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00:01Around the world, the race to win wars and explore the universe
00:05has created some of the most incredible products ever designed.
00:08And we use them every day, unaware of their amazing origins.
00:13On incredible inventions.
00:15The wetsuit.
00:18From the Italian frogman of World War II to the divers of today.
00:23The Aqualon.
00:25How fuel rationing led to the pursuit of leisure diving.
00:30Lipstick.
00:32A woman's beauty product and its connection to Winston Churchill.
00:37We reveal the amazing history and engineering behind these incredible inventions.
01:00The modern day wetsuit has been popularized by surfers, kayakers and divers.
01:05A must have for those who enjoy water sports.
01:08The wetsuit provides thermal insulation without restricting movement.
01:12But did you know that without World War II, this body insulating a tire may never have been invented?
01:17Diving suits in various forms have been around since the 18th century.
01:22But those are often cumbersome and limit the maneuverability.
01:25In the 1800s, a German born engineer named Augustus Siebe develops a diving suit of canvas
01:31that would become standard among divers for almost a century.
01:34It's not until World War II that the Pirelli Tire Company develops a rubber suit
01:39which offers greater protection from the elements while retaining flexibility.
01:43Italians started to use what were called frogmen.
01:47And they were the first to use wetsuits that were made of rubber.
01:50And it was also during the Second World War period that neoprene was developed and discovered.
01:55And again, this really helped to advance wetsuits as an item.
01:59These rubberized diving suits were the precursor to the wetsuit that we recognize today.
02:04So, what is the science behind these suits?
02:07And what gives them their thermal insulating properties?
02:10The water goes in between yourself and the rubber.
02:13And because water has a high heat capacity, once it's warm, it tends to stay warm.
02:17Rub reacts as an insulator.
02:19And so this water that's now warm against your body and against your skin allows you to stay warm in a colder environment
02:26even though the initial jumping into the water could be quite cold and quite a shock.
02:30Today, wetsuits are made of foamed neoprene that holds bubbles of air within the material,
02:35significantly lowering the suit's ability to conduct heat
02:38and therefore keeping the wearer protected from harsh cold.
02:41After the war, the Italian wetsuits find their way into popular culture and leisure pursuits,
02:47becoming indispensable for anyone jumping into cold water.
02:50In fact, in the coastal city of Ensenada, Mexico, O'Neill produces up to 200 wetsuits per day.
03:00The wetsuit begins as a sheet of neoprene that O'Neill manufactures for themselves.
03:05So, neoprene starts out as a mix of what's called polychloroprene rubber.
03:10It's a synthetic rubber that is processed through a mixing process with different components
03:15that allow it to get baked later in the oven.
03:18So, if you can imagine a loaf of bread, it starts out small and then when you bake in the oven, it grows.
03:22And that's exactly what happens with neoprene.
03:24So, what happens when you bake that neoprene bun is that thousands of micro air cells integrated into the neoprene
03:30which provide the insulation for the wetsuit.
03:32So, all these micro air cells are very, very small, but they fit together kind of like little bubbles of air inside the neoprene.
03:40The interesting thing about the neoprene air cells in there is it prevents water from entering into the neoprene
03:45and it prevents water from entering into your wetsuit.
03:48Taking up to eight hours to complete, each roll then goes through a visual inspection.
03:52The material is rolled over a lit screen to be checked for any holes or abnormalities.
03:57Next, a designer uses Gerber pattern technology to lay out all the flat patterns of the wetsuit.
04:06These patterns are then printed onto paper and used to help cut out the material.
04:11The software efficiently making use of the material and reducing waste.
04:15Once the sheets are printed, they are then sent to the factory floor, where a worker places the paper over the neoprene material.
04:22The sheets are then cut by an operator wearing a special Kevlar glove to protect their hand.
04:28Once completed, the patterns are collected and sent for marking, where they will be organized into sizes depending on the suit.
04:35Now it's time for the branding and graphics to be added.
04:38Various cuts of the material are placed underneath a silkscreen printer and ink is applied over the top.
04:44The ink is only allowed to fall through onto the material where the desired logo has been burned into the screen.
04:51The worker then places the freshly printed material underneath a heater for a few moments to help cure the ink.
04:56Depending on the ink or desired pattern, the process is repeated using a different screen.
