The US Navy's old training materials are fantastic for learning about various technologies.
I think their masterpiece is "Basic Hand Tools" a handbook written in plain English that describes the use of practically every hand tool ever invented.
"Basic Hand Tools" on the hammer:
>Whoever conceived the idea of cracking a nut with a rock unknowingly invented a tool. When a later genius tied a stick to the rock, he invented the first hammer. There have been a lot of improvements since that humble beginning.
The modern version "Tools and Their Uses" also covers machine tools but is less fun.
Not just military training videos, older ones in general are often superior to what gets made today. My favorite is probably this one on vehicle differentials:
Periscope Films uploads a lot of public domain US government material, and has it decently organized. The asbestos series is also interesting, hindsight being 20-20.
I've never been a car guy. While I've heard of differentials, I never understood what it was. Thanks to you posting this video, I now understand what a differential does and how it does it.
(I found playing it at 120% speed to be a good balance between comprehension and engagement)
Jam Handy films were amazing. You could show this to an audience who was morally opposed to learning about differentials and they’d still learn about differentials.
"The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots."
- Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny
This is completely true. 18-20-year-old kids launch and arrest aircraft on a carrier while simultaneously performing an underway replenishment, and it's just another day.
I just downloaded (thanks to other commenter below) and would question the "use" part. What is the "peen" end used for? Having read the section on hammers I still don't know. (Just re-skimmed the section and I still don't know.)
I dimly recall making an ashtray (hmmm, not sure that would fly these days) in high school metalwork class by beating out a piece of copper sheet with the peen until it was suitably concave.
I think their masterpiece is "Basic Hand Tools" a handbook written in plain English that describes the use of practically every hand tool ever invented.
"Basic Hand Tools" on the hammer:
>Whoever conceived the idea of cracking a nut with a rock unknowingly invented a tool. When a later genius tied a stick to the rock, he invented the first hammer. There have been a lot of improvements since that humble beginning.
The modern version "Tools and Their Uses" also covers machine tools but is less fun.