Name: What a Zipper Hides Behind Its Teeth?
Uploaded: 2022-08-01T00:00:00+00:00
Description: Think of how convenient it is to close a bag with one single motion or how one can snuggly fit into their clothing in just a quick zip.

Who doesn't love zippers? Think of how convenient it is to close a bag with one single motion or how one can snuggly fit into their clothing in just a quick zip.

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Who doesn&#39;t love zippers? Think of how convenient it is to close a bag with one single motion or how one can snuggly fit into their clothing in just a quick zip. Minus the minimal instances of stuck zip-tuations, there are countless uses for zippers, and almost everyone is here for them. One might wonder how zippers became the friendly companion that we have today in opening and closing things. Remember how some of the world&#39;s greatest inventions and discoveries were accidental and not initially intended for the purpose they are known for today? Well, the journey of the zipper is something like that with the addition of several name changes. When thinking of zippers nowadays, it is, more often than not, associated with clothing. However, the origins of the zipper weren&#39;t originally made for clothing. In addition, it wasn&#39;t even called a zipper back then. Behold the clasp locker, an invention by mechanical engineer Whitcomb Judson.Judson intended the clasp locker for his friend, who had a hard time tying shoes because he couldn&#39;t bend over and do the thing due to a sore back. Even if the concept and idea remain practically the same, today&#39;s zipper looks different from the clasp locker. The latter consisted of a series of hooks and eyes acting as fasteners that can be opened and closed with one hand, which is different from zippers today with metal teeth and tapes. Judson went on and patented the design for the clasp locker to start manufacturing it, but it didn&#39;t do quite well with the business. The journey continues with the head engineer at Judson&#39;s company, Gideon Sundback. He developed Judson&#39;s design to consist of two flexible metal teeth that closed and opened by pulling a slide along them. This is similar to the modern-day zipper, but back then, he patented the design and named it a separable fastener. Eventually, the separable fastener became the zipper as we know it today. The term zipper was given because of the sound it makes as the slide zips its way. Nothing really fancy, but the name would definitely refer to the thing itself in a heartbeat.The manufacturing process of today&#39;s zippers has also improved through the years, allowing them to be fast and easily made. Melted aluminum is processed with molding machines to produce the zipper&#39;s unique design. Considering its convenience, it would be better to have enough zippers out there, right?

Think of how convenient it is to close a bag with one single motion or how one can snuggly fit into their clothing in just a quick zip.

What a Zipper Hides Behind Its Teeth?

What a zipper hides behind its teeth?

Let's watch the making of the products on How Its Made series on Interting Engineering 

How It's Made Videos | Interesting Engineering Original Videos

We love eating tasty snacks like pasta, bread, pastries, cakes, etc. But do you know what's the main ingredient of all these dishes?

