Yes, It Is a Good Idea to Microwave This

Great art asks questions, challenges us to explore new possibilities. So does that make Is It A Good Idea to Microwave This? great art? Probably not. But despite its adolescent tone, there is a sort of purity in its kamikaze approach to “don’t try this at home.”

Sponsored by College Humor-wannabe Hilarious.net, this surprisingly long-running web series has conducted over 80 “experiments” consisting entirely of “microwave specialist” Jory Caron taking some object and nuking it until it’s completely destroyed. The immediate comparison is, of course, Will It Blend? — but Microwave takes glorified property destruction to a new level. For one thing, an object microwaved has a much higher tendency to catch on fire, which is frankly far more fun to watch. For another thing, it’s not an advertisement for a blender — the motive for microwaving is pure entertainment.

Half the appeal of the series is watching Caron glory in the way things spark and burn when placed inside the “Jory Caron Microwave Laboratory II” (which appears to be a spare room in his house, lined with tin foil and filled with fans). While pandering to its young male audience with dumb jokes and references to his toasted nuts, Caron’s glee is the opposite of Blend’s Tom Dickson deadpan approach, and his highly unscientific methodology (for the 4th of July fireworks experiment, he sets the microwave to cook for 7:04 minutes) keeps the audience’s attention focused on what matters — stuff blowing up.

What fascinates me is the phrasing of the question — it’s not a question of ability, it’s a more abstract, philosophical phrasing. When IS it a good idea to microwave something? Because according to the series, the answer is very rarely yes — and when it is yes, such as in the case of the iPod episode, it’s a “yes” with caveats (watch out for shrapnel) and casualties (Lacey, the latest of IIAGITMT?’s microwaves, acquired used from Craigslist). But while there’s no purpose to this microwaving — it’s always a ridiculous idea — that just makes it all the more entertaining. And so the answer to the ultimate question is always yes.