How a factory in South Shields produces 650 water-resistant waxed jackets a day - from 500-metre-long rolls of undyed cotton, to dipping the finished fabric into baths of heated wax, to assembling each jacket from 23 pieces. How a breathable membrane is key to allowing sweat to get out while keeping water from getting in. How a simple wooden stick is transformed into a top-notch umbrella using saws, pliers, and needle and thread - techniques barely changed in 150 years. The history of seamen adapting oil-covered sail cloth into garments.

How a factory in Leeds produces 600 bouncy beds every day - from making steel into springs, to their placement in individual pockets and covering in natural fibres like hemp and wool designed to wick away sweat. How a short, twenty-minute sleep improves reaction times. How wool is shorn from sheep, and its inherent anti-bacterial and fire-retardant properties that make it well suited to mattresses. How the modern spring mattress evolved. How a famous Scandinavian-inspired home store is responsible for popularizing the duvet.

How a bakery in Cornwall produces 180,000 Cornish pasties a day. There are rules: A Cornish pasty must be made in Cornwall; the filling can only contain onion, potato, swede, beef and some seasoning; and each ingredient must be cooked from raw within the pastry parcel. The versatility of onions, and how they make us cry. How anaerobic digestion turns food factory waste into electricity. Challenging the pasty's origin story. How importation of pepper eventually transformed it from a precious commodity to a spice that everyone could afford.

How a foundry in France produces a cast iron pot every five seconds - from the arrival of 20 tonnes of crude iron right through to brightly coloured orange casserole dishes. How a South African iron ore mine - one of the largest in the world - produces a staggering 670,000 tonnes every day. The science behind cooking the perfect casserole - more cooking time isn't always better. The history of one-pot cooking to prepare simple meals, from communal ovens to 1970s slow cookers. How casting iron in sand moulds democratised the kitchen through affordable cookware.

How a factory in Essex produces 400,000 cereal bars a day - from nuts to cranberries and sultanas to puffed rice, with a carefully balanced blend of honey and glucose binding it all together for the ideal texture. How macadamia nuts are harvested in South Africa, and shelled under extraordinary pressure. The scientific distinction between botanical nuts, legumes and drupes. The history of Britain's cereal bars, including one Kendal Mint Cake snack bar made popular by famous explorers Ernest Shackleton and Sir Edmund Hillary.