I have to admit I don't often look at a packet of ketchup and wonder to myself how much tomato paste is sealed inside. All I know is that it's definitely not enough for my super-size order of fries. By all rights, "How Much is Inside" (on Cockeyed.com) should come across as nothing more than a blogger's bad party trick. That it doesn't is a tribute to its designer, the goofy but gung-ho Rob Cockerham. He infuses every photo-heavy essay with amusing anecdotes, dry wit and snapshots that will have you giggling or (in the food-related pieces) gagging. Part of the charm of "How Much is Inside" is the real sense of fun that shines from each segment. Judging from the many snapshots that accompany each "project," Cockerham convinces friends and family to go along with his wacky schemes by converting every experiment into an excuse for a party. For instance, in the "keg" piece, Cockerham takes pictures of each person as they fill and refill their cups. The resulting montage of snapshots reveals 141 cups of drunken revelry.
The subversive Sacramento crew of weighers and measurers can turn even the most boring experiments into an excuse to get down. Measuring the longevity of a printer cartridge sounds rather dry, but Cockerham is no Hewlett Packard. After convincing a loyal follower to pay for the $32 cartridge, Cockerham and his cockeyed cohorts printed up scads of porn shots and, in an innocent attempt to measure them on a long, flat surface, affixed the medium-resolution pages to the wall of an elementary school. After the experiment was completed, the porn was bound and is now on sale at E-Bay. Get your hot scientific erotica there. The pieces on French fries (Burger King's large has only three more fries than the medium), Oreos (every box contains a cup of white gunk) and Cheerios (5 feet of stacked Cheerios per average serving) showcase Cockerham's holy fool persona at its best, but my favorite episode has to be the Chevy Trailblazer one. Seems our intrepid hero saw a contest in which entrants had to guess how many Ping-Pong balls could fit inside the vehicle. The closest guess won the car.
What's Cockerham driving these days? Check out what's inside.
