16x11 - Tequila/Water Beds/Flip Flops/Silver

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]] Narrator: the story of

Tequila begins many centuries

Ago, when mexico's aztecs

Fermented the juice of the agave

Plant to produce a low-alcohol

Drink called pulque.

When the spanish conquistadors

Arrived, they added distillation

To the process for a much

Stronger drink, and tequila was

Born.

Tequila is to mexico as

Champagne is to france.

Tequila is only made in this

Part of the world, and mexico

Has claimed exclusive rights to

The word "tequila."

For centuries, workers called

Jimadores have grown and

Harvested the agave plant for

Tequila.

It takes seven years, on

Average, for a species called

Weber blue agave to mature.

And even today, it's harvested

Entirely by hand.

Using a lethally sharp hoelike

Tool, the jimadores chop away

The greenery until all that's

Left is the huge core, called

The piña.

Filing the round blade

Frequently keeps it razor-sharp,

Allowing them to remove most of

The bitter-tasting leaves from

The piña.

The tequila distilled from

This crop will be a premium

Grade made from 100% agave

Juice.

The jimadores routinely remove a

Small piece and measure the

Starch content of the crop.

Only if it's deemed to be

Sufficient is the agave piña

Sent to the distillery.

Workers wield special hatchets

To carve the huge piñas into

Quarters.

They're a more manageable size

For baking.

They transfer the chopped piña

To a brick oven, where it's

Steam-baked for 79 hours.

This thorough cooking converts

The agave starch to sugar.

In the process, the flesh

Softens and the color turns from

White to reddish brown.

The baked agave piña now spills

Into a shredder that rotates to

Tear the fruit into long, thin

Fibers.

The fibers exit onto a conveyor.

The shredded piña lands in a

Pit, where a worker forks it up

And moves it into the path of a

Huge stone wheel called a

Tahona.

Operated mechanically, the

Tahona wheel turns to crush the

Fibers and squeeze out the

Precious agave nectar.

It takes two hours of crushing

To extract all the juices.

They pipe the juicy mash into

Wooden tanks and add yeast.

The yeast causes fermentation, a

Process by which sugar is

Transformed into alcohol.

After 72 hours of fermentation,

The alcohol content reaches 5%.

The fermented pulp and juices

Have an earthy, acidic bouquet,

And the aroma fills the air.

They transfer the fermented mash

To small copper stills.

Inside the stills, the alcohol

Is boiled off and the vapor

Condensed into a more potent

Liquid.

This is called distillation.

After two distillation cycles,

They have tequila.

A technician measures the

Alcohol content, and it's 55%.

After straining out the pulp,

They transfer the tequila to

Steel tanks.

They add purified well water

To dilute the alcohol content

And bring it down to 40%.

This tequila is now ready to

Drink, so it's over to the

Bottling line.

With the bottles upside down on

A revolving carousel, they spray

The inside with real tequila for

A quick rinse.

The grippers flip them

Right-side up so they can be

Filled with 100% agave tequila.

This automated system keeps the

Fill level precise.

An employee corks the bottles

And then sends them down the

Line.

The next worker presses

Adhesive-backed transparent

Labels onto them.

The see-through labels showcase

The clarity of this fresh,

Premium tequila.

For a drink with a little more

Complexity, they age the tequila

In oak casks for two months or

More, depending on the grade.

During aging, the tequila takes

On a woody flavor and turns a

Warm shade of amber.

The master distiller personally

Approves each batch.

He checks the color, inhales the

Aroma, and puts his observations

Down on paper.

He also takes a little sip.

No longer a rough swill for

b*nditos, tequila has gone

Uptown and evolved into a more

Sophisticated drink.

]] Narrator: waterbeds have come

A long way since the ancient

Persians slept on water-filled

Goat skins.

Hitting the market in the

Late 1960s, early models were

Pretty wavy and made some people

Seasick.

But innovative changes in design

Make today's waterbeds as stable

As a traditional mattress.

Water doesn't compress, it

Displaces.

That's why a waterbed mattress

Shapes to your body, giving you

Equal support everywhere with no

Pressure points.

A washable quilted cover sits on

Top of the mattress to provide

Extra cushioning and absorb

Perspiration.

The mattress is made of

High-durability vinyl.

It arrives at the waterbed

Factory in giant rolls which

Workers feed into a conditioning

Machine.

At a speed of one yard per

Minute, the machine heats the

Vinyl to 100 degrees fahrenheit.

This preshrinks the material,

Ensuring the mattress won't

Contract over time.

Next, computer-guided machines

Cut out the mattress's top and

Bottom pieces.

Die cutters stamp out the

Smaller and simpler corner and

Valve-related pieces.