05:01Next, glue adhesive is brushed three times on the seams to ensure the glue is thick enough to join the cuts.
05:12Left to dry for several hours, a worker applies a chemical activator to make the glue sticky again.
05:21Carefully aligning each panel by hand, a pneumatic crimper is used to join the panels together.
05:27Once all the panels are glued, the suit is then sent for stitching.
05:32We've used wetsuits for so many different applications, and not just O'Neill, but I think many companies use them for use wetsuits and neoprene for many different purposes.
05:40For example, we work with a research lab called Long's Marine Lab, and they do a lot of research with marine mammals.
05:47And we've made wetsuits for dolphins or beluga wells that they take down and take monitoring equipment down beneath the surface of the water.
05:56We've also made wetsuits for penguins because there's been some health issues with penguins and needed some sort of insulation.
06:02So it's being used for so many different purposes, and there are some really interesting applications out there.
06:08Using a special machine, blind stitches are sewn into the material.
06:13These penetrate only far enough to join the neoprene without going all the way through, keeping the suit watertight.
06:20A further layer of protection comes from the liquid tape applied to the seams.
06:25Here we see a layer of liquid polyurethane being carefully applied by hand, helping to protect against the cold and adding extra waterproofing.
06:34Once the seals have dried several hours later, it is time for the finishing touches.
06:41Wetsuits are a very difficult thing to make.
06:44They have to form fit to the body because if water gets in, you get cold.
06:49So the material that you use has to be lightweight and elastic, so you want it to be able to stretch and form over your body.
06:56But it's also got to be lightweight and the most important thing that it's got to do is insulate your body from the cold.
07:01So the most important feature of a wetsuit is to move with the function of your body and also protect you from the cold water.
07:09The zippers and labels are carefully added to the outer layer before the suit is sent to quality control.
07:15Each suit is carefully inspected, testing the zips and Velcro seals.
07:20A hanger and the tags are added before the suit is loaded onto a truck for distribution.
07:25The wetsuit, truly an incredible invention.
07:31From waterproofing surfers to breathing underwater, next on Incredible Inventions.
07:48We've seen how the wetsuit keeps divers safe from the cold.
07:51But what about safe from running out of oxygen while they are still underwater?
07:56For the pioneering divers of the 18th and 19th centuries, breathing underwater was as cumbersome as the equipment they were wearing.
08:03By the turn of the 20th century, the quest to develop an independent breathing system that allowed a diver to move freely results in the development of two variants of self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, also known as scuba.
08:19Open circuit scuba equipment vents the diver's exhaled gas directly into the water, while closed circuit scuba filters the diver's carbon dioxide from unused oxygen, which is then recirculated.
08:31The big problem for these early scubas is how to safely deliver compressed air from a tank to the diver.
08:37The answer to this problem is the aqualung, also known as a diving regulator, developed by a young Frenchman named Jacques Cousteau in 1943.
08:47Very simply, an aqualung is actually a big can of compressed air.
08:51What you have at the ends of the can is a valve and a regulator that allow you to not receive a huge blast of air into your lungs, which would basically make your lungs go pot.
09:01What the regulator does is it slows the air down to a pressure that you can breathe underwater.
09:08Diving regulators have been in existence since the late 1800s, with the first successful open circuit scuba developed in 1925.
09:16But there was a problem. The continuous flow of air limits the duration of the device's use.
09:22The solution Cousteau and his engineer Emile Gagnon invented was a direct result of fuel shortages in occupied France.
09:29During the war, the Germans requisition essential supplies such as fuel.
09:34Engineer Emile Gagnon invents a demand regulator that feeds cooking gas to a car's carburetor, running the car with natural gas.
09:43Using this valve, Cousteau develops the aqualung.
09:47This simpler and safer way to dive fuels a post-war diving boom through the 50s and 60s.
09:54There's quite a lot of popular films at this time that are released that have to do with diving or where the hero is a diver.
10:01And that means that people become increasingly keen to take up this new leisure activity.
10:06And obviously, as with everything, it means that there's a continuous development of the technology itself.
10:12So aqualung start off as a fairly primitive, crude model and then become increasingly sophisticated.
10:19So that today, anyone can don a pair of aqualungs and go scuba diving.
