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[gear noises]
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Have you noticed
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what's happened to plastic
in the last ten years?
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It's become something
in its own right.
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I mean, early on, if you made
something in plastic,
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you had to make it look exactly
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like what it is replacing;
I mean, particularly leather,
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or people wouldn't buy it.
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It's not so long since
the word 'plastic' was an insult.
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Cheap and nasty,
remember?
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Not any more.
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It's as if we suddenly
changed our attitude
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to what REAL meant,
and recognized plastic
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for what it is;
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something that permits us
to own objects
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that we couldn't
possibly afford,
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if they had to be made
in the so-called real thing.
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So, now it's everywhere.
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I mean, look at this office;
that's plastic.
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So is that.
So are these.
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So is this,
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And especially,
what's inside it.
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There's plastic paint
on the wall;
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There's plastic wood on this desk;
my shirt is plastic.
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And now, there's a new
generation of objects
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that can only be made
in plastic,
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like that cassette.
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It's a plastic world,
and because of plastic,
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it's a plastic world
in a different sense,
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in the original sense
of the word.
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It changes its shape
easily.
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So now, we no longer buy
the thing we want;
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we buy the shape of
that thing that we prefer.
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And, when the shapes
change regularly,
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which they do,
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we begin to want them
to change regularly.
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And the plastics industry
is ready and willing
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to satisfy our demand,
or do they create it?
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So, our plastic world changes,
quicker every year;
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we live in a world
of fast turnover,
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built-in obsolescence, novelty;
thanks to plastics.
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You can mold it, pre-form it,
blow it, extrude it;
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or, most meanindfully of all,
you can cut it
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into little rectangles.
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This shape is the shape
of our future;
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because the only way
the money can move around
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fast enough
to keep up with trade,
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is electronically
from bank to bank,
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through computers;
or in the case of you and me,
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through this,
the credit card.
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This is you, coded
into that magnetic tape.
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see; in there is the world's
newest virtue:
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creditworthiness;
are you a good risk or not?
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And what people
need to know about you
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before you can become
a coded signal on that stripe,
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makes this much more
than a substitute for money;
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it's a judgment on you.
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And that's why here,
where they make credit cards,
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the security is so tight.
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Because, if you steal
one truckload of credit cards,
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then, you've practically
got the key to,
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oh, every bank
in the country.
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The question is,
is any security tight enough?
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As the data
on you and your credit
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flows from bank
to shop to employer,
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to police to tax inspector,
what happens to privacy?
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And, if you don't want credit,
how do you live
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in a world where
they don't take cash?
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What will happen when
being in debt all the time,
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is the normal way
to live?
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The first time
that opportunity came up,
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to live on credit
on a major scale,
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happened, when the banks opened,
about 600 years ago.
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And when it did, the behavior
of the people involved
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might remind you of yourself,
under similar circumstances.
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Look what it did
to them.
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The big spenders
in question
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were the 14th century
dukes of Burgundy,
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and what they did
with the money they borrowed,
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raised every eyebrow
in Europe.
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Oh, the overindulgent
excesses they got up to,
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looked very elegant to us,
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but behind all the courtly dancing,
duchess swapping?
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There were only four
dukes of Burgundy,
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and the whole dynasty
only lasted 94 years from 1383,
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but what a time they had.
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It was a crafty
italian banker
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who kicked it all off,
by lending the first duke
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enough money
to buy a dukedom.
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Now, he knew
he'd get his money back,
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because the new dukedom
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included half the manufacturing
centers of flanders,
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and places like Bruges.
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The second duke picked up
his father's debts,
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pawned his jewels,
assassinated a few friends,
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and generally kept the party
moving right along.
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The third duke kept four
mistresses in every castle,
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ruled the country
stretching from Holland
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to the swiss border,
and drank.
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The last of the dukes
was a real weirdo;
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they called him
Charles the Bold.
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He was an egomaniac,
and he saw himself
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as a sort of second
Julius Caesar;
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didn't go for women much,
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and wore more jewels
in more places
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than anybody else
in Europe.
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And, he was so convinced he was
going to be made emperor,
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that he chased
the real emperor around
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with the crown in his saddlebags,
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so that the emperor
could proclaim him
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heir to the throne.
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Of course, the emperor kept
dodging the crucial meeting
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he also went on long
military campaigns,
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to increase his territory,
and lost them all.
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Of course, Charles was
up to his neck in hock,
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thanks to an ambitious
bank manager
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called Thomas Portinari.
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He worked for a bunch
of florentine bankers,
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the Medicis,
who ran their local office
in Bruges.
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And the deal he made
with Charles
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was that Portinari collected
the rent on Charles' property,
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in places like this.
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And Charles got to borrow money
whenever he needed it,
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at nice fat interest rates,
of course.
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The first modern nation
ran on tick.
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Well, in 1470,
Portinari got a letter
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from no less than
the president of his bank,
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who also happened to be
running Florence at that time,
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a man called
Lorenzo the Magnificent,
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saying, "watch it
when you're dealing
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with Charles of Burgundy,
won't you?"
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Of course, Portinari
ignored this advice,
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and when Charles went off
on new military disasters,
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Portinari would write
a letter to his friends
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who had a bank
near the battle,
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and they would turn up,
on the spot,
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with bags full of loot;
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all of which naturally enough
tended to make Charles
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an admirer of things italian,
especially their soldiers.
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He was bringing them in
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to train his own men
in new tactics.
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And it was the italian
connection
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that finally blew it
for Charles,
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because in 1476,
he decided to strengthen
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his lines of communication
with Italy,
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by moving into an area
south of him.
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Now, that was going to
bump him up against the swiss,
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still who were
'a bunch of mountain louts'
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to stand up against Charles
the Bold of Burgundy,
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the greatest thing
since sliced venison.
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So, off he set,
and in doing so,
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triggered off
a series of events
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that were to end
500 years later,
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with the landing
on the moon.
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Now, the swiss economy; timber
and a bit of dairy produce,
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couldn't pay for a real army,
so Charles reckoned
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the whole thing
would be a pushover.
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Wrong!
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Waiting for him in the woods,
was a swiss secret weapon.
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But even if he'd known,
Charles would have laughed;
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because at grandson
in Switzerland
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on March the 2nd, 1476, this
was what he bought on credit,
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fully armored mercenaries.
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And, what could a few swiss
pikes do against that?
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Well, this.
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Charles' army was routed.
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A year later,
it happened again.
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Charles was killed,
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and that was the end
of his family tree.
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It was how the swiss used
the pike that did it;
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in a formation called
the pike square.
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You get a feel for its power
with these modern soldiers.
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Any cavalry idiot enough
to charge this lot,
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got itself skewered
on the four-foot steel tips;
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but the real magic was the way
the pike square moved.
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You see the way they could
come to a sudden stop,
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and turn in any direction
instantly and attack,
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or open out
like a porcupine in defense?
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That's why 'a bunch
of mountain louts'
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whipped the cream
of Burgundy and Chivalry.
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The way the pikes had
clobbered the mounted knights
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changed the battle plans
of every military
commander in Europe.
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For the next 40 years,
the pike was it;
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and the armies got bigger
because they were cheaper.
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And then,
on April the 28th, 1503,
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at Cerignola
in southern Italy,
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things changed again.
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A new weapon had arrived.
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It was a gun,
the arquebus.
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In skilled hands,
it could kill at 60 yards;
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used the new miracle
ingredient, gunpowder.
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An "S" shaped trigger
brought the smoldering core
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down on the powder,
fired a 1-pound ball.
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At Cerignola, the spanish
commander de Cordoba
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lined his outnumbered
men up like this;
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5.000 arquebusiers,
backed by pikes and cavalry,
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00:11:11,607 --> 00:11:13,508
facing the french
who were still using
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the traditional pike square.
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00:11:14,869 --> 00:11:16,837
Okay, here's the battle;
this is the french,
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00:11:16,837 --> 00:11:19,163
the arquebusiers are dug in
behind the ditch
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00:11:19,163 --> 00:11:20,806
at the bottom of a hill,
which is covered in vines,
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so that when the french
come down the hill,
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00:11:22,508 --> 00:11:24,064
they get snarled up
in the vines,
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and they are cut to pieces
by the bullets.
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Total involvement on both sides:
18.000 men.
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Over a 100 years later,
and another battle,
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00:11:31,832 --> 00:11:34,228
at which the arquebus has been
replaced by a weapon
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00:11:34,228 --> 00:11:36,115
that was to change
the face of war yet again.
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00:11:36,430 --> 00:11:38,419
This time, it was
the flintlock musket.
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00:11:46,300 --> 00:11:50,646
In general service by 1590,
fired a 2-pound ball, a 100 yards;
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00:11:53,301 --> 00:11:54,412
the trigger released a spring,
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00:11:54,412 --> 00:11:56,764
it snapped the flint down
against the hammer,
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00:11:56,764 --> 00:11:58,850
made sparks;
powder ignited.
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00:12:00,653 --> 00:12:03,669
[gunfire]
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00:12:15,991 --> 00:12:18,383
The pikes were still needed,
for protection.
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00:12:19,297 --> 00:12:20,039
[battle commands]
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00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:35,527
This was the new trick.
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00:12:35,527 --> 00:12:37,758
Several ranks,
the front row firing,
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00:12:37,758 --> 00:12:40,397
rest reloading
like this, in stages.