Then, workers lay the top piece

On a wooden pattern mold.

Applying this pattern makes the

Vinyl more flexible, enabling

The mattress to better follow

The form of the body.

The company won't reveal exactly

How this caged device molds the

Pattern into the vinyl.

Now, with a die, workers cut a

Hole in the top piece for the

Fill valve.

After fitting the valve and cap

To a piece of vinyl printed with

Product information, they lay on

The top piece, then fuse the

Vinyl with a high-frequency

Welder.

It emits high-frequency

Electromagnetic waves that heat

And cause the molecules to

Interact, blending the two

Pieces seamlessly into one.

Next, the corners of the

Mattress.

This is the most complex part of

The process because it requires

Making a very particular angle.

After fusing the folds with the

High-frequency welder, they slip

Each corner onto a rounded form,

Then close off the tip by

Welding on a circle of vinyl.

This makes a rounded corner,

Which is far more durable than a

Pointed one.

Whereas regular mattresses are

Foam-filled, waterbed mattresses

Contain fiber which makes the

Bed waveless.

Mattresses come in various

Degrees of stability.

The more layers of fiber inside,

The less the mattress moves.

Once they've inserted the fiber,

Workers perform a final round of

High-frequency welding to close

Up the mattress.

First, they position an aluminum

Stick under the area they have

To weld.

A static laser line shows

Workers where to position the

Mattress in the automatic

Welder.

Once the mattress is welded all

Around, they remove the stick

Through the valve hole, then

Flatten the mattress,

Distributing the fiber evenly

Within it.

The final operation is

Quality-control check.

They put the mattress in a press

And, with a vacuum hose, extract

All the air.

Then, they set the mattress

Aside for six hours to ensure

No air seeps back in, which

Would indicate a leak.

Elsewhere in the factory, they

Construct the frame in which the

Mattress sits.

The lower part is made of pvc

Plastic extruded into a stylish

Shape.

Workers fuse the frame parts

With regular welding, melting,

Then pressing together the edges

To bond them.

This factory doesn't

Mass-produce.

Every single waterbed is made to

Order from a range of decor

Choices.

The customer who ordered this

One requested a frame

Upholstered in black faux

Leather.

The mattress sits on a thick

Melamine base.

They slide it into the frame,

Then secure it with screws.

The upper sides of the frame are

Made of upholstered foam,

Designed to be soft against the

Back of your legs when you sit

On the side of the bed.

Waterbed mattresses are shipped

Empty.

The installer fills it with

Water at the customer's home,

Leaving enough space inside for

The water to displace under

Pressure, so even if the valve

Is open, water doesn't spill

Out, even when someone's lying

On the bed.

]] Narrator: they may not be the

Fanciest of footwear, but

Flip-flops, also called thongs,

Are inexpensive and comfortable.

It's believed these flat sandals

With the y-shaped strap are

Modeled after traditional

Japanese sandals that have a

Wooden sole and a "y" strap

Woven from plant fibers.

The anatomy of a flip-flop is

Pretty basic -- a sole and

Y-shaped straps called uppers.

The sole is constructed from the

Top and bottom.

They make the bottom out of

Either heat-moldable plastic or

Rubber.

An injection-molding machine

Shoots the molten material into

Passing molds.

Two fans positioned over the

Injector kick-start the cooling

Process.

Then, a continuous water-cooling

System takes over.



The material is solid.

They make the top soles from



A hydraulic press forces a

Sole-shaped die through the

Sheet, like a cookie cutter

Slicing through dough.

The die also cuts a hole and two

Slits for attaching the uppers.

Some flip-flops have decorations

On the top soles.

The design is applied on each

Pair manually using a standard

Screen-printing process.

The factory prepares a screen

For each color of the design.

The screen is kind of like a

Stencil -- open mesh in the

Shape of the design, and the

Rest of the mesh is blocked.

Workers load a pair of soles in

Each station of a rotary-screen

Printing machine.

Then, they mount the screens.

They close the first screen over

The pair of soles, then, with

A squeegee, spread ink across

The screen surface.

The ink passes through the open

Mesh, applying the design.

They move the soles to the next

Screen and do the same with the

Second color of ink, and so on.

Now for the uppers.

For this flip-flop style, they

Glue ribbon onto cotton tape.

Once they've correctly

Positioned the ribbon, they

Stitch it in place.

Then, they connect the left-side

And right-side straps with

Masking tape...

Add a toe piece...

Then stitch everything together.

For aesthetics, they sew a cover

Piece over the toe piece.

Uppers give flip-flops their

Look through different

Materials, colors, thicknesses,

And embellishments.

The design possibilities are

Endless.

