13x11 - Carved Wood Sculptures, Flatware, Cow Bells, Fountain Pens

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: the oldest existing
chinese fans,

Made of woven bamboo,
date to the 2nd century b.c.

The folding fan
was invented in japan

Between the 6th and 9th century.

Fans were typically made
of paper or silk,

And famous artists were often
commissioned to paint them.

The traditional asian fan --

An object of beauty
with a practical purpose.

The structure is comprised
of bamboo sticks, called ribs.

The paper surface
is called the leaf.

In this fan workshop
in northern thailand,

They begin with narrow poles
of locally harvested bamboo.

With a sharp knife,

Workers cut them to the
approximate length of the ribs,

Then split them down the middle.

Using traditional blades,

They shave each bamboo strip
to the shape of a rib.

Ribs are typically
about 7/100 of an inch thick

And perfectly flat

So that they can smoothly slide
on top of one another.

Workers drill a hole in each rib


Depending on the fan size.

Then they assemble the ribs
on a bolt.

The number of ribs
and their length

Are what determine a fan's size.

The two ribs on the extremities

Are wider and thicker
than the others

And are rounded on the outside.

These are called thumb guards

Because you flick your thumb
on them to open the fan

And they guard the ribs
in between from damage.

To make the leaf,

They begin
by spreading the ribs,

Spacing them out evenly.

They lay this onto white cotton

And cut out the semicircular
shape of the leaf

With the fabric extending


Beyond the rib tips.

This fabric will be
the leaf's structural backing,

Giving the paper rigidity
and strength.

They make that paper
just as their ancestors did --

Mixing the fibrous bark
of the mulberry tree

With natural dyes --

The marigold flower for yellow,
for example,

Or, as we see here,

The root of the madder plant
for vibrant red.

They mix the dyestuff
with the mulberry bark fibers,

Then gather a thin layer
of dyed fibers

Onto a rectangular
mesh screen.

They keep repeating
this process,

Adding layers

Until they build up
the paper thickness they need.

Then they let the fibers dry
in the sun

Into a finished sheet of paper.

When the paper's ready,

They cut a piece to match
the shape of the cotton backing

And iron them together.

The two layers
naturally adhere to each other,

Thanks to the paper's moisture
and a compound in its fibers,

Called lignin,
which acts as a natural glue.

They fold the leaf in half

And trace a template

In the shape of
the lower section of the fan,

Where no paper is required.

Then they cut this part off.

They brush homemade glue
made with white flour

Onto the parts of the ribs

That will be in contact
with the leaf.

They lay the ribs on the paper

And, with an upward
sweeping motion,

Press them down,

At the same time
wiping away the excess glue.

Next, they trim the leaf,

Leaving about 7/10 of an inch
beyond the tips of the ribs.

They glue the edge...

...and fold it back
over the ribs.

Then they trim the edges
along the thumb guards.

Now for the most delicate step
of the entire process --

Folding the fan
for the first time.

Each fold is permanent
and will give the fan its form,

Both open and closed,
so precision is everything.

Now the fully constructed fan
is ready for decoration

With water-based acrylic paints.

Sometimes the customer requests
a certain theme or scene,

But usually it's left
to the artist's creativity.

The artist
can manipulate the paints

To produce a range of effects,

Modifying with acrylic gels,
media, or pastes

To create the bold effect
of oil paint

And diluting with water
to varying degrees

To create a transparent effect
much like watercolors.

The final touch
is what's known as piping --

Paint applied
through a cone-shaped tip

To produce a raised line.

This highlights the artwork
with raised details.

The paint becomes
water-resistant once dry,

Protecting the artwork
from damage

And ensuring
this ancient objet d'art

Will always be simply fantastic.

Narrator: walnut oil

Has a distinctive, mild,
nutty flavor and aroma.

It's also nutritious

Because it's high
in omega-3 fatty acids,

Which are crucial
for brain function,

Reduce inflammation,

And may even help lower the risk
of heart disease,

Arthritis,
and other chronic conditions.

Walnut oil is sometimes used
for sautãƒâ©ing,

But it's more often
consumed cold,

Typically in salad dressings.

Walnut oil
for nonculinary purposes

Goes through a refining process
which removes the flavor.

Walnut oil produced
for gastronomy is unrefined,

So it retains its nutty taste
and scent.

Walnut oil has one ingredient
and one ingredient only --

English walnuts.

The oil factory buys them from
the supplier already shelled.

Production methods
are much the same as they were



The first step is to shovel
the walnuts into a grinder.