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We love eating tasty snacks like pasta, bread, pastries, cakes, etc. But do you know what&#39;s the main ingredient of all these dishes? Well, it is flour. It&#39;s a finely ground powder made from grain or starchy food plants and is mostly used in baking. Though flour can be obtained from various plants, a majority is made from wheat. Dough made from wheat flour is well-suited for making bread as it contains a high amount of gluten, a substance containing strong elastic proteins. Interestingly, an average person eats 130 pounds (60kg) of wheat annually in the US. And to meet the demand, the country produces 55 million tons of wheat yearly. Further, in 2021, the wheat flour per capita consumption in the US was 127.3 pounds, and during 2021-22, the production increased to 49 million metric tons, making the country the fifth largest wheat producer. Out of this, 50% is exported, 39% is for human consumption, 10% is for livestock feed, and 4% is for seedlings. Now the question is how we get flour. How is it produced on such a large scale?  This video shows the journey of every single wheat grain, right from growing the farm to its processing to getting served on your plate. Farmers grow wheat, but to convert it into flour, it is sent to modern factories or mills. In America, the largest single-site wheat flour mill is North Dakota Mill and Elevator Association in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The complex can produce 2474 tons of finished product per day and store 5 million bushels. But China has produced more than 2.6 billion in the past twenty years and is currently the world&#39;s largest wheat producer. Once the wheat reaches its destination, i.e., mills, the process begins. The first step is to decide which flour will be made as the type, quality, and protein content of wheat determine the category of flour. For example, white flour for bread has high protein and rough texture, cake flour has low protein and soft texture, and all-purpose flour that we use for everything has medium protein content. Therefore, quality tests help select the right wheat type before its processing. Secondly, the wheat is cleaned, and all unwanted materials like husk are removed. Then, it is sent to the milling machines, followed by weight measurement, where it&#39;s crushed by the steel rollers and passed through a sieve. If the grains are too big and cannot pass through a sieve, they pass to another milling machine. However, if some grains are still unprocessed, they are vacuumed and sent back to milling machines, and the cycle repeats. The mills grind endosperm, the wheat kernel&#39;s soft inner part, to make flour. For this, the bran is removed from the kernel&#39;s hard skin, and the seed is churned. This process happens as soon as the wheat kernels enter the first milling machine, and the endosperm is turned into dust. Parallelly, an air purifier is used between each milling station to remove leftovers by lifting light bran above the crushed endosperm. The flour is then grounded, sifted, and purified until it is free from foreign matter. After all checks, the flour gets ready for packaging and is transported to the market to be cooked into your favorite dishes.

We love eating tasty snacks like pasta, bread, pastries, cakes, etc. But do you know what's the main ingredient of all these dishes? Well, it is flour.

How we get flour?How is it produced on such a large scale?

How flour is produced in a mill?

When it comes to mentioning your favorite dishes, most of you would definitely choose pasta.

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When it comes to mentioning your favorite dishes, most of you would definitely choose pasta. And why not, after all, it&#39;s so tasty. Interestingly, an average American consumes nearly 20 lbs (9kg) of pasta yearly. This makes it the 6th most consumable food in the country. Most people believe Italy is pasta&#39;s birthplace, where fresh veggies and spices join the dish to make it tastier. With time pasta has evolved into various shapes and sizes to satisfy diners&#39; taste buds. Surprisingly, there are approximately 350 different shapes of pasta in the world. The pasta&#39;s shape and size affect the taste as some shapes retain different sauces effectively. For example, oil-based sauces go great with thin pasta like angel hair or spaghetti, whereas thick sauces are well suited to thick pasta. Expert chefs believe that flat pasta is a companion to creamy sauce, while round pasta and tomato sauce are best friends. This video features a factory in Gaziantep, Turkey, to show the process of pasta production. It describes why pasta comes in various shapes and how these shapes hold different sauces. We know pasta is a combination of water and semolina (purified wheat flour). However, to make quality pasta, the process involves several stages. First, factories use good-quality raw materials. They use durum wheat due to its distinct flavors, colors, and cooking features. They clean it and remove all foreign materials using machines. Then, they temper the wheat by putting it in hot water to loosen its outer bran layers for easy separation from the endosperm. After this, the wheat goes into the milling machine for the grinding and separation process. The grains are converted into fine powder to produce semolina, one of the main pasta ingredients. To make pasta dough, factory workers add water to semolina. They shape the dough as per the requirements and leave it for some time to let it dry. The process of making pasta of different shapes is the same till the dough stage. However, the quantity of semolina and water changes to make specific pasta shapes so they can hold sauces better. Though the process is almost the same for different types of pasta, we can&#39;t deny the fact that each pasta shape tastes different. Still, if you don&#39;t believe me, try it out yourself. You&#39;ll be able to spot which pasta shape goes better with which sauce!

Have you ever wondered why companies produce pasta in so many different shapes?

Discovering the Variety of Pasta Shapes in Production

Why do some pasta shapes look different?

Sanitary pads are important hygiene products for women. We will see how sanitary napkins were invented and how this company developed them to be more organic.

