S01E01 Corn
Let’s get right to the point: Corn is much more than a backyard barbecue side dish. In fact, there are more than 3,500 different uses for corn products: Chewing gum, peanut butter, vitamins, paint, antibiotics...
How Stuff Works
S01E09: Salt
We delve into the science of salt, the prehistoric, life-sustaining mineral that has 14,000 known uses from seasoning food to so much more.
Overview
HowStuffWorks is about the stuff that makes the world go 'round. It's truly incredible to see the ingenious lengths people go to in order to extract rubber and iron, corn and wheat, and water and salt from the earth. Equally amazing is the number of different and varied products that can be derived from something so fundamental. Follow the incredible journey of these goods from the ground to your dinner table, car, closet, medicine cabinet and places you may have never imagined.
Episodes
S01E02 Turkey
According to the University of Illinois Extension, 97 percent of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving, and 87 percent of people in the U.K. eat turkey at Christmas. Roasting up a big bird is a treat...
S01E03 Timber
Log cabins may be a historical footnote and fossil fuels may reign supreme, but forests remain critical natural resources. What does the future hold for Paul Bunyan's favorite industry?
S01E05 Beer
Barley, water, hops and yeast might not sound like a recipe for success, but to the beer connoisseur, the fine balance of those four ingredients is the stuff of legend.
S01E07 Wheat
Nutritional and versatile, wheat isn't just for food anymore. Explore its surprising uses in everything from brewing beverages to building houses.
S01E08 Coffee
From Columbia to coffeehouses we talk to farmers, baristas, and everyone in between about the incredible beverage that fuels the World.
S01E09 Salt
We delve into the science of salt, the prehistoric, life-sustaining mineral that has 14,000 known uses from seasoning food to so much more.
S01E10 Rubber
Durable, flexible, waterproof, and of course, bouncy, rubber is versatile enough for things as different as basketballs and Hollywood special effects.
S01E11 Lead
Lead has gone from a dangerous to indispensable product that is evolving past its former stigma to become an integral part of our daily lives.
S01E12 Steel
Examining steel from its influence in Industrial Age innovations to its role in building bridges and battleships.
