Special Experiments

A common occurrence on the microwave show is to have a specific episode debut on the exact day (or close to the exact day) of either a holiday, release of a movie/DVD/piece of technology/etc, or some anniversary. For the vast majority of the seasons, Jon and Jory meticulously planned out the experiment order, purposely having many items be microwaved on or around a date the item related to. Since this planning is very clever and a testament to the time and thought put into the show's production, firetruckprime proposed making a page devoted to these special items.

Season 1
Being the beginning of the show, the first season did not have any real planning for the specific order of experiments. Jon and Jory just picked items out of the trash that they thought would be interesting to microwave in Unnamed. After the first couple of experiments that they wanted to test the most (i.e. light bulb and Pop Tart), the rest of the 18 experiments followed with no rhyme or reason to their order.

Season 2
For season 2, there still was a lack of experiments planned for a specific date/holiday. The only real order in the season 2 experiment list was microwaving the best of season 1 for the premiere and saving the more dangerous experiments (i.e. lighter, Axe body spray, etc.) for the end of the season.

Season 3
This is the first season with experiments planned for a specific date/holiday, not counting the season premiere being the best experiments of season 2 and the more dangerous experiments being late in the season.


 * 58: Ping-pong balls. Microwaved to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, to represent people playing beer pong on a holiday often associated with drinking.

Season 4
From here on out, only specific date/holiday experiments will be mentioned. Dangerous experiments continued to be late in the season for all seasons hereafter, so they need not be mentioned anymore. '''**Note: Experiment #85 (laser disc) was microwaved because, in season 3, after Jory finished microwaving 15 CDs, he commented that the end result looked like a laser disc. He requested in that episode for viewers to send in a laser disc, which was accomplished for season 4. So, the laser disc was microwaved as an homage to a season 3 episode, but the day it debuted was not picked for a specific reason.**'''
 * 77: Fireworks. Microwaved to celebrate the 4th of July. Jon colored all text in this episode red, white, and blue.
 * 79: iPod. Microwaved the day the iPhone 3G was released.
 * 97: Pencil. Microwaved in early September, to celebrate back-to-school time.

Season 5
'''**Note: Experiments #132 and #133, CO2 canister and red spray paint, were specifically chosen by the YouTube audience, in a poll, to be the season 5 finale items. They beat out gun powder and firecrackers in the poll.**'''
 * 103: Jack-o-lantern with ping-pong balls. Microwaved to celebrate Halloween. Jory and Riley also dressed up in costumes for this Halloween episode, being a viker pimp fighter pilot and a construction worker, respectively.
 * 104: Obama and McCain figurines. Microwaved in honor of the 2008 Presidential election.
 * 111: Talking greeting card. Microwaved for Thanksgiving (the card was specifically a thank you card). Jon added a turkey animation for the end, where the bloopers/outtakes usually go.
 * 120: Digital camera. Chosen for the first experiment Jon microwaved as host, since he is usually the cameraman and a camera was an appropriate item for him to introduce.
 * 121: Disco ball. Microwaved to celebrate Christmas. (The disco ball was really a Christmas ornament that just happened to LOOK like a disco ball.) Jon colored all text in this video red and green.
 * 131: Black light. Microwaved in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday.

Season 6

 * 143: My Little Pony/Pinkie Pie. Microwaved in honor of the Kentucky Derby.
 * 148: Robosapien. Microwaved the day Terminator: Salvation opened in theaters.
 * 150: Video camera. Once again, a camera was chosen for an experiment cameraman Jon hosted.
 * 153: Peanut butter. Microwaved the day after the expiration date on the jar of peanut butter. (It is unknown if the guys had planned about the expiration date when they made the filming order or if only the intro joke was planned around that specific date. Either way, there was date planning, and the item deserves to be on the list.)
 * 158: Transformer. Microwaved the day Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen opened in theaters.
 * 161: Bottle rocket. Microwaved to celebrate the 4th of July. Jon colored all text in this episode red, white, and blue.
 * 162: Firecrackers. Microwaved as the second experiment in a two-episode 4th of July celebration. Jon also colored all text in this episode red, white, and blue.

Season 7

 * 174: iPal monster. Microwaved to celebrate Halloween. Jory and Riley also dressed up in costumes for this Halloween episode, being a Halloween whore and a pissed-off pimp, respectively. Jon colored all text in this episode orange.
 * 181: License plates. Microwaved to celebrate Thanksgiving (to represent all the traveling to relatives' houses during the holiday).
 * 182: Toilet bowl. Microwaved right after the Thanksgiving episode for all the gastrointestinal problems that occur when you eat a lot of food for a feast. (It is unknown if the toilet bowl was originally placed after the license plates/Thanksgiving for this reason during the planning of the filming order or if Jon just thought of this reason while filming the experiment.)
 * 190: Tickle-Me-Elmo. Microwaved to celebrate Christmas and all the toys children get for that holiday.
 * 192: Bottle of gin. Microwaved to celebrate New Year's Day and all of that holiday's drinking.
 * 200: 146 flash bulbs. Microwaved to celebrate the 200th episode of the show. Used to represent an homage to the first experiment ever done, a light bulb.
 * 202: Football. Microwaved in honor of Super Bowl XLIV.
 * 213: Green spray paint. Microwaved to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, as well as to pay tribute to the season 5 finale by re-doing the same item for the season 7 finale. Erin O'Patrick McIlwain Caron was also given a traditional Irish name for the occasion. Jon colored all text in this episode green.

