The story behind

Telly review

Curiosity is the first step in the process of meaningful learning. Once the learning starts, it feeds and fuels more curiosity, promoting more learning. Curiosity prompts questioning: what are things made of, how do they work, how are they made. The learning that comes of true curiosity is always fresh, always seeking and always lasting.

However, as Albert Einstein once remarked, “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” Curiosity is certainly the fatality in today’s field of education. Hemmed in on all sides by the high walls of syllabus, question banks, exams and cut-off marks, Indian youth have no interest in observing the world around them. Even highly-funded research in our country concentrates more on reproducing the experiments that are already done, than focusing on novel ideas and processes. One of curiosity’s handmaidens, reading, has become passé, leaving the television the sole bastion of learning that is tolerated by the young generation in our country.

Luckily for us all, some television channels have done very good work of promoting learning by coupling them with eye-catching visuals. The Discovery Channel is one of the pioneers of learning in today’s world. Programmes on Discovery Science especially present interesting ideas and learning that are far more beneficial to children than the not-so-real reality shows.

Discovery Science’s latest show, How It’s Made, is one such, and children could get a lot out of it, as well as could adults. It talks of how many exotic as well as mundane things are made in mass quantities. The items featured on How It’s Made run the gamut from decorative sombreros, silver jewelry and piñatas, to hot sauce and mayonnaise, to instant film and speed skates, to blood vessels and heart valves. There is even an episode where they show how cocoa beans are processed and how chocolate is made.

The processes in which even the most dull, commonplace things are made are in fact most interesting. For instance, you could guess that hot sauce or tabasco sauce is made from ground chili peppers, and you would be right. But, would you know that the ground pepper mash is poured into oak whiskey barrels to ferment for three years and age? Most probably not.

As for mayonnaise, we all know that it is made with raw eggs. An interesting fact is that raw eggs contain salmonella and other common bacteria, and pose a major health issue. If the eggs are heated to kill the bacteria, they will get cooked. So, how does the mayo we eat not give us bacterial infections every time? Well, raw eggs arrive at the mayonnaise factory in liquid form, where they are pasteurised to kill the bacteria. Ergo, mayo is safe to eat.

Another product that is at once a miracle and great invention is instant film. As one can assume, almost the entire production of the instant film takes place in the dark, with the technicians in charge wearing night vision goggles. And we complain about being kept in the dark all the time!

Pinatas are colourful papier-mache objects typically filled with candy, and suspended high from a string, that are commonly used in birthday parties. Blindfolded partiers take turns to hit the piñata with a stick to break it and release a shower of goodies. This is surefire party favourite which involves everything children love: excessive sugar, adult-sanctioned violence and low-grade competition. From an episode of this programme, you can learn to make these at home, either to sell to parents desperate for party games or use them at your own family get-togethers.

Last, but certainly not the least, is the lowdown on how they make chocolate. Well, they take cocoa beans/nibs, milk, sugar and nuts and… well, I’m not going to spill the beans. Watch How It’s Made and find out about it, and much, much more, for yourself!