10:24Although the aqualung has allowed greater numbers of people to explore the depths,
10:29the inherent dangers of diving cannot be taken for granted.
10:32Possibly a diver's greatest fear, he's developing the bends.
10:36This is a potentially life-threatening condition that can occur if a diver ascends from depths too quickly.
10:43What happens when you're underwater is the pressure of the water is quite great.
10:48And in order to breathe, you need higher pressure air to breathe.
10:51If there's nitrogen in the air, which there is 80% of normal air is nitrogen,
10:55this nitrogen actually dissolves in your blood.
10:58And the oxygen reacts with your blood cells to carry around so you can carry on normal functioning.
11:03But because this nitrogen dissolves in the blood, and is not normally dissolves in the blood,
11:08when you ascend from the depth, what starts to happen is the nitrogen starts to want to be released from the blood.
11:15In normal breathing, this would be released via your lungs.
11:18If you ascend too fast, the nitrogen starts to come out of your blood because the pressure from the water is less on your body.
11:25And actually it will start to bubble up in your bloodstream at the point where it is.
11:30This bit of results in essentially parts of your body inflating, and it's not good. It's actually quite painful.
11:36The pain unfortunate divers experience leads to the condition being named the bends,
11:41where victims curl up in a fetal position as they attempt to alleviate the excruciating symptoms.
11:46The technique to avoid this condition is for divers to slowly ascend from their diving depth,
11:52pausing a few times to allow their bodies to acclimatize to the pressure difference,
11:56and allow the nitrogen to be expelled naturally from their body.
12:00With sophisticated closed-circuit scubas being the preserve of industry and the military,
12:05Cousteau's Aqualon has been instrumental in creating a simpler and safe way to explore the world's ocean,
12:11and all because of fuel rationing in World War II occupied France.
12:17Coming up on Incredible Inventions, an experiment that demonstrates the power of air pressure.
12:36The development of scuba diving gear has enabled hobbyists around the world to explore the ocean floor.
12:42But the one thing they all fear is getting the bends.
12:46Now, our tester will demonstrate the power of air pressure, a lesson that can make all the difference for a diver.
12:53What you will need?
12:55Some combustible material like paper,
12:57a lighter,
12:59a boiled and peeled egg,
13:01and a bottle.
13:03The problem?
13:04The egg is too large to fit into this bottle.
13:07But our tester reckons he can get it inside using air pressure.
13:13The solution is simple.
13:14Our tester rips a piece of paper and places it in the neck of the bottle.
13:18He lights it and pushes it into the bottle and places the egg on top.
13:23And...
13:24The egg is sucked in!
13:26And it breaks!
13:27So, what happened?
13:29Let's watch it again in slow motion.
13:31While we may have a little bit of egg on our faces, it was successfully sucked into the bottle.
13:36So, how does this work?
13:38It all has to do with air pressure, of course.
13:41When the lighted paper is placed in the bottle, it warms the air inside, causing the air to expand and increase in volume.
13:48This expansion creates a greater pressure than outside the bottle and leads to some of the air rushing out of the top past the egg.
13:56Once the oxygen inside the bottle has been used up, the flame dies, which causes the air to cool.
14:02And this leads to a decrease in air pressure inside the bottle.
14:06In the reverse of the air escaping from the bottle when heated, there is now less air inside the bottle than there was when we started the experiment.
14:13And the outside air pressure is now greater and wants to get back inside the bottle.
14:19The force is so great that as the air tries to get back in, it pushes the egg inside the bottle.
14:25Or, as in our case, and the egg is too large, the pressure cuts the egg in half.
14:31So, there you go. The power of different air pressures, demonstrated by an egg and a bottle.
14:37Maybe we'll use a smaller egg next time.
14:40Putting on makeup in the hopes of making yourself more desirable may seem like a modern phenomenon.
14:46But history reveals that humans have been image conscious as far back as the ancient world.
14:51We also know that in ancient Egypt, Cleopatra in particular was said to love red lipstick.
14:57And it was often used from plants, flowers, and the juices of plants in order to provide a colored pigment.
15:04Sometimes it didn't go very well because some of these plants were poisonous.
15:08And therefore women would put this red liquid on their lips and it would prove to be fatal.