Now to connect the uppers to the

Top sole, workers insert the

Toe piece into the toe hole and

A strap end into each slit.

They apply glue...

Trim the ends...

Then insert a last -- a foot

Form in the required shoe size.

They pull the straps tightly

Against it.

Next, they coat the bottom of

The top sole and the top of the

Bottom sole with glue.

Then, a quick trip through an

Oven activates the adhesive.

Workers then place the bottom

Sole on a positioning guide and

Stick the top sole onto it,

Locking the strap ends in

Between.

This is instant-contact glue, so

They have just one chance to get

The alignment right.

A 4-second bonding experience in

A press, and they're

"Sole" mates.

However, the former bottom sole

Is slightly larger than the

Former top sole.

So, with a high speed sander,

Workers trim off the excess,

Leaving the edge even and

Smooth.

After a manual sanding touch-up,

If necessary, and thorough

Quality-control inspection, the

Flip-flops are ready for

Packaging.

Workers stuff a pad of paper

Under the uppers to prop them up

Should the bag get squashed

During transport.

Once considered strictly

Beachwear, flip-flops have

Stepped it up in style to

Become fashionable everyday

Footwear.

]] Narrator: not only used for

Jewelry or silverware, 80% of

The world's silver is mined for

Industrial purposes.

Silver is the most conductive

And reflective metal on the

Planet.

For example, it's used in

Electronic components and in

Construction as an insulation

Coating on glass.

The mining company produces

Silver bars, the composition of

Which is 93% to 97% pure silver.

It sells the bars to a refinery,

Which further purifies them for

Sale to industries.

The action begins down in the

Mine, where geologists point a

Niton g*n at various spots in

The rock face.

The device detects the levels of



Silver.

Silver in its natural state

Isn't silver-colored at all.

It's charcoal gray.

Those silver-looking deposits

Are actually zinc and lead.

Miners drill holes in the

Silver-rich areas the

Geologists pinpointed, then

Insert sticks of dynamite.

After the blast, carts hall the

Chunks of rock, called ore, to

The surface.

Geologists then test ore piles

And blend them as required to

Achieve a consistent amount of

Silver content per kilogram of

Ore.

The ore first goes into the

Primary crusher.

The machine's huge steel teeth

Break up the big chunks into

Smaller pieces.

Those pieces then drop through

Grates below, into the

Secondary crusher, which breaks

Them down into even smaller

Pieces.

Those go into vibrating cone

Crushers, which pulverize them

Into tiny pieces.

A conveyor transports the

Crushed ore to the ball mill.

At this point, the ore pieces

Are roughly 2/10 of an inch big.

As the mill's large cylinder

Rotates, steel ba*ls bounce

Around inside, grinding the ore

Into powder.

A water-circulation system

Flushes the silver-rich powder

Out of the cylinder and into

Large tanks which keep the water

Moving.

To separate and dissolve the

Metals the powder contains,

Workers pour in acid.



Now settles at the bottom.

The solution containing

Dissolved silver is pumped

Through filter presses.

The filter plates are treated

With a zinc-based chemical which

Attracts silver molecules.

As the solution passes through,

The plates trap particles

Containing silver, forming a

Layer of black powder called

Silver precipitate.

This precipitate is composed of

Approximately 50% silver and



Jumble of various metals, dirt,

And other impurities.

To separate the silver from the

Waste, they first dry the

Precipitate in a gas furnace for

A couple of hours.

In the mining company's lab,

Technicians continuously test

Ore samples to determine the

Grade, determined by the

Quantity of silver per kilogram

Of ore.

They heat the samples to 2,000

Degrees fahrenheit for about an

Hour to burn off the impurities.

What's left after the burn-off

Are the silver and other metals,

Such as lead, zinc, copper,

Selenium, and cadmium.

Lab technicians then treat the

Samples with a chemical that

Prevents silver from burning off

And put them back in the oven.

When the samples come out, about

An hour later, all the other

Metals have burnt off, and only

Silver is left.

They weigh the silver and

Compare it to the weight of the

Original sample in order to

Calculate the grade.

The key to running a profitable

Mine is to ensure that the grade

Is consistently within certain

Parameters.

Back at the mill, workers put

The now dried silver precipitate

Into an oven, along with

Chemicals which prevent silver

From burning off.

Approximately four hours later,

The silver and waste have

Separated and melted.

Workers pour them into

Bar-shaped molds.

The silver, being heavier,

Settles at the bottom.

Workers skim off the waste

Floating on top.

In less than five minutes, the

Molten silver cools and hardens,

Enabling workers to extract what

Is now a silver bar.

The mining company sells the

Bars to a refinery for

Processing into industrial-grade

Silver.

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