This Valentine’s Day, watch "Inside the Factory" and fall in love with manufacturing
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, love is in the air and in the aisles of every big-box store. It seems like retailers of all sizes and types are trying to sell you the secret to romance, from overpriced boxes of heart-shaped chocolates and custom-engraved jewelry sets to overflowing bouquets of red and pink flowers and limited-edition stuffed animals. But you don’t need to go into debt to rekindle the spark in your relationship.
This Valentine’s Day, why not plan a romantic at-home date night? Order in your favorite food, pop some popcorn, and snuggle on the couch as you catch up on your favorite T.V. show. Not sure what to watch? Well, if you love learning about how factories operate and the history behind the products being made, then consider streaming “Inside the Factory.”
Produced by the BBC, this innovative show is perfect for anyone who longs for the good-old-days of “How It’s Made” and “Unwrapped.” The program premiered in May 2015 and offers 9 seasons and over 70 episodes. Each hour-long episode explores how a specific product is produced, focusing heavily on the factory and tools necessary to manufacture the item. The current season is hosted by Cherry Healey (a frequent presenter on BBC documentaries and series) and Paddy McGuinness (a U.K. comedian, actor, writer, and television and radio presenter). Paddy replaced original host Gregg Wallace (a British broadcaster, entrepreneur and writer who focuses on food) at the start of this year. Each episode also features a historical segment hosted by Ruth Goodman, a British freelance historian who specializes in the early modern period. Ruth explores the historical significance of the product being created or the manufacturing process itself.
“Inside the Factory” shines a light on the unique creation of various everyday items, including chocolate, shoes, sausages, and bicycles. During our most-recent date night (yes, I practice what I preach), my boyfriend and I watched two episodes from season three. In the first episode, “Tea Bags,” Gregg visits the Typhoo factory on the Wirral near Liverpool. The plant employs 300 workers, runs 24 hours a day five days a week, and produces 14 million bags of tea in 24 hours. The company manufactures tea under its own brand as well as private label products, and produces one quarter of all the tea consumed in the U.K. But the episode is more than just conveyors and robots. Cherry visits a tea plantation in Kenya to learn how the tea is picked and processed prior to reaching the Typhoo facility. Additionally, Cherry seeks out the advice of Dr. Stuart Farrimond to learn how to brew the perfect cup of tea, while Ruth explores how World War II soldiers enjoyed their tea while operating tanks on the frontline.
In the next episode, “Pasta,” Gregg visits the Barilla factory in Parma, Italy, the largest dried pasta factory in the world. In fact, 60% of the pasta made in Italy originates in this one factory, with more than 1,000 tons of pasta being manufactured every day. The facility is so large that employees navigate the plant using bicycles. During his day at the plant, Gregg examines how various pasta shapes and sizes are made, since the plant produces 110 different types of pasta. While Gregg deals with the nuts and bolts on the plant floor, Cherry visits the facility’s research lab to learn the science behind cooking the perfect bowl of pasta, as well as the purpose of the various pasta shapes. Additionally, Ruth explores the origins of Brittain’s obsession with Italian food.
The Lighter Side of Manufacturing
Created by the editors of Plant Services and New Equipment Digest, The Lighter Side of Manufacturing is a feel-good blog that showcases how advances in science, math, engineering, and technology are making our world more whimsical. Here’s another post that is guaranteed to brighten your day.
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