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00:12:41,551 --> 00:12:42,553
[commands]
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[gunfire]
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00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,322
As each rank fired,
it countermarched to the rear,
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00:12:53,322 --> 00:12:54,774
and the next rank
stepped forward,
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ready for action.
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00:12:57,179 --> 00:12:57,912
[commands]
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[gunfire]
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00:13:03,932 --> 00:13:07,156
On the 7th of September, 1631,
at Breitenfeld,
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just outside Leipzig,
the swedish king Gustavus
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took the technology
to its logical conclusion.
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Look how he set out his men;
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00:13:14,136 --> 00:13:16,067
you see how both the pikes
and the muskets
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00:13:16,067 --> 00:13:18,501
are in this forward
attack position.
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00:13:18,501 --> 00:13:20,246
and they're set out,
muskets, pikes;
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00:13:20,246 --> 00:13:22,099
muskets, pikes;
to cover each other.
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00:13:22,596 --> 00:13:25,044
Gustavus had also shortened
the length of the pike,
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and made the musket
lighter.
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00:13:27,012 --> 00:13:28,957
Opposing him,
in the imperial army,
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00:13:28,957 --> 00:13:30,459
they were still using
the old-fashioned
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00:13:30,459 --> 00:13:32,401
defensive mode
for the pikes, back here;
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00:13:32,401 --> 00:13:34,076
with relatively fewer
musketeers.
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00:13:34,976 --> 00:13:36,066
And a few years before,
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00:13:36,066 --> 00:13:38,337
the dutch had started
producing books like this
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00:13:38,337 --> 00:13:40,100
to make firing
muskets easier.
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00:13:40,534 --> 00:13:42,940
They divided up the business
between firing a musket,
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00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:45,044
reloading it and getting it
ready to fire again
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00:13:45,044 --> 00:13:47,583
into nearly 45
separate maneuvers,
247
00:13:47,583 --> 00:13:50,460
each one of them
illustrated like that;
248
00:13:50,460 --> 00:13:53,780
and Gustavus had taught his men
from those illustrations.
249
00:13:54,221 --> 00:13:57,038
That meant that on the field,
he could do with five ranks;
250
00:13:57,038 --> 00:13:59,021
two firing,
three reloading;
251
00:13:59,021 --> 00:14:01,698
what it took the other side
ten ranks to do.
252
00:14:01,698 --> 00:14:04,254
And what's more,
his rate of fire
was three times theirs.
253
00:14:04,763 --> 00:14:06,916
So, whatever they did,
however they moved,
254
00:14:06,916 --> 00:14:09,595
his men were able to
wheel and turn
255
00:14:09,595 --> 00:14:11,545
and reposition themselves
as necessary,
256
00:14:11,545 --> 00:14:14,021
constantly keeping up
a murderous rate of fire,
257
00:14:14,021 --> 00:14:14,948
that in the end,
258
00:14:14,948 --> 00:14:17,850
blew the imperial army
right off the field.
259
00:14:18,388 --> 00:14:21,339
Total number
of men involved: 70.000.
260
00:14:23,366 --> 00:14:25,299
Another 100 years,
and another development;
261
00:14:25,999 --> 00:14:27,524
this time, the shape of war
was changed
262
00:14:27,524 --> 00:14:29,360
by the arrival of
two new bits of weaponry;
263
00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,814
the bayonet,
and the paper cartridge.
264
00:14:31,814 --> 00:14:33,803
You bit the end off
the paper cartridge
265
00:14:33,803 --> 00:14:35,585
and poured a measured
amount of powder
266
00:14:35,585 --> 00:14:36,550
into the gun, very fast.
267
00:14:37,018 --> 00:14:39,750
And as for the bayonet,
well, when it was put
268
00:14:39,750 --> 00:14:42,013
on top of the musket,
you got musket
269
00:14:42,013 --> 00:14:43,681
and pike
in the same weapon.
270
00:14:44,217 --> 00:14:48,053
So, on the 9th of May, 1745,
at the battle of Fontenoy,
271
00:14:48,053 --> 00:14:49,496
as you can see
from the british lines,
272
00:14:49,496 --> 00:14:50,732
no pikes.
273
00:14:50,767 --> 00:14:52,717
And because of
the fast reloading,
274
00:14:52,717 --> 00:14:54,980
they were able to get by
with only three ranks,
275
00:14:54,980 --> 00:14:58,100
whereas the french
were still using five ranks,
276
00:14:58,100 --> 00:14:59,553
and they were less
well drilled.
277
00:15:00,038 --> 00:15:02,131
Now, on the battlefield,
because of the need
278
00:15:02,131 --> 00:15:04,049
to get where you could see
the whites of their eyes
279
00:15:04,049 --> 00:15:05,942
before you fired, and then,
on in with the bayonet,
280
00:15:05,942 --> 00:15:08,973
that brought the armies
within 30 yards of each other.
281
00:15:09,616 --> 00:15:11,184
First of all, the english
pushed the french
282
00:15:11,184 --> 00:15:14,341
back up into their ground,
and then, beated by
283
00:15:14,341 --> 00:15:17,378
superior numbers,
the english retreated.
284
00:15:17,378 --> 00:15:19,802
But, the days of
the uniformed,
285
00:15:19,802 --> 00:15:22,044
disciplined, regular
armies had arrived.
286
00:15:22,562 --> 00:15:25,405
Total number involved,
over 100,000.
287
00:15:26,955 --> 00:15:30,133
Less than 50 years later,
came the first signs
288
00:15:30,133 --> 00:15:31,814
of mass modern warfare,
289
00:15:31,814 --> 00:15:33,564
thanks to
the french revolution.
290
00:15:33,973 --> 00:15:37,040
You see, with most of their
aristocratic officers,
291
00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,652
either guillotined or in exile,
292
00:15:39,652 --> 00:15:41,172
there wasn't much
the republic could do
293
00:15:41,172 --> 00:15:43,578
except conscript
every able-bodied man
294
00:15:43,578 --> 00:15:44,191
in the country;
295
00:15:44,191 --> 00:15:47,204
and in 1793,
that's just what they did.
296
00:15:47,812 --> 00:15:49,306
But sending out raw recuits
297
00:15:49,306 --> 00:15:52,042
against the disciplined
armies of the allies,
298
00:15:52,042 --> 00:15:53,418
meant you had to send them
in large numbers,
299
00:15:53,418 --> 00:15:55,658
and they looked
something like this:
300
00:15:55,658 --> 00:15:59,070
a vast rabble of badly
trained, ill-equipped recruits,
301
00:15:59,070 --> 00:16:00,879
and in front,
a few professionals
302
00:16:00,879 --> 00:16:03,174
firing individually
for maximum effect,
303
00:16:03,174 --> 00:16:04,747
to try and break
the enemy line,
304
00:16:04,747 --> 00:16:07,058
so that the mob could then
roll over them
305
00:16:07,058 --> 00:16:09,479
and win by sheer force of numbers,
whatever the cost.
306
00:16:09,971 --> 00:16:12,078
To give you an idea of
what those number were,
307
00:16:12,078 --> 00:16:13,281
take a look at that.
308
00:16:13,281 --> 00:16:15,584
That is not a battle line
you're looking at;
309
00:16:15,584 --> 00:16:17,568
you see, it starts
at the channel,
310
00:16:17,568 --> 00:16:19,494
and it ends in Switzerland.
311
00:16:19,981 --> 00:16:22,666
More than 1.000.000 men,
stretched in armies
312
00:16:22,666 --> 00:16:24,434
all the way
along the frontier.
313
00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:28,475
Now, arming and supplying
that number of men
314
00:16:28,475 --> 00:16:29,971
and feeding them
was bad enough
315
00:16:29,971 --> 00:16:31,041
when they were just
sitting there.
316
00:16:31,532 --> 00:16:35,502
Try doing that and moving them,
because in 1797,
317
00:16:35,502 --> 00:16:38,177
that was the task
Napoleon took on,
318
00:16:38,177 --> 00:16:39,760
when he started to move
his armies around Europe;
319
00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:43,379
anywhere from 350.000
to 500.000 men at a time.
320
00:16:45,261 --> 00:16:47,251
and suddenly,
feeding huge armies
321
00:16:47,251 --> 00:16:48,409
was the big new problem,
322
00:16:48,409 --> 00:16:50,411
and one that almost
blew it for Napoleon
323
00:16:50,411 --> 00:16:53,095
at a little known spot
in northern Italy.
324
00:16:58,130 --> 00:16:59,933
It's one of those places,
you know,
325
00:16:59,933 --> 00:17:01,501
by the time you notice it,
you've passed it;
326
00:17:01,501 --> 00:17:03,309
which is what
most people do.
327
00:17:03,309 --> 00:17:04,843
So they never notice the statue -
328
00:17:08,808 --> 00:17:10,030
- or indeed, the restaurant,
329
00:17:10,030 --> 00:17:12,222
where they do a rather
nice line in chicken.
330
00:17:12,222 --> 00:17:13,867
And if you've got
a pencil handy,
331
00:17:13,867 --> 00:17:15,000
you might care
for the recipe.
332
00:17:15,588 --> 00:17:18,668
Cut up the chicken
and flour it well.
333
00:17:22,471 --> 00:17:24,248
Put the chicken pops
to brown in oil
334
00:17:24,248 --> 00:17:25,590
with just a touch of garlic.
