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The 1751 Machine that Made Everything

3 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
2 HN users recommended this documentary3 months2020–2023 score 3.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN recommends the channel and this video as an explanation of how machine tools enabled modern manufacturing.

Machine Thinking argues the 1751 machine, a metal-cutting lathe associated with Vaucanson, triggered the biggest explosion of wealth in history by enabling precise manufacturing of other machines.

“Also Machine Thinking's videos "The 1751 Machine that Made Everything” (HN, 2023)

1 strong recommendations · 2 recommendations · 1 citations · 1 jokes · Documentaries

5 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@zeotroph May 2021 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Machine Thinking on the Printing Press: The Screws of Disruption [video]
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How the screw of the wine press was the central part of Gensfleisch/Gutenbergs invention which allowed all the other previously existing ones to finally come together (though I also read that certain advances in metallurgy were also essential). Also see the previous video on screws, a much underappreciated invention. It then describes how the availability of books made propagation of existing technology and newer developments possible and faster. The only other comparable moments in history are probably the evolution of spoken language, the invention of writing and most recently the internet. Also much recommended from that Chanel are the videos on the "Origins of Precision"[1], and "The 1751 Machine that Made Everything"[2]. 1: [link] 2: [this video]
Machine Thinking video on the 1751 machine
@zeotroph Feb 2020 Recommends
on HN thread The Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris is a trove of cunning inventions
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If you can't visit but are interested in the topic and the beginning of the industrial revolution in general, the YouTube channel "Machine Thinking" has a video about this[1][2] and related topics. E.g. in another video he explains how to get a perfectly plan surface from scratch: Rubbing two somewhat flat surfaces together until they are smooth enough does not work, you might end up with a subtly concave/convex combination. But do that with three surfaces and the result can only be perfectly flat, though it will take quite some time. [1]: [link] - Paris' Temple To Science - Part I [2]: [this video] - The 1751 Machine that Made Everything
Machine Thinking covers early industrial machines and Paris museum
@roelschroeven Jul 2023 Recommends
on HN thread Backyard Metalcasting
Also Machine Thinking's videos "The 1751 Machine that Made Everything" ( [this video] ), "Origins of Precision" ( [link] ) and some others on his channel.
Explains the 1751 machine that enabled modern manufacturing

Citations, criticism and jokes

@a2tech Jul 2023 Cites it
on HN thread Backyard Metalcasting
There's an argument to be made that the rapid advancement of human technology is down to the creation of the metal lathe: [this video]
Argues the metal lathe drove rapid technological advancement
@krallja Aug 2022 Makes a joke
on HN thread Using A Very Old Machine
“The 1751 Machine that Made Everything”? [this video] Of course, when I first saw that, I thought it was a Commodore that I’d never heard of before.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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