The grinder pulverizes

This combination of full kernels
and broken pieces

Until everything's
fairly uniform,

Roughly 1/10 of an inch in size.

Next step -- roasting.

Workers pour the ground walnuts

Into a cast-iron kettle
on a gas burner.

For 30 minutes or so,

A rotating arm
continuously stirs them

To ensure they roast evenly.

Roasting enhances
both the flavor and aroma.

The shelled walnuts have gone
from large pieces

To ground pieces
to roasted pieces.

Now they're ready to have
the oil squeezed out of them.

This cast-iron expeller press
dates back to the early 1900s.

Workers line the bottom with
a mat made of natural fibers.

This will prevent the walnuts
from leaking out under pressure.

After loading the press
with the walnuts,

They close it up

And set the press in position.

Then they release the piston.

It descends and applies


Crushing the walnuts

And expelling the oil
in the process.

The oil exits the press

Through small slots
around the perimeter,

Flows down to a trough,

Which channels it to a spout,

Which pours it
into a collection vat.


Yields 1 quart of oil.

What's left in the press
is walnut meal.

It's used by pastry chefs
to add a nutty crunch to cakes.

It's also sold to farmers
who use it for cattle feed.

The extracted oil, meanwhile,

Moves on to the last phase
of the process --

Filtration.

The filter press is comprised
of 16 grooved plates

Made of food-safe plastic,
with paper filters in between.

Workers compress the plates
and filters...

...then start up
a powerful pump,

Which forces the walnut oil

From one end of the press
to the other.

Along the way, the filters trap
all the miniscule particles

Of walnut, wax,
and other natural materials,

Clarifying the oil.

This process takes a few hours,

At the end of which
the once-cloudy oil is clear.

Packaging walnut oil
in clear glass bottles

Would look appetizing

But would actually shorten
the product's shelf life.

That's because walnut oil
is rich in omega-3 fatty acids,

Which, while good for you,
are sensitive to light.

Therefore, walnut oil
is traditionally bottled in tin.

After the automatic equipment
fills the tin container,

Workers loosely apply
a snap-on cap,

Which the next machine
presses into position.

Last stop -- labeling.

As the tin spins,

The machine wraps it
in an adhesive-backed label,

Neatly aligning the label's seam
with the welded seam on the tin.

Now the oil's ready
to drizzle a rich walnut taste

Onto your pasta,
grilled meat or fish, or salad.

Narrator: humans have been
making things out of copper

Longer than any other metal.

Archaeological digs
around the world

Have unearthed copper vessels,
tools, weapons, and jewelry

Dating back
at least 10,000 years.

Fast-forward to today

And copper is one mineral
we still really dig.

Peel back the layers
of modern civilization,

And there's a lot of copper.

It's used for electrical motors
and wiring,

High-tech gadgetry and plumbing.

The metal known chemically as cu
is essential to modern living.

Pure copper
is rarely found in nature.

It usually occurs with other
elements, like iron and sulfur.

To mine the copper-bearing rock,

A huge drill chews
into this arizona terrain.

It drills around 130 holes
at least 50 feet down.

A truck pumps expl*sives
into them.

It's a powerful mix of
ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.

A mine worker lowers the
electronic detonating devices

Into each of the 130 holes.

From a safe distance away,
he actives the detonators,

Staging the explosions
milliseconds apart.

It's an expl*si*n sequence
designed to fracture

As much of the copper-bearing
rock as possible.

Shovels scoop up
the blasted rock,

Lifting 55 to 88 tons
in one bite.

The rock is less than
one half of 1% copper.

Freeing the copper from it
involves different techniques.

The technique depends on whether
the ore is iron-oxide-based

Or sulfide-based.

To process copper
from oxide ore,

They pile the rock in specially
prepared leeching areas.

They irrigate the rock

With a diluted
sulfuric-acid solution.

Over months,
the solution percolates down

And dissolves the copper.

The copper solution
drains into a pond.

A pump transfers this solution
to the plant.

In this channel,

The copper solution
binds with an organic agent

And floats to the top.

They add an acidic solution

That increases the concentration
of the copper

And makes it
electrically conductive.

They transfer
the copper solution

To a series of tanks

That contain starter sheets
of pure copper, called cathodes.

They pass an electrical current
through the tank,

And the copper migrates
to the cathodes.

At the outset,
the cathodes are wafer-thin,

But over a period of 10 days,
they thicken substantially.

They're now an inch thick.

Each one weighs
about 275 pounds.

The purity is now 99.99%.

That's important if the copper
is to be processed

Into electrical products.