335
00:17:26,013 --> 00:17:27,692
While the chicken's browning,
336
00:17:27,692 --> 00:17:29,596
prepare the other
ingredients for simmering.
337
00:17:30,015 --> 00:17:30,890
One or two mushrooms -
338
00:17:34,479 --> 00:17:35,872
- half a cup
fresh tomatoes,
339
00:17:36,317 --> 00:17:38,983
add a quarter cup of brandy
and water and simmer.
340
00:17:38,983 --> 00:17:40,932
Steam a quarter cup
of crayfish,
341
00:17:42,539 --> 00:17:44,775
garnish with fried eggs
and potatoes to taste.
342
00:17:46,816 --> 00:17:48,342
Total cooking time,
one hour;
343
00:17:48,812 --> 00:17:50,298
absolutely awful.
344
00:17:50,677 --> 00:17:52,404
It's not often
that a dish of food
345
00:17:52,404 --> 00:17:56,562
plays a deeply meaningful
role in history, but this one did.
346
00:17:56,562 --> 00:17:58,718
You see, the ingredients
that went to make up
347
00:17:58,718 --> 00:18:00,167
this little culinary
work of art,
348
00:18:00,635 --> 00:18:02,098
illustrate
a fundamental problem
349
00:18:02,098 --> 00:18:03,710
that Napoleon had
with his army,
350
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,759
because this is chicken
marengo; thank you.
351
00:18:08,189 --> 00:18:11,159
So called after the place
it was first served,
352
00:18:11,159 --> 00:18:12,916
here in Marengo;
it's a village,
353
00:18:12,916 --> 00:18:14,618
not much more than
a cluster of farmhouses,
354
00:18:14,618 --> 00:18:17,411
outside the town of Alexandria
in northern Italy.
355
00:18:17,705 --> 00:18:20,185
And it's the site of battle
against the austrians
356
00:18:20,185 --> 00:18:23,342
that nearly finished Napoleon,
before he started.
357
00:18:23,750 --> 00:18:26,058
It was his first battle
since becoming head of state,
358
00:18:26,058 --> 00:18:27,731
and so, you could say,
he cared about it;
359
00:18:27,731 --> 00:18:28,725
a lot hung on it.
360
00:18:29,149 --> 00:18:33,268
Anyway, about dawn
on June the 14th, 1800,
361
00:18:33,268 --> 00:18:37,326
Napoleon was jumped by
virtually the entire austrian army,
362
00:18:37,326 --> 00:18:40,630
outnumbered in terms of
men and artillery.
363
00:18:41,035 --> 00:18:43,818
Trouble was, the rest
of his giant army
364
00:18:43,818 --> 00:18:45,058
were out doing what you do
365
00:18:45,058 --> 00:18:46,549
when there are hundreds
of thousands of you;
366
00:18:46,549 --> 00:18:49,041
they were off in separate groups,
out foraging for food.
367
00:18:49,394 --> 00:18:51,922
So, Napoleon was caught
with his pants down.
368
00:18:52,718 --> 00:18:54,371
Anyway, he started,
fighting desperately,
369
00:18:54,371 --> 00:18:55,928
and he sent out riders
to the other group,
370
00:18:55,928 --> 00:18:58,324
saying, "for god's sake,
get here if you can."
371
00:18:58,324 --> 00:19:01,892
And, by 03:00 in the afternoon,
after nine hours of slaughter
372
00:19:01,892 --> 00:19:03,163
with the french
retreating all the way,
373
00:19:03,163 --> 00:19:04,939
it looked like
as if all was lost.
374
00:19:05,074 --> 00:19:08,518
And then, over the hill, like the
US cavalry coming to the rescue,
375
00:19:08,518 --> 00:19:10,284
came one of
the foraging columns,
376
00:19:10,284 --> 00:19:12,258
and the boot was
on the other foot.
377
00:19:12,258 --> 00:19:14,984
By 6 o'clock, the austrians
had surrendered.
378
00:19:18,258 --> 00:19:20,048
That night,
Napoleon's chef
379
00:19:20,048 --> 00:19:23,765
gave him chicken marengo
for dinner, cooked, he said
apologetically,
380
00:19:23,765 --> 00:19:25,801
with all he could find:
some tomatoes,
381
00:19:25,801 --> 00:19:30,419
some crayfish, little oil,
garlic, eggs,
and of course, chicken.
382
00:19:30,563 --> 00:19:32,738
But then, he said, the whole
army was eating like that,
383
00:19:32,738 --> 00:19:34,841
eating what they could find,
if anything.
384
00:19:34,981 --> 00:19:36,766
And Napoleon recognized
that he had
385
00:19:36,766 --> 00:19:38,760
two major problems
to solve.
386
00:19:38,894 --> 00:19:40,988
He had to find a way
of feeding an army
387
00:19:40,988 --> 00:19:42,164
that was on the move,
very fast,
388
00:19:42,521 --> 00:19:44,013
and in this particular case,
389
00:19:44,013 --> 00:19:46,182
his men couldn't even
buy the food they needed,
390
00:19:46,182 --> 00:19:48,605
because the local italians
wouldn't accept their money.
391
00:19:49,474 --> 00:19:52,549
a) because it was
paper money, and,
392
00:19:52,549 --> 00:19:54,370
b) because of the inflation
back in France,
393
00:19:54,370 --> 00:19:55,693
it was worthless
paper money.
394
00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:58,978
It was how Napoleon
solved these problems
395
00:19:58,978 --> 00:20:01,693
relating to food,
that brings us ironically,
396
00:20:01,693 --> 00:20:04,575
to his favorite drink, champagne.
397
00:20:05,474 --> 00:20:07,743
Ah, champagne!
398
00:20:08,614 --> 00:20:08,813
[drum roll]
399
00:20:30,214 --> 00:20:32,357
When Napoleon got
back home to France,
400
00:20:32,357 --> 00:20:34,073
he did several things
to get the country
401
00:20:34,073 --> 00:20:35,072
out of the mess
it was in.
402
00:20:35,072 --> 00:20:36,841
For instance, he set up
the bank of France,
403
00:20:36,841 --> 00:20:39,235
and only let it issue notes
that it could back with gold.
404
00:20:39,787 --> 00:20:41,519
And, he set up the society
405
00:20:41,519 --> 00:20:43,438
for the encouragement
of national industry,
406
00:20:43,438 --> 00:20:45,972
offering prizes
for any idea
407
00:20:45,972 --> 00:20:48,802
that could be put to
profitable manufacturing use.
408
00:20:52,622 --> 00:20:55,800
One of the prize winners
was a mr. Nicholas Appert,
409
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:57,615
ex-cook
and bottle washer,
410
00:20:57,615 --> 00:21:00,313
and what he did fot
national economic recovery,
411
00:21:00,313 --> 00:21:02,009
was THIS ...
412
00:21:16,357 --> 00:21:18,599
Now, I know it will seem odd
that a country -
413
00:21:18,599 --> 00:21:19,337
thank you,
414
00:21:19,337 --> 00:21:22,032
with great gastronomic
traditions like France
415
00:21:22,032 --> 00:21:24,572
should shower fame and money
on an ex-cook
416
00:21:24,572 --> 00:21:28,051
and bottle washer,
for stuffing soup and bits
417
00:21:28,051 --> 00:21:30,813
of food into a bottle,
but Appert's soup
418
00:21:30,813 --> 00:21:32,443
and bits of food
went into the bottle
419
00:21:32,443 --> 00:21:34,491
and stayed fresh,
for nearly six years.
420
00:21:35,572 --> 00:21:38,137
At the time, Napoleon was
doing his things in Marengo,
421
00:21:38,137 --> 00:21:40,243
Appert already had
a little shop in Paris,
422
00:21:40,243 --> 00:21:42,537
and his catalog
was offering things like
423
00:21:42,537 --> 00:21:46,019
asparagus, beans, meat stew,
apricots, and so on.
424
00:21:47,696 --> 00:21:50,799
But it was the french navy
who first caught
425
00:21:50,799 --> 00:21:52,822
onto the possibilities
of Appert's idea.
426
00:21:52,822 --> 00:21:54,266
They were at war
with England;
427
00:21:54,266 --> 00:21:56,528
the british fleet was blockading
all the supply ports,
428
00:21:56,528 --> 00:21:58,887
and suddenly, this appeared
to be a marvelous way
429
00:21:58,887 --> 00:22:01,362
of keeping french ships
independently provisioned.
430
00:22:01,733 --> 00:22:04,920
So, in 1803, they took
some vegetable soup,
431
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:05,925
some peas and beans,
432
00:22:05,925 --> 00:22:08,623
and they went off on
a three-month trip on the sea.
433
00:22:09,088 --> 00:22:10,812
At the end of which,
they ate the stuff,
434
00:22:10,812 --> 00:22:13,101
and then, wrote back
to monsieur Appert
435
00:22:13,101 --> 00:22:14,389
and said,
"marvelous, marvelous."
436
00:22:15,020 --> 00:22:18,649
In 1805, the newspapers
got hold of the story,
437
00:22:18,649 --> 00:22:21,498
and they were raving poetically
about monsieur Appert
438
00:22:21,498 --> 00:22:23,747
who brings the spring
to table in winter.
439
00:22:24,221 --> 00:22:26,659
And all of a sudden,
vintage boiled beef
440
00:22:26,659 --> 00:22:27,652
and carrots
were all the rage.
