13x04 - Bowling ba*ls, Barber Poles, Felt, Radar g*ns

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
clay tobacco pipes may have been
the first disposable product.

For centuries, smokers
in north america and europe

Used them until they broke,
which happened often.

Clay pipes fell
out of widespread use

At the end of the 19th century,
but they're still made today

By clay artists
with a reverence for history.

Nostalgia is a new niche market
for clay pipes,

Popular
at historical reenactments

And coveted by collectors

Because history buffs
like an authentic puff.

At this studio in the midwest,

The craftsman starts
with a small wad of clay.

He rolls it long and thin
and flares the shape at the end.

This establishes the basic shape

Of a native-american-style
clay pipe.

He drives a tapered stick
into it to hollow the long stem

And stops just short
of the flared end.

He rolls it
with the stick inside

As he continues
to shape the clay.

He trims the flared end

And now transforms it
into the pipe bowl.

He presses a handmade stone tool
into it to make it hollow

And then flares the bowl
some more.

To better define
the shape of the bowl,

He kneads the clay
from the outside.

He removes the stone implement.

He now works the pipe bowl
entirely by hand

To make the thickness of
the wall a little more uniform.

One more roll, and then
he punctures the bowl cavity

To link it to the air passage.

He bends the bowl upward

And then sculpts the clay
a little more.

He sets it aside to dry a bit.

The clay hardens

But is still soft enough
to carve into

With the edge of a wood tool.

To create notches
and other trim marks,

He gently presses the tool
into the bowl.

He tweaks the shape
a little more

And leaves the pipe to dry
much longer now.

The moisture evaporates,
and the clay solidifies.

Using another stone tool,

He grinds off bumps
and other surface flaws.

The grinding leaves
little scratches on the pipe.

He rubs those away with water.

The clay quickly absorbs
the small amounts of water,

And the surface of the pipe
dries in a very short time.

After that, this replica
native pipe looks pretty smooth.

Other native pipes
are more elaborate.

The bowls are decorated with
effigies of an animal or human.

Here, the artist sculpts
a man's face onto the bowl.

He uses a blunt stick

To raise a couple of eyebrows
and add nostrils.

He rolls eyeballs and plants
some ears on the side.

The pipe bowl
will serve as the mouth.

Native people believe

That smoke carries their prayers
to the gods.

To make an english tavern pipe,

He shapes the clay in a mold
with a metal wire inside

To create an air channel.

He trims the excess clay.

He stamps the maker's mark
onto the base of the pipe.

After his removes the wire
used to make the air channel,

There's drying time,
and then he fires it in a kiln

At approximately


After 17 hours, each pipe is
a solid piece of white ceramic.

He fires the native pipes
outside in the open air.

He builds a fire around them
using bark, leaves, and twigs.

This is the traditional way

Natives have hardened
their ceramic items.

As the fire burns,

The clay hardens and takes on
a smoky, black finish.

The fire dies down,

And he removes
the now-hardened clay pipes.

Still hot,
he removes them with tongs

And sets them aside to cool.

Later, in the studio, he dampens
a cloth with mineral oil

And rubs it into the clay.

This seals it and gives
the sooty finish a nice patina.

It takes the craftsman
about three days

To make one
of these replica clay pipes.

They're sure to provide
a whiff of nostalgia.

Narrator: there's nothing
quite as thirst-quenching

As a sip at a water fountain
after playing in the park.

The modern drinking fountain
was invented in the early 1900s

As a result of health
and sanitation concerns.

Today,
it's a safe source of water.

It waits to serve,
no matter what the weather.

And at the touch of a button,

You can drink
your fill of refreshing water.

Essentially unchanged
for decades,

It is the ever-dependable
drinking fountain.

A worker begins
by coating the concrete molds

With a release agent.

The molds are made
of fiber glass and metal.

He makes sure
the coating is thorough

So that the molds will be easier
to pull apart later on.

With a cloth, he also coats
the rubberized cap of the mold.

The cap will eventually become
the top of the fountain.

After he applies the coating,

The worker assembles
the inset portion of the mold.

He then puts the fountain frame,
made of galvanized steel rods,

Into place.

He assembles
the two sides of the mold

With the fountain frame
enclosed within.

Using nuts and bolts,

He ensures
the mold is nice and tight

To avoid seam lines
in the concrete.

