How It's Made

The programme details how toothpicks, acrylic bathtubs, helicopters and beer are manufactured, outlining each product’s specific production steps. It also traces the evolution of their manufacturing, highlighting shifts from simple, labour‑intensive methods to more automated, material‑advanced processes over time through the decades.

The programme titled Toothpicks/Acrylic Bathtubs/Helicopters/Beer is an episode‑length feature that falls under the genre of a factual series. It presents a concise, structured look at the manufacturing world, using four very different products as its focal points. In the core of the episode the audience is taken through the step‑by‑step creation of each item – from the simple wooden toothpick to the complex helicopter, the smooth acrylic bathtub and the fermented beer. The segment outlines the basic raw materials, the key stages of assembly and the final finishing processes that turn raw inputs into the finished goods we recognise. Beyond the basic production steps, the show also charts how each of these processes has changed over time. It highlights the shift from manual, labour‑intensive methods to more automated, technology‑driven techniques, noting the impact of new materials and modern engineering on efficiency and product quality. By juxtaposing such disparate objects, the episode offers a comparative perspective on industrial evolution. It demonstrates how advances in one sector can echo in another, illustrating the broader story of manufacturing progress without venturing beyond the factual description of how these four products are made and how their production has developed.