Freeing copper from the sulfide
rock is more difficult.

It starts in a massive tumbler,
called a sag mill.

Inside, steel grinding ba*ls
smash wet rock to pieces.

Exiting the mill,

The smashed rock travels
over a perforated conveyor

To screen out smaller,
pebble-sized rocks.

These smaller rocks continue on
to different grinding mills.

The larger rocks
circle back to the sag mill

For another round.

Once all the rock
has been sufficiently ground,

They add chemicals
which coat the copper particles

And mix in a frothing substance.

The slurry flows
into floatation tanks.

Air blasts create bubbles

That the chemically coated
copper minerals attach to.

The bubbles carry the minerals
to the top of the tank,

And they overflow.

After filtering the overflow,

They have a concentrate
that's now 25% to 30% copper.

They transfer the concentrate
by rail to a smelter facility.

Here, it goes
into several large beds.

Each one is the size
of two basketball courts.

They add silica sand,

Creating a layer cake of sand
and copper concentrate.

The silica sand
is known as a flux.

It will serve
as a purifying agent

As the concentrate is smelted.

In the intense heat
of the furnace,

The silica sand melts
to form a slag

That absorbs the iron
and other unwanted minerals.

The slag floats up,
and the copper sinks.

Its purity is now 60%.

Then it's into a second furnace,

Where they up the copper content
to 98%.

Coming up, there's much more
to the story of copper.

Narrator:
there are networks of copper

In the walls
of modern buildings --

Wires and pipes
that supply utilities

And keep the household humming.

Hidden behind drywall, it's easy
to overlook the contribution

Of this thermally and
electrically conductive metal.

But behind the scenes,
copper is a big player.

With the copper
now extracted from the ore,

They pour the residue
onto a heap.

This molten slag flows down
like lava from a volcano.

As it cools, it becomes
part of the landscape.

Meanwhile, in the smelter,

A crane delivers
the fiery liquid copper

Into another furnace
for further purification.

Inside this furnace,

The purity level increases
from 98% to 99.4%.

The molten copper
flows out of the furnace

And into rotating molds.

The molds shape the copper
into big, rectangular slabs,

Called anodes.

The slabs will serve as
positively charged electrodes

In the electrorefining process
that's still to come.

That process will take the
purity level up one last notch.

The copper begins to cool
in the molds.

A sprayer douses them with water
to speed the cooling process,

And the copper hardens
into the anode shape.

A hydraulic cylinder
pops them out of the molds.

Then a carrier system
retrieves them

And takes them for a rinse.

This gets rid of any traces

Of a nonstick substance
applied to the molds earlier

For easy release
of the copper slabs.

Hooks formed during the molding

Make it easy
to rack up the slabs

For shipment to a texas refinery
hundreds of miles away.

At the refinery,

The copper slabs shed
any lingering impurities

In this tank

As an electrical current
is applied.

The current causes the copper
to gravitate

To thin starter sheets.

The impurities
fall to the bottom.

The copper deposited
on the starter sheets

Is 99.99% pure,

The purity level required
by wire manufacturers.

They load it into a furnace
that's essentially a tall shaft.

Midway down,
the pure copper melts

And flows to the bottom
of the furnace.

From there, they transfer it
to an insulated metal channel,

Which keeps it molten

As it now travels
into a vertical mold.

This mold shapes it
into rectangular forms

Known as copper cakes.

Copper cakes are used
for manufacturing things

Like copper sheeting
and plumbing parts.

Fresh from the mold,

The copper cakes
are roughly 20 feet long.

A conveyor serves them up
to a circular saw

That slices them to lengths
required by the customer.

Stacked and labeled,
this pure copper cake

Is now ready to ship
to the manufacturer.

They also process pure copper
into rods,

A form more suitable for
manufacturing electrical wiring.

Molten copper moves through
an opening in a mold,

And, cooled by water,

The copper forms
a continuous rectangular bar.

These grooved rollers

Will now take it
from rectangular to round

And reduce the diameter
substantially.

As the copper travels
through the grooves,

It becomes a 3/10 of an inch
thick copper rod.

The rod exits,

And the machine loops it
into coils.

They land neatly
onto a steel spool.

Machinery compresses
the copper coil,

Squeezing it down

So it will take up less space
when it's transported.

There's one last squeeze
from an overhead press.

And an employee ties
the tightly coiled copper

With extra-strong
plastic banding.

From the earth's crust
to the factory floor,

It's been quite a journey.

Shipped to manufacturers,

It will now be drawn
into electrical wiring,

And the future
is sure to be high-voltage.