441
00:22:28,469 --> 00:22:29,762
Then, it was the turn
of the army,
442
00:22:29,762 --> 00:22:31,129
who after all,
march on their stomach.
443
00:22:31,541 --> 00:22:35,315
And by chance, the minister
for the army was also the secretary
444
00:22:35,315 --> 00:22:37,820
for the society
for the encouragement
of national industry,
445
00:22:38,255 --> 00:22:40,223
and that's why Appert
endeed up getting
446
00:22:40,223 --> 00:22:41,763
one of their prizes
for 12.000 francs,
447
00:22:41,763 --> 00:22:44,306
provided he made
his technique public,
448
00:22:44,306 --> 00:22:48,511
which he did in 1810, by
publishing a small bestseller
449
00:22:48,511 --> 00:22:51,933
excitingly entitled
"The art of preserving
for a number of years,
450
00:22:51,933 --> 00:22:54,037
all animal and
vegetable substances."
451
00:22:55,014 --> 00:22:57,121
In the book, he says,
take a champagne bottle
452
00:22:57,121 --> 00:22:59,293
and empty it, and you'll
notice that in those days,
453
00:22:59,293 --> 00:23:01,513
the champagne bottles were
the same shape they are now.
454
00:23:02,066 --> 00:23:03,883
Now, he chose
a champagne bottle
455
00:23:03,883 --> 00:23:05,735
because he had worked
as a bottler
456
00:23:05,735 --> 00:23:07,846
here in Epernay,
the home of champagne,
457
00:23:07,846 --> 00:23:09,616
and he knew that the glass
was very strong.
458
00:23:10,020 --> 00:23:12,190
Okay, once you've emptied it,
you put the food in,
459
00:23:12,823 --> 00:23:15,133
and then you bang the cork
home with one of these:
460
00:23:15,133 --> 00:23:15,870
now I won't do that
461
00:23:15,870 --> 00:23:16,924
because this is
a collector's item.
462
00:23:18,129 --> 00:23:20,326
I order to keep
the cork in position,
463
00:23:20,326 --> 00:23:23,151
he used the same technique
they do today.
464
00:23:23,846 --> 00:23:28,817
He used a little
wire cage.
465
00:23:30,146 --> 00:23:32,291
At that point, you put
the bottle with the food in it
466
00:23:32,291 --> 00:23:34,509
into a steam bath,
where you leave it
467
00:23:34,509 --> 00:23:35,867
for a number of hours,
at 100 degrees.
468
00:23:36,266 --> 00:23:38,202
After that, you let it cool,
and then you leave it
469
00:23:38,202 --> 00:23:40,182
as long as you like,
and the food won't spoil.
470
00:23:41,167 --> 00:23:42,582
Now, although they didn't
know at the time,
471
00:23:42,582 --> 00:23:45,001
what this humble ex-cook
and bottle washer
472
00:23:45,001 --> 00:23:47,151
had discovered,
was something for which
473
00:23:47,151 --> 00:23:49,214
the great scientist, Pasteur
was to get all the credit
474
00:23:49,214 --> 00:23:53,055
years later; the fact
that heat sterilizes food.
475
00:23:54,463 --> 00:23:57,977
So, back in the first place,
partly because the italians
476
00:23:57,977 --> 00:24:00,479
wouldn't take Napoleon's
worthless paper money,
477
00:24:00,479 --> 00:24:03,284
Appert presented
his invention to the world.
478
00:24:04,179 --> 00:24:06,781
And, by the most extraordinary
trick of fortune,
479
00:24:07,257 --> 00:24:10,170
the reason his invention
ended up in the form
480
00:24:10,170 --> 00:24:12,196
it takes on your
supermarket shelves today,
481
00:24:12,196 --> 00:24:16,301
packed in tin, has also to do
with that worthless paper money.
482
00:24:17,632 --> 00:24:19,250
The notes the french
government issued,
483
00:24:19,250 --> 00:24:21,756
called assignats
by this time,
484
00:24:21,756 --> 00:24:23,453
not worth the paper
they were printed on,
485
00:24:23,453 --> 00:24:27,121
were mostly made at
a paper mill south of Paris,
486
00:24:27,121 --> 00:24:28,385
at a place called Essonnes.
487
00:24:28,728 --> 00:24:31,253
Now, what with the fact
that most of the labor force
488
00:24:31,253 --> 00:24:32,562
was off fighting
with Napoleon,
489
00:24:33,936 --> 00:24:37,106
and there was general inflation,
the fellow running this paper mill,
490
00:24:37,106 --> 00:24:39,323
called Didot, was having a lot
of trouble with his production.
491
00:24:39,708 --> 00:24:41,955
So, he wrote to his
brother-in-law in Paris
492
00:24:41,955 --> 00:24:44,692
and said, "send somebody down
here to help me, will you?"
493
00:24:45,184 --> 00:24:47,851
The man who turned up
was called Nicholas Robert,
494
00:24:47,851 --> 00:24:49,927
a clerk with a mechanical
tunn of mind,
495
00:24:49,927 --> 00:24:52,486
and he arrived with a remark,
"well, look,
496
00:24:52,486 --> 00:24:54,393
if you had yourself
a machine that made paper,
497
00:24:54,393 --> 00:24:55,831
all you troubles
would be over."
498
00:24:55,831 --> 00:24:59,144
So, Didot said:
"okay, i'll back you;
you invent it."
499
00:25:00,660 --> 00:25:04,774
And in 1799, Robert did.
And this is it.
500
00:25:04,914 --> 00:25:07,650
Here is a big vat
full of paper pulp;
501
00:25:08,161 --> 00:25:10,577
inside here, there's a wheel
with slats on it,
502
00:25:10,577 --> 00:25:13,435
and as you turn the wheel,
the slats scoop up the pulp
503
00:25:13,435 --> 00:25:14,922
and dump it
onto that slide;
504
00:25:16,008 --> 00:25:19,050
slides down on to
this moving mesh belt.
505
00:25:19,050 --> 00:25:20,865
Now as the belt moves,
it's shaken
506
00:25:20,865 --> 00:25:23,115
so that the water in the pulp
can drain away
507
00:25:23,115 --> 00:25:25,301
through the mesh,
and what water is left
508
00:25:25,301 --> 00:25:27,285
is squeezed out
by that roller.
509
00:25:27,752 --> 00:25:29,979
That leaves the paper
to be wound
510
00:25:29,979 --> 00:25:31,156
on to this roller here.
511
00:25:31,553 --> 00:25:35,925
The entire machine operates
on one handle, like this.
512
00:25:58,745 --> 00:26:01,831
Okay, I hear you say,
but what's that got to do
513
00:26:01,831 --> 00:26:05,241
with putting preserved
food in cans?
514
00:26:05,617 --> 00:26:08,317
Well, it has;
but why -
515
00:26:09,113 --> 00:26:11,531
it's like one of those
french fast stories
516
00:26:11,531 --> 00:26:14,117
where you have people rushing
in and out of everywhere
517
00:26:14,117 --> 00:26:16,656
and its wives and
peoples' brother-in-laws,
518
00:26:16,656 --> 00:26:18,193
and they're all going in
all sorts of directions -
519
00:26:19,081 --> 00:26:21,919
so, if you're ready
for a rather nutty story,
520
00:26:21,919 --> 00:26:23,249
here goes.
521
00:26:23,671 --> 00:26:26,699
Remember how it all
began with Didot
522
00:26:26,699 --> 00:26:29,339
and trouble at the mill,
and how he wrote to
523
00:26:29,339 --> 00:26:31,635
his sister's husband and said,
524
00:26:31,635 --> 00:26:33,182
"send me somebody down
o sort the problem out."
525
00:26:33,182 --> 00:26:35,717
And they sent
Nicholas Robert,
526
00:26:35,717 --> 00:26:37,860
who in 1799,
invented this machine.
527
00:26:37,860 --> 00:26:40,079
Well, after a while, things
weren't going too well
528
00:26:40,079 --> 00:26:42,578
and Didot said, "I wonder
how it would go in England."
529
00:26:42,578 --> 00:26:45,727
So, he wrote to his
other sister's husband,
530
00:26:45,727 --> 00:26:47,370
a fellow called
John Gamble,
531
00:26:47,370 --> 00:26:49,045
who was working
in an office in Paris
532
00:26:49,045 --> 00:26:52,021
for a royal navy captain
called Coates.
533
00:26:52,021 --> 00:26:54,449
Now, Coates was in charge of
prisoner-of-war exchange.
534
00:26:55,090 --> 00:26:58,419
In 1800, Coates got Gamble
and his letters
535
00:26:58,419 --> 00:27:01,573
in bits and pieces,
across the channel to Dover,
536
00:27:01,573 --> 00:27:03,210
with an introduction to
the mayor of Dover,
537
00:27:03,210 --> 00:27:05,049
who promptly invited Gamble
to dinner,
538
00:27:05,049 --> 00:27:07,428
where he met
another fellow called Miliken.
539
00:27:07,428 --> 00:27:09,619
Now, when Miliken heard
what Gamble was up to,
540
00:27:09,619 --> 00:27:11,332
he said, "oh i know the people
you should meet."
541
00:27:11,332 --> 00:27:14,021
He took him up to London,
where he met two more people;
542
00:27:14,021 --> 00:27:16,618
two brothers called Fourdrinier
who were stationers.
543
00:27:16,618 --> 00:27:18,986
They sais,
"this is a great machine;
we've got to make some."