15:13And that's where the expression kiss of death comes from.
15:16Fast forward to the 20th century, and lipstick becomes even more prominent.
15:21With rationing in place in Britain during the Second World War, it may seem odd that cosmetics such as lipstick are exempt.
15:28But there is a very patriotic reason behind it.
15:30There is a rumor, or an urban legend, that the reason lipsticks weren't rationed during World War II is that Winston Churchill himself decided that femininity was too important to the morale of the nation.
15:43One of the reasons that lipstick was seen to retain patriotic features was in the renaming of colors, particularly reds, to reflect themes of patriotism.
15:55So there was a patriot red lipstick or a fighting red lipstick.
15:59Today, our love of cosmetics continues to thrive. But what makes up a modern day lipstick?
16:04Beeswax, Candelila, Canuba, all of these waxes are helping to the properties of being able to float well and actually easily applied.
16:13You also then add in additives like amino acids, which help the lipstick actually bond to your lips.
16:18So that if it comes off, you still have a remnant of the dye, often a fluorescent dye, which allows it to appear bright and vibrant.
16:25From ancient Egypt to inspiring patriotism during wartime, lipstick has a rich history almost as deep as its color.
16:32And it seems set to continue as one of the most popular cosmetic products in use for years to come.
16:40Just how do they make lipstick? Find out next on Incredible Inventions.
16:44Based in New York, Colmar has been manufacturing beauty cosmetics for some of the biggest brands since 1921.
17:02Naturally, an important part of their product lineup is lipstick.
17:06Once an order for a batch of lipstick is received, all the raw materials are collected from the warehouse.
17:13The materials are weighed, scanned and approved to make sure they match the order on the batch card.
17:18Once everything is accounted for, the individual ingredients are added to various buckets, small tubs or little individual bags.
17:28Getting the weights and measures correct is critical, as even the smallest variances could spoil the entire batch.
17:36Over to the mixing room, the initial base mix, a mixture of wax and oils, is added.
17:42The wax gives the lipstick its structure, while the oils provide conditioning properties.
17:47Varying measures of oil and wax create a soft or hard lipstick, as requested by the order specifications.
17:55While these base ingredients are being mixed, the color shade of the lipstick is developed.
18:00The rolling mills process a combination of color grinds and oils, evenly distributing the color pigment.
18:06This must be completed before adding to the main mix to make sure the color of the lipstick is consistent throughout the entire batch.
18:13The mixture goes through the rollers multiple times until it is the right consistency, and is then collected in pails.
18:22The new color mix can now be added, instantly transforming the color.
18:27The final ingredient to be added is a sweetener, which masks the taste of the wax and the oil.
18:33Then the batch is dropped into storage containers, where it will solidify.
18:38In Colmar's development lab, a sample is tested to check coloring and shade under both normal and UV light, to make sure that the color is exactly as ordered.
18:50Once all the specifications have been met, it's sent to block molding, where a bulk of the mix is transferred to a filling tank.
18:58Heated until it re-liquifies, the mix is pumped into a mold.
19:02These molds contain up to four different layers, with 72 cavities for the lipstick in total.
19:08The block moves at a slow pace, because the bulk is a slow solidifying liquid, and can't be rushed, so we might have to speed this up.
19:16Once at the end, they are placed on chill tables for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
19:22Once fully set, the top layer is removed, so they can be sent onto the production line, demolded, and individually placed into the base component.
19:32The lipsticks then make their way down the conveyor belt to flaming.
19:36This quick blast of heat takes away any imperfections on the lipstick, and gives it a shiny, even finish.
19:42Workers then manually check for any remaining imperfections, and swivel the lipstick down so it is ready for capping and secondary packaging.
19:51All the lipsticks now make their way to packing, where they are inspected first, before an automatic labeler stamps the shade label at the bottom of the lipstick.
20:00The finished lipsticks are then placed into individual lipstick cartons, before being packed and sent out to the stores.
20:07Lipstick, truly an incredible invention.
20:12So, there you have it. A glance through the hidden history and super science of some amazing products we use every day.
20:19The wetsuit, the aqualung, and lipstick.
20:26They may seem common and ordinary, however, these products help change the world one incredible invention at a time.
20:32Lipstick, justvisible money money at a time.
20:37You