21x04 - External Hard Drives, Frozen Shrimp, Thai Rice Boxes, Paper Towel

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Liquid medication used
to always come in a bottle,

and you had to pour your
dose with a steady hand

into a spoon.

Today, many medications
and supplements

come inside small
food-safe casings

that are easy to swallow
and portable...

soft gel capsules.

Many types of products
come in gel capsules,

from prescription drugs

to health supplements
such as fish oils.

Many of these medicine fills
go bad if exposed to oxygen,

so the gel cap, besides
being convenient,

also serves as a
protective barrier.

Every ingredient in
both the gel cap

and the medicine fill inside

undergoes extensive
testing for purity.

the first test phase checks
for bacterial contamination.

lab technicians dissolve the
ingredients in solution,

apply it to a food
source in a petri dish,

then incubate the
dish for 72 hours

to encourage any existing
bacteria to grow.

then they draw samples and
examine them under a microscope.

if those samples
are bacteria-free,

the ingredient moves on to
the second phase of testing,

which checks for contaminants
such as lead, arsenic,

Mercury, and cadmium.

this machine, called
a spectrometer,

injects the ingredient
solution into a plasma flame,

then, by reading the changes
in light wavelengths,

analyzes the chemical
composition.

if the ingredient is
contaminant-free,

it gets the go-ahead.

the gel cap is made entirely
of natural ingredients...

gelatin derived
from beef bones,

palm oil glycerin,

and purified water.

the proportions
are top-secret.

an industrial blender combines
the three ingredients

to a uniform consistency,

then heats the mixture to


a vacuum sucks out
the air bubbles

as this now-ready gel material
flows into a holding tank.

simultaneously, they prepare
the medicine fill...

in this case, vitamin d.

they combine it
with soybean oil

to adjust the potency to
the specified strength.

meanwhile, they maintain
the gel-cap material

in the holding tank at


to prevent it from
prematurely solidifying.

even the hose leaving that
tank is wrapped in heater tape

to keep the gel liquid.

a separate hose feeds
the vitamin d solution

from another holding tank

down to the production
floor, as well.

this hose doesn't
require heating

because vitamin d and soybean
oil don't solidify when cool.

on the production line, two
stations simultaneously

spread a thin layer
of molten gel

across a cooling drum.

the gel hardens into a
solid, yet malleable, sheet

about the thickness
of cardboard.

each sheet passes
over a rotating die

with capsule-shaped cavities.

just before the two gel
sheets come together,

pumps inject the
required quantity

of vitamin d solution
into each cavity,

the pressure pushing the
gelatin into the cavity.

at the same time, the machine
heats the gel sheets

so that when they meet,
they adhere to each other,

forming full capsules

with the vitamin d
solution sealed inside.

in the final second,

the die's sharp edges
slice the gel caps free,

and they fall to a
conveyer belt below.

at this point,

the filled gel caps contain
a fair bit of moisture,

so they're quite soft.

if they lay on a
surface too long,

they'd flatten,

so the conveyer belt
whisks them very quickly

into a rotating drum,

where they tumble in
slightly cold, dry air

for about three hours.

this removes enough moisture to
make the gel caps hard enough

to lie on a surface
without Fl*ttening.

after exiting, the gel caps
move into a second dryer,

where, spread out
on trays this time,

they dry for about 36 hours.

after that,

the gel caps are hard enough
to be safely packaged.

the gel caps...

the ones being packaged
here contain flax oil...

travel down a series
of vibrating plates,

which progressively line
them up in single file.

as they pass by,

electronic eyes count
out the number

of capsules per bottle,

triggering the filling mechanism
to collect that quantity

and release it into
an empty bottle.

the next station applies
a plastic twist cap,

then the bottles move onward,

each one plowing
directly into the center

of an adhesive-backed label,

which rollers then
apply around he sides.

before shipping,

the quality-control lab
tests random samples

from the production batch

to verify that the gel caps
meet all specifications.