544
00:27:18,986 --> 00:27:22,517
So, they told their millwright,
John Hall, to get on to the job.
545
00:27:23,058 --> 00:27:25,255
Now, he was a bit busy,
so he gave the job
546
00:27:25,747 --> 00:27:30,596
to his wife's sister's husband,
a fellow called
Bryan Donkin;
547
00:27:30,596 --> 00:27:33,135
and in 1803,
Donkin made the machine.
548
00:27:33,642 --> 00:27:36,468
Well, by 1809, things
were going really badly;
549
00:27:36,468 --> 00:27:39,635
people pirating the idea
legal costs and so on;
550
00:27:39,635 --> 00:27:41,044
and the Fourdriniers
went bankrupt.
551
00:27:41,497 --> 00:27:44,759
Gamble, who had got everybody
into this mess,
552
00:27:44,759 --> 00:27:46,396
was so worried,
he was looking around
553
00:27:46,396 --> 00:27:47,708
for an idea to save face.
554
00:27:48,177 --> 00:27:51,081
And he met a fellow
called Peter Durand,
555
00:27:51,081 --> 00:27:53,504
who was a merchant,
and who had just finished
556
00:27:53,504 --> 00:27:56,467
reading a book
translated from french;
this was in 1810.
557
00:27:57,036 --> 00:27:58,757
He'd copied everything
down in that book
558
00:27:58,757 --> 00:28:01,390
and got himself a patent
on the content of the book,
559
00:28:01,390 --> 00:28:02,812
and he sold that patent
560
00:28:02,812 --> 00:28:06,148
to messrs. Gamble,
Donkin, and Hall,
561
00:28:06,148 --> 00:28:07,367
for 1.000 pounds.
562
00:28:07,367 --> 00:28:09,064
Guess who's book it was.
563
00:28:09,064 --> 00:28:12,504
Appert's book; the one
about preserving food;
564
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,303
And that is what you
call a chain of events.
565
00:28:15,303 --> 00:28:18,210
Anyway, the partners went
into business immediately,
566
00:28:18,210 --> 00:28:19,931
in the food preservation line.
567
00:28:19,931 --> 00:28:22,347
Only, since they knew all about
how to handle metal,
568
00:28:22,347 --> 00:28:24,932
they chose not to put the food
into the bottles,
569
00:28:24,932 --> 00:28:27,400
but to put it into the form
that we all know
570
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:31,581
and love today:
the tin can.
571
00:28:32,316 --> 00:28:34,895
Well, in 1813, after
three years of experiment,
572
00:28:34,895 --> 00:28:36,598
the partners finally
got their product
573
00:28:36,598 --> 00:28:39,547
to Kensington palace,
where the prince regent
574
00:28:39,547 --> 00:28:40,674
and the queen,
and various other nobs
575
00:28:40,674 --> 00:28:42,458
pronounced the contents
absolutely delicious,
576
00:28:42,458 --> 00:28:43,660
and could they
have some more.
577
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,070
Well, with backing like that,
how can you fail?
578
00:28:46,070 --> 00:28:47,933
So, they began to get
their product
579
00:28:47,933 --> 00:28:51,009
onto the royal navy ships,
where they went over very big.
580
00:28:51,492 --> 00:28:54,950
Around this time, the 1820s,
the arctic explorations
581
00:28:54,950 --> 00:28:57,459
were going on; and as
the explorers sailed away
582
00:28:57,459 --> 00:29:00,289
with their decks
filled up with canned food,
583
00:29:00,289 --> 00:29:03,118
it began to look as if
canning was a quick way
584
00:29:03,118 --> 00:29:03,967
to become
a millionaire.
585
00:29:04,352 --> 00:29:07,155
Around 1830, the cans
began to appear in the shops.
586
00:29:07,608 --> 00:29:09,773
And then, along came
the crimean war,
587
00:29:09,773 --> 00:29:11,384
with all those
troops to feed.
588
00:29:13,703 --> 00:29:16,960
And then, it happened;
on the dockside in the Crimea,
589
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,854
somebody opened one of the new
jumbo-sized cans of meat.
590
00:29:19,854 --> 00:29:21,129
And, what did they find?
591
00:29:21,129 --> 00:29:23,995
Rotten meat.
592
00:29:23,995 --> 00:29:27,364
The market took a nosedive;
everybody, but everybody
593
00:29:27,364 --> 00:29:28,840
was trying to find out
why it happened.
594
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:30,715
The cans had been sealed,
they said;
595
00:29:30,715 --> 00:29:32,454
the water had been
at the right temperature
596
00:29:32,454 --> 00:29:34,238
for long enough to kill
the bugs, they said;
597
00:29:34,238 --> 00:29:36,065
so, what was it?
598
00:29:38,068 --> 00:29:41,207
They hadn't heated the cans
long enough,
599
00:29:41,207 --> 00:29:42,258
though they didn't
know that;
600
00:29:42,258 --> 00:29:44,201
they thought
the culprit was this.
601
00:29:49,577 --> 00:29:52,021
The kind of air that comes
off rotting vegetation,
602
00:29:52,021 --> 00:29:53,471
heat,
and stagnant water,
603
00:29:54,152 --> 00:29:56,295
very fashionable
at that time, this rot;
604
00:29:56,295 --> 00:29:58,998
everybody thought
all disease was due to it;
605
00:29:58,998 --> 00:30:00,905
which is why
our story brings us
606
00:30:00,905 --> 00:30:02,501
to this pleasant
little holiday spot,
607
00:30:02,501 --> 00:30:05,089
because if you ever wanted
to see miles and miles
608
00:30:05,089 --> 00:30:08,458
of hot rot, come here,
to the Florida swamps.
609
00:30:18,035 --> 00:30:20,615
At the same time,
the meat packers in London
610
00:30:20,615 --> 00:30:23,016
were going bananas about
what bad air was doing
611
00:30:23,016 --> 00:30:26,572
to their success rate,
somebody else here in Florida
612
00:30:26,572 --> 00:30:29,130
was doing just the same thing,
for just the same reason.
613
00:30:29,242 --> 00:30:32,658
Only, his success rate depended
on keeping people healthy.
614
00:30:33,091 --> 00:30:35,661
He was a doctor;
a fellow called John Gorrie,
615
00:30:36,302 --> 00:30:40,024
and in 1833, he had come
to a small cotton port
616
00:30:40,024 --> 00:30:42,699
on the gulf of mexico
called Apalachicola;
617
00:30:43,069 --> 00:30:45,879
Surrounded on three sides
by this creepy stuff;
618
00:30:45,879 --> 00:30:49,045
full of alligators and snakes
that drop from the trees,
619
00:30:49,045 --> 00:30:54,138
an other goodies, including malaria,
which was John Gorrie's problem.
620
00:30:54,999 --> 00:30:58,566
You see, every year,
people went down with it
621
00:30:58,566 --> 00:31:00,686
by the hundreds,
and Gorrie reckoned,
622
00:31:00,686 --> 00:31:01,868
well, just like
everybody else,
623
00:31:01,868 --> 00:31:06,438
that malaria was caused by
an invisible disease-ridden gas
624
00:31:06,438 --> 00:31:09,892
seeping in from these swamps,
and made just like
625
00:31:09,892 --> 00:31:13,116
the air in the London cans,
from a mixture of
626
00:31:13,116 --> 00:31:17,428
rotting vegetation,
stagnant water, and heat.
627
00:31:21,701 --> 00:31:24,751
So, when, not long after
he got to Apalachicola,
628
00:31:24,751 --> 00:31:29,950
Gorrie became bank manager,
postmaster,
629
00:31:29,950 --> 00:31:32,874
chief of the masonic lodge,
the city treasurer, and mayor,
630
00:31:32,874 --> 00:31:35,702
he thought he'd try to
stamp the disease out
631
00:31:35,702 --> 00:31:37,755
by draining wetlands,
filling in ponds,
632
00:31:37,755 --> 00:31:40,294
building in brick instead of wood,
that would rot.
633
00:31:41,319 --> 00:31:43,770
Great, everybody
still got malaria.
634
00:31:44,716 --> 00:31:47,753
So, defeated by the rotting muck
and the stagnant water,
635
00:31:48,324 --> 00:31:51,436
Gorrie turned to the one ingredient
that he reckoned he could control;
636
00:31:51,742 --> 00:31:53,171
the heat.
637
00:31:53,712 --> 00:31:56,807
You see, back in those days,
there were regular
638
00:31:56,807 --> 00:31:59,060
shipments of ice down here
to the southern states
639
00:31:59,060 --> 00:32:00,920
from Boston, where they used
to hack it out
640
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,420
of the frozen rivers and ponds
during the winter,
641
00:32:03,420 --> 00:32:05,661
and store it for shipment
right through the summer;
642
00:32:05,661 --> 00:32:07,135
went as far as Calcutta.
643
00:32:08,050 --> 00:32:09,874
Now, Gorrie reckoned
that since people
644
00:32:09,874 --> 00:32:11,815
didn't get malaria
in the winter,
645
00:32:11,815 --> 00:32:14,692
he'd crack the problem
if he could use the ice
646
00:32:14,692 --> 00:32:16,747
to help his patients
keep their cool
647
00:32:16,747 --> 00:32:18,091
right through
the summer.