Season 8

 * 219: C-3PO and R2-D2 figures. Microwaved in honor of the 33rd anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars film, A New Hope.
 * 221: George Foreman grill. Microwaved to celebrate Memorial Day and all of the holiday's cookouts.
 * 222: Grill brush. Microwaved after the Memorial Day grill episode since it was a related item and could be used to clean the microwaved/dirtied grill.
 * 229: Helium balloon. Microwaved in honor of the microwave show's third anniversary/birthday.
 * 231: Gathering items/pile of junk. Microwaved as a tribute to the April 3, 2010 Boston gathering (where all of the microwaved items for this experiment were donated), as well as a lead-in to the then upcoming 2010 VidCon gathering.
 * 232: Thermometer. Microwaved to represent how hot it was in July 2010 when the guys were at VidCon in sunny Los Angeles.
 * 233: Cold pack. Another temperature-related item to represent Los Angeles heat while the guys were at VidCon 2010.
 * 234: VidCon light bulbs. Microwaved as part of the guys' live on-stage performance at VidCon 2010.

'''**Note: Experiment #241, glow sticks, was microwaved as an homage to the season 2 episode. When the original glow sticks episode was filmed, the guys only had an SD camera. By 2010, the guys had an HD camera and wanted to film the glow sticks' microwaved results in HD. However, there was no specific reason why the season 10 glow sticks episode debuted on the specific day it did.**'''

Season 9

 * 243: Dry ice bomb. Microwaved to celebrate Halloween.
 * 246: Electric razors. Microwaved in honor of "Neanderthal November," when men are encouraged not to shave for the whole month of November as a way to promote prostate cancer awareness.
 * 247: DeLorean. Microwaved on November 12, 2010 in honor of the important date of November 12, 1955 in the Back to the Future movies. Also chosen for an episode Jon hosted with Riley as sidekick, so the two BTTF buffs could do a whole BTTF-themed episode.
 * 249: Harry Potter figurine. Microwaved the day Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part I, was released in theaters.
 * 251: Can of Reddi Wip. Microwaved to celebrate Thanksgiving and all the whipped cream people put on their pumpkin pie.
 * 253: Twilight figurines. Microwaved in honor of Eclipse being released on DVD.
 * 254: Flip camera. Chosen as the item for Jon to microwave as sidekick, since Jon has expressed vehement dislike for the Flip camera in his vlogs.
 * 257: Tampons. Microwaved right after the lava lamp, to help mop up the red liquid that leaked everywhere for obvious reasons.
 * 258: Christmas tree. Microwaved to celebrate Christmas.
 * 259: Barney. Microwaved right after Christmas to represent all of the toys given on the holiday.
 * 260: Box of wine. Microwaved to celebrate New Year's Eve. Also microwaved as a way to prove the viral video of a microwaved box of wine exploding was fake.
 * 265: Smelling salts. Microwaved late in the season to help wake up the guys as the late-night filming wore on.
 * 268: Old Spice body wash. Chosen as the item for Riley to microwave as host, as a way for Riley to do his very good Isaiah Mustafa impression.
 * 270: Bottle of beer. Microwaved in honor of Super Bowl XLV.

Season 10
'''**Note: It is unknown if experiment #278, carrot, was placed after the Easter basket on purpose, to represent how bunnies eat carrot. It is also unknown if experiment #296, Justin Bieber doll, was microwaved on July 1st on purpose. (July 1st is Canada Day, and Justin Bieber is Canadian.) Also, experiments #274, 281, and 285 (air bag, big bag of chips, and toothpaste, respectively) were all re-done in season 10 as a way for the guys to revisit some of their favorite experiments, now in HD, before the show's end.**'''
 * 271: Champagne bottle. Microwaved as the season premiere to represent how champagne is used to celebrate special occasions.
 * 275: Playlist Live pencils. Microwaved as part of the guys' live on-stage performance at Playlist Live 2011.
 * 276: Hookah. Microwaved on April 20, 2011 in honor of 4/20 being the day many people skip school and/or work to smoke pot.
 * 277: Easter basket with chocolate bunny and Peeps. Microwaved to celebrate Easter.
 * 289: Twilight book with highlighters. Microwaved while Jon was attending the 2011 MTV Movie Awards, where the Twilight saga was a big award winner. Also microwaved as an homage to Jory's season 3 experiment suggestion in the highlighter episode (#60).
 * 290: Diaper. Chosen as the item for Riley to microwave as host, since Riley is the only one in the group who has had a baby.
 * 292: Listerine. Chosen as the item to follow directly after cigarettes as a way to freshen Riley's and Shelley's breath and get rid of the horrible smell of tobacco.