar initials, such as USC (University of Scholastic Classes) or MIT (Masters Institute of Technology). Those initials have gotten me further than my real BA from UC Santa Barbara ever did. Which experiment has been the most popular? Is there one that gets fan mail? Refilling an Ink Cartridge is very popular, as is Tattoo Removal. Both get a lot of questions, but the ink cartridge story definitely gets the most laughs. People who are in the middle of this very frustrating, very messy ink experience find our tale and are very happy that someone else had a similar, horrible experience. The tattoo removal story gets a lot of feedback, I think because the orange and yellow parts of the tattoo in question, Tara's rainbow triangle, never really disappeared, despite eight trips to the laser doctor. People write because they want to know what happened. She gave up on laser tattoo removal. That's a bummer. Which experiment was the most fun for the team to do? Well, that is tough to answer. Almost all of them start out really fun, but after a couple of hours, it can start to feel a lot like work. I can remember Dropping Toast being really fun from start to finish, with lots of great ideas coming from Brooke and my brother Mike, and Viscosity was also really fun, comparing the thickness of a bunch of different fluids, including Mrs. Buttersworth and Goldschlager cinnamon liqueur. Breathalyzer Testing was also a fun one. In fact, I measured my own "fun" at 0.12, and Levi made it up to a 0.19. Excellent! But what about the least fun? After 6-7 really good experiments, my conspirational friends Mark and Brooke had moved to the Bay Area, and I hit a little dry spell where no experiment seemed to reveal any good photos or unexpected results. I think Insulation Testing is a good example of an un-fun experiment. It was just measuring bags of ice stuck in wet goose feathers and Rice Crispies treats. I know, it sounds like a blast, but it was hot and miserable. Do people try to recreate your experiments? If so, are you honored or annoyed? It doesn't happen very often, but I'm thrilled when it does ... honored. More often, I'll get information on the results of a "cockeyed.com-style experiment," which is really terrific. When MythBusters was in its second season, I guess they tried a dropping toast experiment. The producers got some viewer mail that let them know about the same experiment on our web site. We chatted, and they even invited me to come by to interview for the show. Did you ever find more of the Cockeyed Airmail balloons? Ha ha. No. I'm afraid not. Do you and Stacy still go to tanning salons? Oh, that was fun, and I really did feel like I was going behind the scenes to a hidden cultural phenomenon ... the naked endorphin infusion. We both know how dangerous tanning is, so we don't go anymore, but it was fun while it lasted. So, what's the sexiest word in the scientific vocabulary other than viscosity? Hmm. I don't know ... maybe "oscillation"? Now what does the future hold for the Science Club? Great stuff! I've finally finished gluing 800 mirrors to a giant parabolic dish, and I've been spending the weekends trying to melt glass using the heat of the sun. This mirrored dish, which I'm calling the "Light Sharpener" is the fulfillment of a four year dream, so I am very excited to have it finally up and melting things. I'll go head-to-head with any microwave oven! I also want to try creating a system to air-condition my car while it is parked, and I want to try making little tornados in the backyard. Thanks for pioneering science on the Web, Rob! You sure have put those honorary degrees to good use.
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