Cartoonometrics

Synopsis

Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor of The New Yorker, introduces a unique episode of Cartoon Lounge focused on a recent caption contest. Over 4,700 participants contributed, resulting in 100,593 ratings and a total of 250 hours spent on the site. Mankoff discusses the two types of ratings, highlighting the top-rated captions, including 'Not my desk, you idiot' and 'We've been hacked.' He notes that one of the crowd-sourced captions made it to the final cut. Additionally, Mankoff mentions a special edition publication featuring an article by Lawrence Wood, a six-time caption contest winner, detailing his creative process. The episode also showcases Ed Steve, a cartoonist based in Taipei, who contributed a remarkable spread about baseball in Taiwan, emphasizing the global reach of The New Yorker’s cartoonists.