Narrator: It's a
playground staple...

a stationary ride-on
cartoon animal

that bounces up and down
and rocks back and forth,

courtesy of a huge
spring underneath

secured into the ground.

the bouncy coil base is
what gives this type

of playground equipment its name...
a spring rider.

the spring rider is a
playground favorite.

to withstand years of
rambunctious riders,

it has to be solid
and durable,

yet for a toddler to be able
to rock back and forth,

it can't be too heavy.

that's why the spring
is made of thick steel,

and the animal of
lightweight aluminum.

that sand core is
comprised of two halves,

each made with an
aluminum mold...

duck-shaped in this case.

workers fill it with
sand and adhesive mix

that sets into a solid block.

they insert several
steel support rods,

fill to the top, and
even out the surface,

then expose two hooks
they'll later grab

to extract the core half
once the sand hardens

in about 20 minutes.

meanwhile, other workers
use an aluminum pattern

to make each half of
the duck casting mold.

after applying a
powder release agent

to prevent sticking,

they cover the pattern

with a sieved mixture
of sand and Clay.

they mount a frame
around the pattern

to contain the sand,

as they add more and more,

repeatedly packing
it down in all areas

with a pneumatic ramming tool.

then they remove the frame

and cover the sand
with a wooden board.

this provides a hard
surface for the press,

which now applies the weight of
about four mid-sized s.U.V.S.

then they flip over the mold

and remove the pattern which
formed the mold cavity.

the sand is now so
firmly compacted

that it holds the shape.

one half of the sand
mold has channels

through which the molten metal
will flow into the cavity.

workers now position several
quarter-inch-thick foam spacers

in the cavity

and place half of the
core on top of them.

the spacers elevate the core,

creating a quarter-inch
cavity between core and mold.

the other half of the
core goes on top.

after placing spacers
on top of that

to create a quarter-inch
gap on this side, as well,

they carefully lower the
other half of the sand mold.

now they're ready
to cast the duck.

the melting point of aluminum

is just over 1,090
degrees fahrenheit.

however, they heat much
higher, to 1,400 degrees,

so it'll flow faster and
fill the entire cavity

before beginning to solidify.

they pour the metal
through holes on top.

it flows through the runners
into the mold cavity,

which is that quarter-inch gap

surrounding the
duck-shaped core.

about 20 minutes later, the metal
has cooled and solidified.

they break the mold apart
on a vibrating sieve,

releasing the aluminum duck
and shaking out the core sand

through a hole at the
bottom of the duck.

after cutting off
excess aluminum

that hardened in the runners,

they grind down the seam,

which formed in between the
two halves of the mold.

next, they weld on
aluminum handles

for the child to
grip when riding.

these handles are cast in sand
molds just like the duck.

workers grind down the
weld and any sharp edges,

making the entire surface
nice and smooth.

next... a coat of
polyester powder

in bright rubber-ducky yellow.

then... a 20-minute
trip through an oven

to bake the coating,
making it ultra-durable.

now, delicately airbrushed with
the urethane enamel paint,

the details that bring
Mr. duck to life...

his feet, wings,
bill, and eyes.

the thick coil that makes
this a spring rider

is made of a flexible
type of steel.

they bolt a steel
spacer plate to it...

...Then hide the bolts
under an aluminum cover.

after attaching a foot rest...
steel, again...

they bolt the duck
to the plate.

all these parts, like
the duck, are painted

with baked-on
polyester coating.

the spring bolts to a concrete
block buried underground.

ducky and friends are
designed to withstand

even the harshest winters,

letting children enjoy a
little spring all year round.

Narrator: Early versions of
pancakes were thin like crepes.

by the 1780s, American cooks
were adding a leavening agent

for a fluffier, more
filling pancake.

that's when pancakes
transitioned from side dish

to main course for the
first meal of the day.

call them hot cakes, griddle
cakes, flapjacks, or pancakes,

there's nothing like a
heaping helping of them

splashed with syrup.

and with frozen pancakes,

whipping up some for breakfast
has never been easier.

pancake production starts off
with a leavening agent...

the baking powder.

they combine salt, whey,
and various flavorings

in a big blender

to create a
dry-ingredient premix.

since these will be
buttermilk pancakes,

they add powdered
buttermilk for flavor.

they now pump liquid
ingredients from storage tanks

into a huge blender.

these include water and eggs,

sweet cream, liquefied sugar,

and soybean oil.

they add the dry
premix and flour

until the batter reaches
the desired consistency.

an employee tests the
batter's viscosity

by pouring some in a
device with a little gate.

he opens the gate and measures
the flow down a ramp.

if it runs too
thick or too thin,

it won't produce pancakes

that are the desired
diameter and uniformity.

the pancake batter passes
the viscosity test.

they release the batter
from the holding tank,

and it flows into a
depositor system.

the depositor has
nine nozzles.

each nozzle shoots an exact
amount of the pancake batter

onto a hot moving griddle.

because of the
perfect viscosity,

each deposit of batter radiates
out to form a neat, round shape,

each one the same
size as the next...

about four inches in diameter.

they run three depositors and
moving griddles simultaneously

to produce 750
pancakes a minute.

that's an incredible


after several seconds
on the griddle,

one side is cooked,

so automated stainless-steel
spatulas flip the pancakes over.