648
00:32:19,348 --> 00:32:21,708
What he didn't know, and what
he couldn't have known
649
00:32:21,708 --> 00:32:23,801
in 1837, because nobody
had discovered
650
00:32:23,801 --> 00:32:26,422
that malaria was caused by
an insect, was that here
651
00:32:26,422 --> 00:32:30,605
he was surrounded by a giant
mosquito menagerie.
652
00:32:40,830 --> 00:32:42,605
As far as Gorrie
was concerned,
653
00:32:42,605 --> 00:32:45,191
the billions of mosquitoes here
were just an annoyance.
654
00:32:50,558 --> 00:32:52,766
So, Gorrie set up
a chilly fever room,
655
00:32:52,766 --> 00:32:54,956
where you could have very
easily caught youself a cold.
656
00:33:01,441 --> 00:33:04,385
And, for a few years,
Apalachicola murmured through
657
00:33:04,385 --> 00:33:06,031
the chattering teeth
of Gorrie's victims;
658
00:33:06,031 --> 00:33:08,809
I mean, patients,
as he proceeded
with his grand design.
659
00:33:12,629 --> 00:33:15,663
His idea was quite brilliant,
and of course,
660
00:33:15,663 --> 00:33:18,498
totally wrong, but Gorrie
was indefatigable
661
00:33:18,498 --> 00:33:20,468
in bending the ear of
any visitors on the subject,
662
00:33:20,468 --> 00:33:21,670
me too;
663
00:33:21,670 --> 00:33:24,152
so, the hanging bucket
is filled with ice,
664
00:33:24,152 --> 00:33:27,847
above a pipe bringing
in air from outside.
665
00:33:27,847 --> 00:33:31,024
The ice chills the air, and if
you block up the fireplace,
666
00:33:31,024 --> 00:33:32,922
the only place
the air can get out,
667
00:33:32,922 --> 00:33:36,701
is down through a pipe
in the skirting board.
668
00:33:41,194 --> 00:33:43,799
Alas, poor Gorrie;
he so nearly got it right;
669
00:33:43,799 --> 00:33:46,804
gauze curtains help, he said,
because they keep out
670
00:33:46,804 --> 00:33:48,264
the vapors that bring in
the disease.
671
00:33:50,637 --> 00:33:53,477
His only problem, he thought,
was a way of getting cheap ice.
672
00:33:54,462 --> 00:33:57,897
Some time after 1845,
he found it, with this machine;
673
00:33:58,429 --> 00:33:59,958
may not look much,
but if you've got
674
00:33:59,958 --> 00:34:02,143
a cool house on a hot day,
thank that.
675
00:34:02,579 --> 00:34:04,797
Gorrie built it
using an idea
676
00:34:04,797 --> 00:34:06,198
that had been around
for some time,
677
00:34:06,198 --> 00:34:07,836
but that nobody
had put into practice.
678
00:34:08,299 --> 00:34:11,563
The idea was that if you
compress air, it gets hot;
679
00:34:11,563 --> 00:34:14,296
if you then let it expand,
it gets cold
680
00:34:14,296 --> 00:34:16,692
and it draws heat
from its surroundings.
681
00:34:17,153 --> 00:34:19,238
Look, here's
a steam-driven wheel
682
00:34:19,238 --> 00:34:21,850
driving a force pump
that compresses the air;
683
00:34:21,850 --> 00:34:25,042
here comes the compressed
air through that coil
684
00:34:25,042 --> 00:34:27,189
in a bath of cold water,
into this chamber
685
00:34:27,189 --> 00:34:29,941
where it expands;
and as it expands,
686
00:34:29,941 --> 00:34:31,145
it gets very cold.
687
00:34:31,700 --> 00:34:34,553
Okay, the cold air
then comes up through tubes
688
00:34:34,553 --> 00:34:36,144
in this container,
which is full of brine,
689
00:34:36,144 --> 00:34:39,260
and the cold air draws heat
from the brine,
690
00:34:39,260 --> 00:34:42,634
now, on every cycle, the air
draws heat from the brine,
691
00:34:42,634 --> 00:34:45,588
until the brine is the same
temperature as the cold air;
692
00:34:45,588 --> 00:34:48,291
and from then on,
as the air comes out
693
00:34:48,291 --> 00:34:50,190
of the top here, it's cold.
694
00:34:50,817 --> 00:34:53,471
Air conditionining:
invented by a man
695
00:34:53,471 --> 00:34:55,175
very few people
have ever heard of,
696
00:34:55,175 --> 00:34:56,545
I mean, had you?
697
00:34:57,481 --> 00:35:02,182
One more trick; if you run
the cold air tube up here,
698
00:35:02,182 --> 00:35:04,285
through a reservoir of water,
the cold air
699
00:35:04,285 --> 00:35:06,582
chills the water down
and the chilled water
700
00:35:06,582 --> 00:35:09,731
drips down into a container
which is immersed
701
00:35:09,731 --> 00:35:12,123
in the super-cooled brine,
702
00:35:12,123 --> 00:35:14,148
and that causes it
to make something
703
00:35:14,148 --> 00:35:15,911
that looked as if
it was going to make
704
00:35:15,911 --> 00:35:18,749
John Gorrie a very rich man
in a very hot climate:
705
00:35:19,218 --> 00:35:21,121
ice.
706
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,631
[band music]
707
00:35:37,555 --> 00:35:40,018
On Bastille day, 1850,
708
00:35:40,018 --> 00:35:41,776
Gorrie made his invention
public.
709
00:35:42,414 --> 00:35:44,782
The occasion
was a boozy get-together
710
00:35:44,782 --> 00:35:47,228
in the home of
Apalachicola's french consul,
711
00:35:47,228 --> 00:35:50,145
who was holding a little
soiree in honor of
712
00:35:50,145 --> 00:35:51,681
the anniversary of
the french revolution,
713
00:35:52,348 --> 00:35:55,162
with more french red wine
and french champagne,
714
00:35:55,162 --> 00:35:56,245
than you could
shake a stick at.
715
00:35:56,726 --> 00:36:00,186
Now, unfortunately,
the iceboat from Boston
716
00:36:00,186 --> 00:36:02,944
hadn't come,
and snide remarks were passed
717
00:36:02,944 --> 00:36:05,805
about what a social gaffe
it was for a frenchman
718
00:36:05,805 --> 00:36:07,670
to offer warm champagne.
719
00:36:08,323 --> 00:36:10,319
We're having warm wine,
and most possibly,
720
00:36:10,319 --> 00:36:12,277
warm champagne.
721
00:36:12,277 --> 00:36:13,585
In spite of
the snikering however,
722
00:36:13,585 --> 00:36:15,549
the host displayed
all the symptoms of a man
723
00:36:15,549 --> 00:36:17,827
utterly confident
in his savior faire.
724
00:36:17,827 --> 00:36:20,264
We're not only about to offer
you chilled champagne,
725
00:36:20,264 --> 00:36:23,174
but also
cold oyster too.
726
00:36:23,174 --> 00:36:25,844
You see, our hero had
previously shown him
727
00:36:25,844 --> 00:36:28,549
his magic machine, and both
men were looking forward
728
00:36:28,549 --> 00:36:29,888
to their little moment
of triumph.
729
00:36:30,339 --> 00:36:34,199
It was, sad to say, to be Gorrie's
only moment of triumph.
730
00:36:36,069 --> 00:36:36,233
[applause]
731
00:36:38,247 --> 00:36:38,669
[organs]
732
00:36:44,165 --> 00:36:47,647
It was at the port
of New Orleans, in 1869,
733
00:36:47,647 --> 00:36:51,422
14 years after Gorrie had died,
broken by his failure
734
00:36:51,422 --> 00:36:52,729
to get any backing
for his machine
735
00:36:52,729 --> 00:36:55,592
that this idea
suddenly turned up again.
736
00:36:56,015 --> 00:36:58,073
It was the end
of a steamboat race,
737
00:36:58,073 --> 00:36:59,536
along the coast of Texas;
738
00:36:59,996 --> 00:37:02,614
The winner,
the good ship Agnes
739
00:37:02,614 --> 00:37:06,192
had beaten the other boat
with a cargo of chilled beef;
740
00:37:06,192 --> 00:37:09,747
the first in history
and long since forgotten.
741
00:37:16,071 --> 00:37:18,354
So, here we are on
the New Orleans waterfront
742
00:37:18,354 --> 00:37:22,201
in the summer of 1869,
because Charles of Burgundy
743
00:37:22,201 --> 00:37:24,759
got clobbered by swiss pike men,
who then made infantry fashionable;
744
00:37:24,759 --> 00:37:25,978
and because the armies
got so big,
745
00:37:25,978 --> 00:37:27,825
Napoleon desperately
needed provisions for them;
746
00:37:27,825 --> 00:37:30,580
Appert invented preserved food
which Donkin put in cans
747
00:37:30,580 --> 00:37:32,268
because his papermaking
venture failed;
748
00:37:32,268 --> 00:37:34,063
and the rot
that spoiled the meat
749
00:37:34,063 --> 00:37:35,480
and also maybe gave
people malaria
750
00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:37,020
which Gorrie tried curing
with cold air,
751
00:37:37,020 --> 00:37:38,349
that chilles the beef
that the Agnes brought
752
00:37:38,349 --> 00:37:39,625
for the great
New Orleans beef race.
753
00:37:39,625 --> 00:37:40,827
Remember?
754
00:37:42,079 --> 00:38:20,400
[applause]
[orchestra music]
755
00:38:21,391 --> 00:38:24,354
Ladies and gentlemen
to the chilled beef.