He now inverts the assembled
mold on top of the cap,

Again making sure
all the pieces of the mold

Are as snug as possible.

Using wooden spacers,

The worker makes sure the frame
inside is precisely centered.

He slips in
the core of the mold,

Which will create the void
needed for mounting hardware.

This wooden cover
will keep the concrete out.

A mixing machine prepares
the concrete-aggregate mix.

A computer controls the portions

Of sand, rocks, pebbles,
and water used in this recipe.

Once the employee is satisfied

With the consistency
of the mixture,

He directs it
into a wheelbarrow.

As the worker pours concrete
into the mold,

The mixture oozes evenly
into the available space.

He completely fills it
in a matter of minutes.

He uses a trowel
to smooth the edges.

Two to three hours later,

Workers carefully pull the core
from the mold.

Once the cement
has cured overnight,

Workers lift
the top of the mold off

And peel away its cap,

Revealing the top of a brand-new
drinking fountain.

With a rubber mallet,
the worker separates

The sides of the mold
from the concrete fountain.

The fountain pedestal is still
a little rough around the edges,

So he gives it
a high-pressure water wash.

The spray gradually removes

The superficial layer
of concrete,

Revealing the textured concrete-
aggregate mix underneath.

The concrete aggregate becomes
a sturdy material,

With sand, rocks, and pebbles
not just on its surface,

But all the way through.

The aggregate mix is durable,
with no rust or peeling paint.

It's aesthetically versatile

And comes
in a variety of colors.

A worker now assembles
the plumbing.

He places two washers
on this lead-free brass fitting

And applies a thread sealant.

He holds the bubbler in place
on the stainless steel bowl

And attaches a fitting
underneath.

He applies more thread sealant
to the elbow fitting

And, after putting it in place,

Makes sure
it's carefully aligned.

He then inserts
a stainless steel drain,

Followed by a washer and nut
to hold it in place.

He attaches a mounting bracket
to hold the bowl assembly

To the frame
inside the concrete fountain.

A worker now fits
the bowl assembly

Into the top
of the fountain pedestal.

The mounting bracket
holds firmly

To ridges in the concrete frame.

A worker attaches
the button assembly,

Which holds both the button

And the valve
controlling water flow.

He attaches the elbow fitting
to polypropylene tubing

And attaches the button plate
to the fountain pedestal.

A slide on the pedestal

Prevents the bubbler
from being twisted or turned.

All that's needed now
is a thirsty customer.

Narrator: tradition dictates
that orange liqueur

Be served as a digestif,
but nowadays it's also used

As an ingredient
in popular c*ck --

For instance, mixed with tequila
to make a margarita,

With gin to make a white lady,

Or with vodka
to make a cosmopolitan.

Orange liqueur
is also known as triple sec,

Triple referring to the fact
it's distilled three times.

&Quot;sec" is french for "dry.&Quot;

However, this liqueur
isn't dry at all.

It's actually very sweet,

Even though it's made
with mostly bitter oranges.

Triple sec was invented in 1834
by this distillery in france.

The liqueur is made

From a combination
of sweet orange rinds

And bitter orange rinds,
which are green,

Imported from haiti.

The rinds arrive sun-dried,

So the first step
is to rehydrate them

By soaking in cold water
for about 12 hours.

The next step
is running each and every rind

Through a revolving razor
to remove the white lining.

Left on, this lining would make
the liqueur taste bitter.

Rind with its lining removed
is referred to as zest.

While the distillery
will divulge

That its liqueur recipe
calls for

Significantly more
bitter orange zest

Than sweet orange zest,
the precise ratio is top secret.

The next step
is what's known as maceration.

They soak the zest in sugar beet
alcohol for about five days,

During which time
the rinds soften

And the alcohol
turns slightly orange.

At the end
of the maceration phase,

They pump the alcohol
and transfer the zest

Into a long-necked copper vessel
called a still.

Once all the alcohol and zest
are inside,

They close up the still.

Then they release hot steam,
which heats the still,

Bringing the alcohol to a boil.

The alcohol evaporates,
rising up the still's long neck,

Until it reaches
a condensation system

Which cools it
to liquid form again

But now
with a more concentrated flavor.

This entire distillation cycle
takes about a half hour.

The result is a spirit
of bitter and sweet oranges

That has an alcohol level
of between 86% and 88%.

The first flow out of the still,
called head phlegm, is white,

Due to the orange oil
which has risen to the top.