there are two
sets of flippers.

after flipping, the
first set repositions,

and the second set flips
the next row of pancakes.

it's mechanized
synchronization.

the flippers are spaced apart
exactly as the depositors are

so the pancakes arrive at the
flippers in the correct order

to be picked up
and turned over.

once flipped,

the pancakes continue along
the cooking conveyer,

and the other side is cooked.

it's a short ride
for these pancakes

to be completely cooked.

from dollops of batter

to uniformly rounded
and cooked pancakes,

this process has taken
just 90 seconds.

the pancakes somersault
off the cooking griddle

and over a roller to land
on the next conveyer.

the somersault exit
has a purpose.

it keeps the pancakes from
folding over so they land flat.

hot off the griddles, the
pancakes cool down on the ride,

as all three
production lines merge

and head into a freezer.

inside the freezer,

it's a very frigid
minus-18 degrees,

and the pancakes freeze fast.

now it's over to the
packaging line.

this is where the uniformity
of these pancakes pays off.

their similar diameter means
they can be neatly packed

in groups of six.

machinery seals two stacks
of six frozen pancakes

in one wrapping.

it has taken less
than five minutes

to prepare, freeze, and
package these pancakes.

at home, prep time
in the microwave

should be mere seconds.

just add syrup, and this
story has a sweet ending.

Narrator: Natural rubber comes from
the milky sap of a tropical tree.

thousands of years ago,

the native people of
central and South America

discovered that the hardened
sap was elastic and bounced.

they played games with
the ba*ls of sap.

when European
explorers came along,

it was soon a whole
new ball game.

today, we make thousands
of useful things

from the fluid that circulates
through rubber trees...

everything from tires
to balloons to boots.

the seeds are sewn
on plantations

like this one in Thailand.

it takes several years for
the rubber trees to mature,

then the sap is ready to tap.

in the coolness of the morning,
when the sap flows freely,

the farm worker slashes the
bark with a hook blade.

the sap oozes from
the abrasion.

it spills onto a metal spout

inserted below the
slashed section.

the spout funnels the sap
into a ceramic cup below.

it flows for about
five or six hours,

partially filling the cup.

they wait a couple of days
for the tree to recover

and then tap another
section of the tree.

after straining impurities,

they pour the rubber sap
into a plastic tub.

they add formic acid
and swish it around.

the acid causes the
sap to coagulate.

after 15 to 30 minutes,

it thickens to the
consistency of tofu.

this tofu-like sap has
a sticky structure

that allows it to now be
rolled out like dough.

the rolling squeezes
out excess water

and leaves a ribbed
pattern on the sheets

that increases the surface
area to hasten drying.

then they rinse off
the formic acid.

they hang the rubber sheets
to dry for about five hours.

as they dry, the rubber
thickens and becomes stronger,

and the color darkens.

the coagulated rubber sap
has been transformed.

in a few short steps, it's
gone from a liquid to a solid.

workers pile the rubber
sheets onto pallets

and weigh the load.

there's a little over a ton and
a half of rubber in this stack.

they store the stacks
in a warehouse

until the next stage
of processing.

when they're ready to move on,

workers peel each
sheet from the stack

and soak them in water
for about 20 minutes.

this washes away some of
the surface contaminants,

but not all.

the rubber sheets then go into
a machine with many brushes

that scrub off
more of the dirt.

after one more rinse, the rubber
sheets are squeaky-clean.

as you can see, the color of the
rubber sheets vary somewhat

depending on the
tree they came from,

their thickness,
and other factors.

they hang the sheets
on racks to drip dry.

next, they build a
fire in a brick oven

and smoke the rubber sheets
in a chamber overhead

for five days.

it's a slow,
low-temperature smoking

that preserves the sheets to
prevent the growth of mold.

after smoking, they
clip out contaminants

like bark or insects that have
become imbedded in the rubber.

in many cases, they
can't get it all.

they grade the rubber
sheets by examining them

against a bright light.

sheets with fewer
remaining contaminants

receive a higher rating

and will command
a better price.

they stack the sheets
according to the grade,

and then it's into a
hydraulic bailer.

it presses the stack of
rubber sheets into cube form.

the dimensions of the cubes

conform to international
packaging regulations

so they'll fit neatly into
containers for shipping.

they spray the rubber cubes

with a mix of calcium
carbonate and solvent.

the mixture forms a
film on the cubes

that prevents mold

and keeps them from
sticking together

during transport.

this rubber is now ready
for the next factory

and the next transformation.

it could become
almost anything.

if you have any comments
about the show,

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topics for future shows,

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