756
00:38:24,354 --> 00:38:26,442
To the chilled beef!
757
00:38:26,442 --> 00:38:27,481
[glasses clinking]
758
00:38:27,797 --> 00:38:29,881
Now, by an
extraordinary coincidence,
759
00:38:30,445 --> 00:38:32,609
at the flower of
New Orleans upper crust
760
00:38:32,609 --> 00:38:33,956
were tucking
into their beef,
761
00:38:33,956 --> 00:38:36,286
a fellow called
Mr. J.D. Passel
762
00:38:36,286 --> 00:38:39,064
was chilling his
first beef, also with cold air.
763
00:38:39,487 --> 00:38:40,911
Only, he was doing it
in a place
764
00:38:40,911 --> 00:38:43,110
where interestingly,
the idea ran very high,
765
00:38:43,110 --> 00:38:45,590
because Passel
lived in Australia.
766
00:38:46,024 --> 00:38:48,180
See, unlike here
in New Orleans,
767
00:38:48,180 --> 00:38:51,851
these were the years of the
great british starvation scare.
768
00:38:51,851 --> 00:38:54,008
as the country became
more industrialized
769
00:38:54,008 --> 00:38:56,457
and the population shot up,
the government decided
770
00:38:56,457 --> 00:38:59,125
that if some new way of getting
lots of fresh meat
771
00:38:59,125 --> 00:39:00,908
from Australia and New Zealand
wasn't found,
772
00:39:01,481 --> 00:39:03,434
well then, the whole
country was finished.
773
00:39:03,877 --> 00:39:06,718
Spurred on by patriotism,
and profit,
774
00:39:06,718 --> 00:39:08,241
the australians did it.
775
00:39:14,073 --> 00:39:16,887
They had a few horrendous
goes at it first, though.
776
00:39:16,887 --> 00:39:19,606
In 1873, a ship left Melbourne
777
00:39:19,606 --> 00:39:21,617
with a cargo of meat
covered in ice and salt.
778
00:39:22,009 --> 00:39:24,079
it leaked;
in London,
779
00:39:24,079 --> 00:39:26,157
the smell was described
as "indescribable".
780
00:39:26,556 --> 00:39:29,611
They has another go in 1876,
with a load of mutton
781
00:39:29,611 --> 00:39:31,754
and a rather more
sophisticated cooling system.
782
00:39:32,318 --> 00:39:35,100
It leaked before it left,
ended up at Sydney harbor.
783
00:39:35,836 --> 00:39:39,121
Finally, in 1880,
the SS Strath 11
784
00:39:39,121 --> 00:39:41,686
docked in London
with a cargo frozen solid,
785
00:39:41,686 --> 00:39:43,368
to be sold
here at Smithfield.
786
00:39:43,799 --> 00:39:44,895
Britain was saved;
787
00:39:45,324 --> 00:39:46,743
Queen Victoria
enjoyed the beef;
788
00:39:46,743 --> 00:39:48,795
refrigeration was a success.
789
00:39:57,490 --> 00:40:01,526
What happens next has to do
with the drinking habits
790
00:40:01,526 --> 00:40:02,711
of the people
who live here,
791
00:40:02,711 --> 00:40:05,304
in and around the city of Munich
in southern Germany,
792
00:40:05,304 --> 00:40:08,717
and especially,
what's going on right now,
793
00:40:08,717 --> 00:40:10,380
about 50 feet
above my head:
794
00:40:10,380 --> 00:40:12,841
the annual
Munich beer festival.
795
00:40:14,038 --> 00:40:14,323
[festivity]
796
00:40:22,361 --> 00:40:24,478
Hundreds of thousands
of people come here
797
00:40:24,478 --> 00:40:27,396
and get totally looped,
in spite of the fact
798
00:40:27,396 --> 00:40:28,805
that it was a german
who said way back,
799
00:40:28,805 --> 00:40:31,670
beer spoils the blood,
burns it up,
800
00:40:31,670 --> 00:40:34,052
causes great thirst,
horrible red faces;
801
00:40:34,052 --> 00:40:35,930
also leprosy,
swelling of the body,
802
00:40:35,930 --> 00:40:37,005
injury to the head,
803
00:40:37,005 --> 00:40:39,162
and all internal parts
of the intestines.
804
00:40:39,886 --> 00:40:41,020
You'd think
that would put them off.
805
00:40:41,020 --> 00:40:42,489
it doesn't.
806
00:40:42,489 --> 00:40:44,280
[loud merrymaking]
807
00:40:52,004 --> 00:40:54,409
Now, one of the things
that mob out there are doing
808
00:40:54,409 --> 00:40:56,930
is drinking beer
the way the french,
809
00:40:56,930 --> 00:40:59,306
the italians, the greeks,
the australians, the americans,
810
00:40:59,306 --> 00:41:01,316
practically everybody
drinks it: cold.
811
00:41:01,692 --> 00:41:04,228
Whereas we english,
we prefer our beer
812
00:41:04,228 --> 00:41:06,885
at room temperature,
or warm.
813
00:41:07,501 --> 00:41:08,750
Now, the reason
for the difference
814
00:41:08,750 --> 00:41:11,254
is that english beer
is fermented using a yeast
815
00:41:11,254 --> 00:41:12,562
that does its fermentation
816
00:41:12,562 --> 00:41:14,281
on the surface
of the beer in the vats,
817
00:41:14,281 --> 00:41:17,232
and it prefers to do it at
slightly warmer temperatures,
818
00:41:17,232 --> 00:41:19,424
which is why it also drinks
slightly warmer.
819
00:41:20,713 --> 00:41:22,269
Some people think
it's an acquired taste.
820
00:41:23,321 --> 00:41:25,284
Yeast in german beer vats
821
00:41:25,284 --> 00:41:27,814
does its fermentation
at the bottom of the vats.
822
00:41:28,378 --> 00:41:29,876
It's called
bottom-fermented beer,
823
00:41:29,876 --> 00:41:32,361
and it takes anything up to
three months to do that.
824
00:41:32,361 --> 00:41:35,302
and it needs to be kept
just above freezing point,
825
00:41:35,302 --> 00:41:37,153
for the whole thing to work.
826
00:41:37,575 --> 00:41:39,846
That's why, since
oh, about the 16th century,
827
00:41:39,846 --> 00:41:41,534
there have been laws
all over Germany
828
00:41:41,534 --> 00:41:43,723
saying, you can't
brew beer in the summer,
829
00:41:43,723 --> 00:41:44,822
because it will go bad.
830
00:41:45,548 --> 00:41:46,874
Now, that's not
very good news,
831
00:41:46,874 --> 00:41:48,903
because, if you can't
brew in the summer,
832
00:41:48,903 --> 00:41:50,105
that's half the year gone,
833
00:41:50,140 --> 00:41:51,504
when you could be brewing
and making profit;
834
00:41:52,291 --> 00:41:54,109
because especially
here in Bavaria,
835
00:41:54,109 --> 00:41:57,138
if you make beer,
they'll drink it.
836
00:42:18,041 --> 00:42:21,221
So, in about 1870,
one of the biggest brewers
837
00:42:21,221 --> 00:42:25,362
in Munich, this man,
head of the Sedlmayr brewery,
838
00:42:25,362 --> 00:42:28,449
went to one of his friends
who was a locomotive engineer
839
00:42:28,449 --> 00:42:30,641
called Carl von Linde,
and asked him,
840
00:42:30,641 --> 00:42:31,685
if he could come up
with something
841
00:42:31,685 --> 00:42:33,500
that would keep this place
cool enough in summer,
842
00:42:33,500 --> 00:42:34,867
to brew right
through the year.
843
00:42:35,858 --> 00:42:38,069
So, von Linde went off
and basically used
844
00:42:38,069 --> 00:42:39,420
John Gorrie's system;
do you remember,
845
00:42:39,420 --> 00:42:41,605
he'd used the idea
of compressing air,
846
00:42:41,605 --> 00:42:45,425
except that von Linde used
compressed ammonia gas
847
00:42:45,425 --> 00:42:47,164
because it does its thing
at much lower temperatures.
848
00:42:47,617 --> 00:42:49,102
What did he was,
he got a piston,
849
00:42:49,102 --> 00:42:53,043
and he squashed the ammonia gas
until it became liquid.
850
00:42:53,472 --> 00:42:54,687
And then,
he released it
851
00:42:54,687 --> 00:42:56,397
into an area of
much lower pressure,
852
00:42:56,397 --> 00:42:59,661
and as the pressure dropped,
the ammonia evaporated.
853
00:43:00,300 --> 00:43:04,044
Now, you know the way
perfume or aftershave
854
00:43:04,044 --> 00:43:05,119
cools your skin.
855
00:43:05,446 --> 00:43:06,990
Well, that's because
as it evaporates,
856
00:43:06,990 --> 00:43:08,947
to do so,
it needs energy.
857
00:43:08,947 --> 00:43:11,158
And, it takes that energy
in the form of heat
858
00:43:11,158 --> 00:43:12,679
from the surrounding area.
859
00:43:13,015 --> 00:43:14,086
So, it takes the heat
from your skin,
860
00:43:14,121 --> 00:43:17,632
cooling it down.
861
00:43:17,633 --> 00:43:18,606
In Linde's case
the ammonia took its heat
862
00:43:18,606 --> 00:43:21,934
from its surroundings,
which was a water tank
863
00:43:21,934 --> 00:43:24,694
through which pipes
containing the ammonia ran.
