When you're a kid, getting yours hands on some classic toys can be a universal desire.
But for some of us, cutting open those toys to see what's inside may be an even bigger desire. (At least for me. My one and only Barbie doll ended up with a decapitated head because I really wanted to see what was inside her plastic body. I seem to recall being disappointed it was empty. I'm sure plenty of you can insert your own jokes about an empty Barbie doll here.)
But the father and son who do the YouTube web series “What's Inside?” may be taking that curiosity to all new levels, and their latest video, posted April 10, in which they cut open an Etch A Sketch to see how it works, has had more than 2.4 million views in less than four days.
For a little background, “What's Inside” started in early 2014 when then-9-year-old Lincoln Markham, had a second grade project for his elementary school near Salt Lake City to answer one question that was on his mind, and make a poster board about answering that question. His question was to find out what was inside a ball.
His father, Dan, helped him out, and they shot a video of the project. Two years later and “What's Inside?” continues to ask that same question about a lot of other things, from bowling balls to rattlesnake tails and, most recently, the Etch A Sketch.
The Etch A Sketch brand, by the way, recently changed hands when Bryan, Ohio-based The Ohio Art Co., sold it and the Doodle Sketch brand to Spin Master Corp. of Toronto so Ohio Art could focus on its metal lithography business. The Etch A Sketch has been made in China since 2001.
Before the Markham duo cut open their Etch A Sketch, they first visit an artist who works with the Etch A Sketch as her medium.
Then, with some help from another video blogger, they cut it open. First thing they find is the aluminum powder and mechanism to control the pointer that makes the design.
But they're not done there. They quickly discover that the screen is more than it seems.
“Oh, there's a layer of plastic and then glass,” you can hear Lincoln say before his father adds that it makes sense to have the protective layer of plastic in case kids drop it.
Sounds like a great bit of reverse engineering on the part of two non-plastics professionals who are having some fun by following their curiosity wherever it takes them.
Because as Lincoln also says when he finally sees what's inside: “That's awesome!”
