How Do They Do It?

2006•7 series•Entertainment / Factual
Available on QUEST HD
QUEST HD

After watching this series you may never look at ordinary objects in the same way again. A tube of toothpaste? Car tires? Tea bags? A lot of technology goes into even the simplest of consumer goods, and this program offers viewers a glimpse at just what that entails.

Tractors, Cowbells: Episode Image
Episode 9Tractors, Cowbells

How do they build a tractor every three minutes to power Indian agriculture? How do they cast the bronze bells that help Swiss farmers keep track of their cows? S16, Ep9

Bird's Nest Soup; Rowing Oars: Episode Image
Episode 10Bird's Nest Soup; Rowing Oars

How do they collect millions of real birds' nests to make birds' nest soup? Plus, how do they use aerospace technology to make rowers go faster? S16, Ep10

Turbochargers, Plastic Roads: Episode Image
Episode 11Turbochargers, Plastic Roads

How do they quadruple the power of the world's biggest engines with the most powerful turbochargers? How do they build new roads from old waste plastic? S16, Ep11

Sails, Ceremonial Swords: Episode Image
Episode 12Sails, Ceremonial Swords

How do they harness the wind to power a racing yacht to Olympic gold? How do they make a sword fit for an officer at the world's largest sword factory? S16, Ep12

Guitar Amplifier, Clay Pots: Episode Image
Episode 13Guitar Amplifier, Clay Pots

How do they make the amplifier used by rock legends, the famous Marshall amp? Plus, how do they turn wet clay into frost-proof garden pots? S16, Ep13

Window Cleaners: Episode Image
Episode 14Window Cleaners

How do they clean the world's tallest twin towers? How do they make a jigsaw where every piece is unique? How do they craft Olympic level hockey sticks? S16, Ep14

RVs, Chupa Chups: Episode Image
Episode 15RVs, Chupa Chups

How do they fit all the features of a luxury apartment into a motorhome? And, how do they make a ballet shoe that can take the weight of a dancer on tiptoes? S16, Ep15

Mushrooms, Maps: Episode Image
Episode 16Mushrooms, Maps

How do they grow nearly 200,000 tonnes of mushrooms a year in the mushroom capital of the world? And, how do they make billions of life-saving gloves? S16, Ep16

Fertiliser, Maple Syrup: Episode Image
Episode 17Fertiliser, Maple Syrup

How do they mine a million tonnes of fertiliser from below the sea? How do they hand print millions of colourful clothes using the art of batik?(S16,E17)

Basmati Rice, Mechanical Birds: Episode Image
Episode 18Basmati Rice, Mechanical Birds

How do they turn thousands of tonnes of basmati rice into millions of microwaveable meals? How do they craft beautiful mechanical singing birds?(S16,E18)

Hearing Aids, Trains: Episode Image
Episode 19Hearing Aids, Trains

How do they make an almost invisible hearing aid that connects wirelessly to a phone? How do they build the carriages for London's new underground railway? S16, Ep19

Remotely Operated Vehicles: Episode Image
Episode 20Remotely Operated Vehicles

How do they build remote-controlled underwater robots to do jobs too dangerous for human divers? How do they make the world's most cuddly teddy bears? S16, Ep20

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