864
00:43:25,048 --> 00:43:26,296
So, the water
cooled down.
865
00:43:26,707 --> 00:43:28,951
Since the water tank
was all around the beer vat,
866
00:43:28,951 --> 00:43:31,395
when the water cooled down,
so did the beer.
867
00:43:32,355 --> 00:43:35,151
And why von Linde should mean
anything to you or me,
868
00:43:35,151 --> 00:43:38,449
is because in the back
of out domestic refrigerators,
869
00:43:38,449 --> 00:43:40,235
we have his basic system
at work.
870
00:43:42,115 --> 00:43:45,078
Thanks initially,
to german lager beer.
871
00:43:55,277 --> 00:43:57,186
So, towards the end
of the last century,
872
00:43:57,186 --> 00:43:59,343
as the refrigeration
precesses got better
873
00:43:59,343 --> 00:44:00,937
and they could go to lower
and lower temperatures,
874
00:44:01,396 --> 00:44:03,769
people started trying
to liquify gases
875
00:44:03,769 --> 00:44:07,145
that would only liquify
at very low temperatures indeed,
876
00:44:07,145 --> 00:44:08,377
like hydrogen and oxygen,
877
00:44:08,377 --> 00:44:10,147
because there was
a ready market;
878
00:44:10,147 --> 00:44:12,469
the limelight business,
for example.
879
00:44:12,469 --> 00:44:14,766
You make limelight
by burning hydrogen
880
00:44:14,766 --> 00:44:15,864
and oxygen and lime
881
00:44:15,864 --> 00:44:17,132
and you can get
a very brilliant light;
882
00:44:17,596 --> 00:44:19,777
or small-scale welding
like jewelers.
883
00:44:20,179 --> 00:44:22,241
The trouble was,
what do you do
884
00:44:22,241 --> 00:44:25,241
with a load of liquid hydrogen
when it evaporates away
885
00:44:25,241 --> 00:44:26,631
all the time,
which it does,
886
00:44:26,631 --> 00:44:29,470
if you don't have an efficient
container to keep it in.
887
00:44:29,505 --> 00:44:30,544
and they didn't.
888
00:44:41,639 --> 00:44:43,465
Well, they didn't,
until this idea came along.
889
00:44:43,974 --> 00:44:46,136
It's supposed to have been
the brainchild
890
00:44:46,171 --> 00:44:48,245
of the great
scottish scientist James Dewar.
891
00:44:48,245 --> 00:44:50,484
In fact, an obscure frenchman
thought of it at first.
892
00:44:50,883 --> 00:44:53,658
The flask, with a sealed
vacuum between two layers
893
00:44:53,658 --> 00:44:56,873
of silvered glass,
kept things cold or hot;
894
00:44:57,318 --> 00:45:00,361
revolutionized the great
edwardian picnic in 1904.
895
00:45:03,616 --> 00:45:07,991
So, the story
takes one more twist,
and we've reached the end.
896
00:45:09,602 --> 00:45:11,241
You remember how it all
began with credit,
897
00:45:11,241 --> 00:45:12,810
and the swiss defeating
Charles the Bold,
898
00:45:15,405 --> 00:45:16,490
and the race for
bigger armies,
899
00:45:16,490 --> 00:45:18,297
until they got really big.
900
00:45:20,613 --> 00:45:23,347
So, Napoleon had trouble
feeding his men in battle.
901
00:45:27,203 --> 00:45:30,756
And so, Appert used his
champagne bottling experience
902
00:45:30,756 --> 00:45:33,140
to invent food preservation
in bottles;
903
00:45:35,385 --> 00:45:37,811
and how, by a complicated
series of events,
904
00:45:37,811 --> 00:45:40,085
the bottled food idea
got to England -
905
00:45:43,666 --> 00:45:46,186
- which was where Donkin
put it in cans instead.
906
00:45:46,264 --> 00:45:49,217
And then, they went rotten,
and John Gorrie thought
907
00:45:49,217 --> 00:45:50,797
that it was the rot
that caused malaria,
908
00:45:50,797 --> 00:45:53,415
and he invented air conditioning
to try and cure it,
909
00:45:53,415 --> 00:45:56,629
and how refrigeration
and liquid gas followed,
910
00:45:56,629 --> 00:45:59,328
kept in the termos flask,
marketed by a german
911
00:45:59,328 --> 00:46:00,911
called Reinholt Burger.
912
00:46:05,485 --> 00:46:07,985
It would be difficult
to overestimate
913
00:46:07,985 --> 00:46:09,668
the effect
Burger had on life,
914
00:46:09,668 --> 00:46:10,691
at the beginning
of this century.
915
00:46:11,643 --> 00:46:13,415
The thermos flask
didn't only go to picnics.
916
00:46:13,860 --> 00:46:15,649
It changed the working man's
lunch break;
917
00:46:16,114 --> 00:46:18,549
it provided airborne drinks
for people on zeppelins.
918
00:46:18,844 --> 00:46:20,937
It went to the South Pole
and to central Africa,
919
00:46:20,937 --> 00:46:23,592
both to sustain
the intrepid explorers,
920
00:46:23,592 --> 00:46:25,319
and to bring back
hot and cold specimens.
921
00:46:25,789 --> 00:46:27,845
And, it saved countless
peoples' lives
922
00:46:27,845 --> 00:46:30,582
because it stopped their
insulin from going bad.
923
00:46:31,376 --> 00:46:34,173
But it was in the form
behind me here;
924
00:46:34,173 --> 00:46:36,275
that the thermos flask
925
00:46:36,275 --> 00:46:39,291
probably made its greatest
impact on the 20th century,
926
00:46:39,291 --> 00:46:41,374
and i use that word 'impact'
advisedly.
927
00:46:42,253 --> 00:46:45,548
It took that form, principally
because of two men
928
00:46:45,548 --> 00:46:47,067
whose work was virtually
ignored,
929
00:46:47,067 --> 00:46:49,970
and the third, who did
his work in a way
930
00:46:49,970 --> 00:46:50,875
that nobody could ignore.
931
00:46:51,747 --> 00:46:53,869
The first was a russian
called Chelkowski;
932
00:46:54,558 --> 00:46:56,203
and he literally thought
everything out,
933
00:46:56,850 --> 00:46:59,001
and his work lay burried
in russian disinterest,
934
00:46:59,001 --> 00:46:59,984
until after his death.
935
00:47:00,858 --> 00:47:04,825
The second was an american
called Robert Goddard
936
00:47:05,362 --> 00:47:07,527
who did most of his best work
on his aunt's farm
937
00:47:07,527 --> 00:47:09,225
in Massachusetts, and
all he got for his pains
938
00:47:09,225 --> 00:47:11,441
was some rather
lukewarm interest
939
00:47:11,441 --> 00:47:12,952
from american
weather forecasters.
940
00:47:13,734 --> 00:47:17,147
The third man was
called Hermann Oberth,
941
00:47:17,572 --> 00:47:21,346
and people noticed what he did,
because in 1944,
942
00:47:21,346 --> 00:47:22,766
what he was trying to do
was destroy London.
943
00:47:23,835 --> 00:47:26,513
His particular version
of the thermos flask
944
00:47:26,513 --> 00:47:29,058
became known as
'vengeance weapon 2,'
945
00:47:29,764 --> 00:47:31,444
and before the war was over,
it had killed
946
00:47:31,444 --> 00:47:33,647
thousands of allied troops
and civilians.
947
00:47:34,020 --> 00:47:36,877
You see, all three men
had understood
948
00:47:36,877 --> 00:47:39,375
that certain gases ignite,
949
00:47:40,613 --> 00:47:42,624
and that the thermos
flask permits you to store
950
00:47:42,624 --> 00:47:45,175
vast quantities
of those gases safely,
951
00:47:45,175 --> 00:47:48,689
in the frozen liquid form,
until you want to ignite them;
952
00:47:49,069 --> 00:47:50,735
at which point, you take
the top off the flask,
953
00:47:50,735 --> 00:47:53,720
the gases evaporate,
you apply a light, and boom.
954
00:47:54,606 --> 00:47:58,294
Now, two gases do that
better than any other;
955
00:47:59,282 --> 00:48:00,779
and it was Oberth's assistant
956
00:48:00,779 --> 00:48:02,495
who put them together
most efficiently.
957
00:48:02,932 --> 00:48:04,770
His name was
Wernher von Braun,
958
00:48:05,288 --> 00:48:07,471
and the two gases
that he released
959
00:48:07,471 --> 00:48:10,048
from his particular version
of the thermos flask;
960
00:48:10,048 --> 00:48:11,932
the one lying on its side
behind me now,
961
00:48:11,932 --> 00:48:15,232
were hydrogen and oxygen.
962
00:48:19,117 --> 00:48:22,290
If you release those two gases
into a confined space
963
00:48:22,290 --> 00:48:24,055
with the hole
at the other end of it,
964
00:48:24,055 --> 00:48:26,779
and mix them
as you do so, and then,
965
00:48:26,779 --> 00:48:31,288
set light to them,
you get that.
966
00:48:37,984 --> 00:48:40,650
Destination:
the Moon or Moscow;
967
00:48:40,650 --> 00:48:43,856
the planets or Peking.
968
00:48:46,226 --> 00:49:27,950
[rocket engine]