Once that oil flows off,
the spirit is clear

And ready for another
distillation the next day,

Then another the day after --
three distillations in all.

The final spirit, called heart,

Now has an alcohol level
of 81% to 83%.

They pour a precise amount into
a stainless steel mixing vat.

In a different mixer,
they combine water and sugar,

Heating until the ingredients
concentrate into syrup.

Then they add the syrup
to the spirit.

The proportions are top secret
and mix for at least an hour.

The syrup gives the liqueur
additional sweetness

And dilutes the 80% alcohol
level in half to 40%.

In the distillery's
quality-control laboratory,

Technicians test samples
regularly to ensure

That the liqueur's alcohol level
is always consistent.

On the bottling line,

The first station
is a rinsing machine.

It disinfects the interior
of the frosted-glass bottles

With alcohol.

Next, the bottles proceed
to the filling station.

These are 1 1/2-pint bottles.

However, the liqueur is bottled
in several different sizes.

The next station places
a metallic twist cap

Onto the neck
of each filled bottle,

Then twists it until the bottle
is tightly sealed.

The final station
simultaneously applies

Front and back adhesive labels.

Triple sec is a completely
colorless liqueur --

Not what some might expect,

Given its unmistakably orange
flavor.

Narrator:
the bow and arrow have come
a long way since the stone age.

In the 1960s, an american
engineer added cams and cables

To produce what is now known
as the compound bow.

Concept-wise,
he hit the bull's-eye.

With this new bow,
archery entered a whole new era.

The compound bow puts
greater energy behind the arrow

So it flies
faster and straighter.

This means it's more likely
to hit the mark.

It starts
with this computerized tool.

It carves a latticework
of holes in the riser,

Which is the aluminum framework.

The holes
lighten the bow substantially.

Next, a printing cylinder
applies an activator

To release ink graphics
from a starch-based film.

The film rolls
into a tub of water.

The film dissolves,

And the camouflage-style
graphics are now afloat.

Machinery dips the bow risers
into the floating artwork,

And the graphics adhere to them.

A camouflage design now covers
the entire surface,

Including all the crevices.

After a wash and dry,

The risers are sprayed
with a clear acrylic coating.

In the meantime, a technician
prepares 10 bowstrings at once.

Each string will be made
of 20 synthetic strands.

He ties the fibers
to the prongs of a wheel,

And as it turns, it winds
the 20 fibers into one bundle.

The result is a bowstring
that's so strong,

It won't stretch under tension.

Next, the string builder wraps
one of the bowstrings

Around the posts of a jig.

He winds a thin, braided string
around a strategic section

To reinforce it.

This is called serving.

He closes the jig
to loop the string

At the reinforced juncture.

This loop will be used
to tightly attach the string

To the pulley wheel
known as the cam.

He loops the other end now

And spins the synthetic
string wrap further

To provide extra protection.

He stops at the point
where the arrow will sit

Prior to sh**ting.

He pulls the string apart

And inserts the end
of more serving string.

He winds it around this site
to bolster the bowstring

At this location.

He burns off the end to seal it.

He ties a loop
around the reinforced section.

This is known
as the sh**ter's loop.

It will be used
to nock or hold the arrow.

To keep the string
from oscillating when drawn

And ensure a quiet, steady shot,

They install
two rubber dampeners.

A machine pulls both ends
of the string

Through the dampeners
to slide them into position.

The riser is now finished,
so they add the handle,

String stop for more dampening,
and the arrow rest.

It's time to give the compound
bow that all-important leverage.

He screws a limb and cam
to each end of the riser.

A device presses the bow
to load tension.

He slips the end loop
around the cam post

And winds the string
around the cam track.

He pulls the string
to the other cam and winds it.

He then turns the cams
to tighten the string.

Finally, he runs
two cables to the cams,

Completing the mechanics
of the compound bow.

He splits the bowstring
at a predetermined location

And inserts an aperture

Through which the archer
can view the target.

He now frees
the bow from the press

And locates the sh**ter's loop
more precisely

With a special measuring stick.

Satisfied with the placement, he
tightens the loop to the string.

He winds more synthetic string
around the aperture

To secure it.

He burns the end of the string
down to the knot

To prevent unraveling.

At this factory,
they produce one compound bow

Every three minutes.

With production targets now met,

It's time to aim for success
at the sh**ting range.

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