ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

History of Technology 3: The Plow 112 Views


Share It!


Description:

Buckle up. We're going to plow through the history of the plow. ...Hey, stop booing, that joke was just asking to be told.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

So we've talked about the slow transition from hunting to farming and [Girl and boy talking in a room]

00:07

we've hit the process of domesticating plants and animals and if you miss

00:11

either of those videos well your loss they were amazing seriously we're

00:15

expecting the academy award now anyday well like any good series these days [Girl and boy on stage as audience watches and cheers]

00:22

we're going to go one step further and make it a trilogy and who's the star of

00:26

our third video oh it's the plow well we're not talking about the plows that

00:30

pile up snow on our driveways right after we shoveled ha, jerks! [Snow plow drives into a woman]

00:34

we're talking about the plow that turns over soil and makes it ready for seeds

00:38

well plows are one of the most important and fundamental tools in Agriculture's

00:42

technological history and different societies have been improving them for [Two guys inspecting a plow up close]

00:46

thousands of years. Well here are a few reasons we should all care about plows

00:50

number one they have feelings you monster number two plows let people [Boy plowing a field]

00:55

plant way way bigger fields of crops that means larger populations of people

01:00

can live in the same place which in turns means you guessed it cities so yep [A road with trees either side and a crop city population road sign]

01:05

plowing the earth makes fields more productive but it also has some unintended [A mechanical plow plowing through a field]

01:10

environmental effects like erosion and degradation man nothing in the world is

01:15

ever purely good except candy.. shut up Dennis alright moving on once folks [Boy eating candy and tells girl to shh]

01:21

hooked animals up to plows the amount of human labor that went into farming

01:24

took a steep dive but as any old-timey farmer can tell you driving an ox thats

01:29

pulling a plow is still no cakewalk protip modern plows work [Man reading a book in a deserted field]

01:35

a lot like ancient ones but there have been nifty improvements along the way like

01:39

making them out of metal and hooking them up to giant tractors much less you [Girls discussing how much they miss ancient plows]

01:44

know but some farmers and gardeners today think

01:48

plowing does more harm than good why well first and foremost plows break [People on a street protesting that plows are bad]

01:52

up the tough compacted layer of soil on the surface over a season of getting

01:58

walked on rained on and baked in the sun that dirt is usually pretty hard new

02:02

little baby seedlings wouldn't have a chance while plowing also mercilessly [Hardened soil with the sun beaming down]

02:06

kills most of the weeds, oh poor weeds it either slices through their roots or

02:11

turns them under a layer of soil not a great time to be a baby seedling [plants beginning to grow from seedlings above the soil]

02:16

but it's not all bad news crops need lots of delicious nutrients

02:20

like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus plowing can help bring those nutrients

02:24

closer to the surface where plants can get at it mmm yum nutrients and some kind [boy playing pacman]

02:30

of plows lead deep furrows in the fields long shallow ditches that keeps crops

02:34

from being around in wet climates when the growing season is over some farmers

02:38

plow their crops back into the soil to help supply next year's nutrients YUM [Two people stood outside a Plant Yum store]

02:43

decomposed plant matter.. err nothing like it actually that doesn't sound any good at

02:49

all we'll take Taco Bell over that any day [Boy telling a girl they should try a new fast food place]

Up Next

GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
39794 Views

GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government

Related Videos

Fake News
11938 Views

How do you tell fake news from real news?

Jane Eyre Summary
123033 Views

When you're about to marry the love of your life, not many things could stop you. However, finding out that your future hubby is keeping his crazy...

What is Shmoop?
91412 Views

Here at Shmoop, we work for kids, not just the bottom line. Founded by David Siminoff and his wife Ellen Siminoff, Shmoop was originally conceived...

ACT Math 4.5 Elementary Algebra
492 Views

ACT Math: Elementary Algebra Drill 4, Problem 5. What is the solution to the problem shown?