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Sanitary pads are important hygiene products for women. These are disposable absorbent pads that they use when they get their period. It is used to effectively collect menstrual blood for disposal while providing comfort without any leakage.How were sanitary pads invented? Well, the story goes way back to the First World War. During that time, soldiers on the battlefield would have wounds that needed to be treated immediately. Wood pulp bandages were used to control bleeding and act as wound care bandages. This is how the first pads were made. French nurses at the time thought of how wood pulp was effective in absorbing blood when being used as bandages. This is because wood pulp can absorb much more than its weight in blood, making it a suitable material for menstrual pads. Through time, this idea was worked on and developed in laboratories, leading to the sanitary pads that we have today. Many options are widely available, varying in size, texture, and other factors to cater to different preferences, mainly dependent on the consistency of period flow. The process of making one requires a lot of testing and checks. From the terms themselves, sanitary and/or menstrual pads need to be sanitary in nature while fulfilling the purpose of collecting menstrual blood. These pads require hygienic processing as it would be crucial in supporting the protection of the uterus and cervix. They also need to be thin and comfortable to wear while having a layered structure of materials to prevent leakages. Most of the invented sanitary pads use petroleum-derived raw materials. However, this is harmful to both women’s health and the environment, which calls for other possible innovations. This company produces biodegradable pads that integrate natural bamboo and organic cotton in the layers. The pads made from these materials can prevent the release of carbon dioxide up to 4 times its own weight because of the biopolymers coming from sugar canes.These eco-friendly sanitary pads require a vigorous manufacturing process beginning with the production process of the wood pulp. The formed wood pulps are sealed using a sensitive impulse sealing method after being wrapped in a non-woven fabric. The process continues as position stickers are placed, creating the pads, and submitting them to quality control. These pads are finally ready for packaging and distribution after passing the standards. In turn, the eco-friendly pads help women with their periods with less impact on their health and the environment.

The eco-friendly pads help women with their periods with less impact on their health and the environment.

Sanitary pads are important hygiene products for women. These are disposable absorbent pads that they use when they get their period.

How were sanitary pads invented?

In this video, we will see how sneakers are made in a factory. We will witness the process of producing a mass amount of sneakers from scratch.

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From comfort to fashion, we all need and use shoes every single day. But do we ever stop to think about how shoes are made? And as importantly, how are they made so quickly?The evolution of how shoes are made has jumped forward in leaps and bounds. Nowadays, blending both hand-crafted and machine-made methods has sped up this process. In the past, shoes were solely made by hand, crafted to each person&#39;s foot shape – especially for royalty. Nowadays, you pay a pretty price for custom-made shoes, and even if you&#39;re not purchasing tailored shoes, you likely own various pairs of shoes for various occasions.Even though the production of shoes has significantly moved forward, every shoe concept needs to be taken into account, mock-ups created, and models drawn to see how the shoe will look, fit, and feel before it can move on to the next step of production. Once a shoe concept is given the green light, it&#39;s time for the digital design stage. Here, 2D parts are carefully cut using laser machines or serial cutting blades. These cut pieces are then put together to create the 3D shape of the future shoe before they are stitched together.Fun fact: the stitching process of shoes is still completed by hand.After this stage is done, the complete assembly of the shoe then happens. The first station of the assembly line consists of wrapping and gluing the top and bottom edges of the shoe upper with a special material to bind the outsole. The outsole then has a high-performance universal adhesive applied to it before it is attached to the rest of the shoe. A vacuum sealer is then used to make sure the bond is as strong as it can be. Finally, the sole plate, with each brand&#39;s logo, is added and shoes are organized by size.It&#39;s then time for the packing and shipping process so that shoes are displayed in shops around the world.Interestingly, every stage of a shoe&#39;s production combines human and machine power. Humans ensure every step of the production runs smoothly and machines carry and move each part of the shoe to the next stage. Given the number of shoes required around the world, the entire shoe-making process is a fascinating one. We wonder how it&#39;ll evolve moving forward!

From comfort to fashion, we all need and use shoes every single day. But do we ever stop to think about how shoes are made?