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Made in America Knives On Sale Now at KnifeCenter.com - Duration: 4:05.
Hey everyone David C Andersen here coming at you from the KnifeCenter and
right now we're running a huge sale on a bunch of great USA made items we've got
a bunch of production knives as well as a bunch of custom pieces on sale I
brought a few of the cool production items over here let's take a look so
first up we've got one of our perennial favorites from Kershaw the Ken Onion
designed leek featuring his world-famous speed safe assisted opening
mechanism this particular version features a dark brown aluminum handle
with a dlc coated modified warn cliff blade this is a great low profile
EDC option especially in this color combination and the 14C28n steel on
that blade can get a lot of work done it's very easy to maintain and takes a
very keen edge next up we've got another great EDC design this time from Spyderco
this is a sprint run version of their popular native 5 with some truly
fantastic materials going on the handle scales are made of peel ply
carbon fiber to give you a lot of grip the knife opens up into a full four
finger grip thanks to that forward finger toil right there and the blade
steel is laminated featuring CPM 154 on the outer layers with a cutting edge of
S90V providing just a ton of edge retention and a very usable blade shape
next up we've got one of the more popular releases from the last year and
this is the Bradley kimura there are a few different handle colors available on
this knife but I'm particularly taken with the set of red and black g10 the
really cool thing about this knife is it's sort of an intermediate step in the
balisong market it's definitely nicer than most of the entry-level products in
the market but it's not going to set you back a few hundred dollars like the
truly high-end pieces will it offers phenomenal flippin performance that's
really gonna help your Bali game in the long run double that with the fact that
it comes with 154cm steel in a very usable blade shape and this is actually
a balisong that you could everyday carry if you so chose if your tastes run a bit
more traditional you can always pick up a nice slip joint and this knife here is
from Shatan Morgan's Keystone series this is a classic muskrat pattern slip
joint with two long California clip-point blades there
high-polished out of 420hc stainless steel and even come numbered in this
case further setting this knife apart is it comes with a set of genuine stag
handle covers oftentimes on knives like this you'll see imitation materials so
it's refreshing to see an all-natural cover if you're looking for a good camp
knife that's affordable enough that you can really thrash on it without feeling
guilty the Ontario Spec Plus alpha machete is gonna fit the bill
Ontario calls this knife a machete but it's really more of a small chopper with
a seven-inch blade chisel point here and a robust flat grind here means you can
do some good chopping with it you can split wood with it very well and it
feels very good in the hand it's not too heavy either this is really gonna be
there when you need it most if you want your camp knife to look a little more
classy we've got a ton of options from blackjack classic blades this is the
model 1 to 7 and it features this long clip point blade of a 2 steel with a
convex grind that's gonna make it great for outdoor applications including
hunting cooking and general camp use we've got a few different blade profiles
available as well as a few different handle options
this one right here features antique ivory micarta for a really warm and
classic look so we've got over 500 american-made items that are marched
down right now and this is just a very small sampling right here in front of me
if you want to get your hands on any of these or see what else we've got for
sale click the link in the description below to head on over to knifecenter.com
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The History of the Panama Canal (documentary) - Duration: 43:27.
AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: CONNECTING TWO OCEANS
BY DIGGING A CANAL THROUGH DENSE JUNGLE
AND SAVAGE HEAT, POISONOUS SNAKES,
AND MALARIAL MOSQUITOES. IT KILLED TENS OF THOUSANDS.
IT COST BILLIONS. IT NEARLY TOPPLED
THE GOVERNMENT. BUT IN THE END,
IT WAS A TECHNOLOGICAL TRIUMPH THAT TOUCHED EVERY ASPECT
OF OUR MODERN LIVES. THE PANAMA CANAL.
EARLY EXPLORERS
FEARED THAT THE VERY EDGE OF THE WORLD
LAY IN THE UNCHARTED WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC;
THAT THERE WAS A GREAT ABYSS THAT WOULD SWALLOW SHIPS WHOLE,
PLUNGING MEN INTO A LIVING HELL OF NIGHTMARES
AND MYTHIC MONSTERS. SO WHEN COLUMBUS
STUMBLED ONTO THE NEW WORLD, WHEN HE CAME
TO PLACES LIKE PANAMA IN 1502, HE WAS SURPRISED TO DISCOVER
SEEMING PARADISE-- SEEMING PARADISE.
BUT IN A WAY, THE OLD STORIES WERE TRUE,
FOR THERE WERE MONSTERS IN THIS PARADISE.
THERE WERE FRUSTRATION, DISEASE, AND BROKEN DREAMS,
AND CONQUERING THOSE WOULD BE ONE OF THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS
OF THE 20th CENTURY. IT STARTED
WITH THE INCREDIBLE NOTION OF CHALLENGING THE PLANET'S
NATURAL BALANCE BY LINKING THE TWO GREATEST OCEANS
ON EARTH, TO SLICE A WATERWAY ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
OF PANAMA, AND BYPASS THE NAVIGATIONAL GAUNTLET
OF SOUTH AMERICA. THERE WAS MORE AT STAKE
THAN IMPROVED SHIPPING LANES. THIS WOULD BE MOTHER NATURE'S
LAST STAND. PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TO DECLARE
DOMINION OVER THE VERY FORM AND FUNCTION OF THE LAND.
IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT ENGINEERING PROJECT OF ITS TIME,
INVOLVING THE LARGEST EARTHEN DAM EVER BUILT,
THE LARGEST MAN-MADE LAKE EVER CREATED.
THE EPIC EFFORT WAS ACCOMPLISHED ONLY THROUGH THE GRUELING LABOR
OF 100,000 WORKERS, WHIPPED BY THE AMBITIONS
OF POWERFUL MEN WHO ENJOYED BREAKING
ALL THE RULES. >> narrator: PANAMA
HAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED EXPLORERS AND ADVENTURERS.
IN 1534, SPANISH ENGINEERS SURVEYED THE ISTHMUS
AND PROPOSED A PLAN FOR A CANAL THAT WOULD LINK
THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS. IT WAS A BOLD IDEA
THAT WAS QUICKLY DISCARDED. THE JUNGLE WAS TOO DENSE,
THE WEATHER TOO OPPRESSIVE, THE TASK TOO ENORMOUS
FOR THE LIMITED TECHNOLOGY OF THE TIME.
BUT A SEED HAD BEEN PLANTED IN THE IMAGINATION OF EXPLORERS
WHICH WOULD BEAR BITTER FRUIT FOR THE NEXT 3 1/2 CENTURIES.
AMBITIOUS PROJECTS DEMAND AMBITIOUS MEN.
THERE WAS NOTHING MEEK ABOUT FERDINAND DE LESSEPS,
A CELEBRATED ENTREPRENEUR WHO PROMOTED THE FRENCH EFFORT
TO CARVE THE 105-MILE SUEZ CANAL IN 1869.
DE LESSEPS' CELEBRATED SUCCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
WAS THE PRIDE OF FRANCE. SO 10 YEARS LATER,
WHEN HE FOCUSED ON BUILDING A CANAL TO SPAN
THE 50-MILE WIDTH OF PANAMA, THERE WAS NO DOUBT
THAT HE WOULD AGAIN SUCCEED. BUT THERE WERE TWO PROBLEMS
WITH HIS PLAN. ONE: DE LESSEPS
WAS A GREAT PROMOTER, NOT A GREAT ENGINEER.
TWO: HE HAD NEVER BEEN TO PANAMA.
UNLIKE THE SUEZ, PANAMA WAS A SAVAGE TROPICAL TERRAIN,
A SWAMPY, OVERGROWN LAND THAT WOULD NOT EASILY BEND
TO THE WILL OF MAN. BUT WITH THE SUPPORT
OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
IN INVESTMENT CAPITAL, DE LESSEPS AND HIS TEAM
OF EAGER YOUNG MEN BEGAN THEIR NINE-YEAR EXERCISE
IN FUTILITY. PROBLEMS BEGAN IMMEDIATELY.
DUE TO AN EIGHT-MONTH RAINY SEASON, THE JUNGLE GROWS
AT AN OUTSTANDING RATE, WITH RAZOR-SHARP GRASSES
AND FERNS, WHICH EASILY CUT THROUGH THE SKIN.
THIS ALL HAD TO BE CLEARED BY HAND.
AND THE JUNGLE WAS HOME TO A SAVAGE VARIETY OF INSECTS,
SPIDERS, TICKS, MOSQUITOES, POISONOUS SNAKES.
THE FRENCH ENGINEERS AND THEIR LABORERS
FROM LOCAL CARIBBEAN ISLANDS WERE DYING IN RAPID FASHION.
75% OF ALL WORKERS WHO ENTERED THE HOSPITAL
FOR TREATMENT OF SMALLPOX, TYPHOID, YELLOW FEVER,
FOOD POISONING, OR SNAKEBITE DIED PAINFULLY, PREMATURELY.
MOST OF THE ILLNESS WAS BLAMED ON MALARIA,
WHICH THE FRENCH BELIEVED WAS CAUSED BY DEADLY VAPORS
SEEPING FROM THE ROTTING JUNGLE. DESPITE SOLID MEDICAL EVIDENCE,
THE FRENCH REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE FACT
THAT MANY TROPICAL DISEASES ARE CARRIED
PRIMARILY BY MOSQUITOES. DE LESSEPS AND THE FRENCH
HAD THE WILL, BUT NOT THE WAY. THEIR PLAN TO CARVE
A SEA-LEVEL CANAL HAD NEVER BEEN PRACTICAL.
THE UNSTABLE EARTH OF THE PANAMANIAN MOUNTAINS
IS PRONE TO SUDDEN SLIDES AND COULD NEVER BE TAMED
BY THE PRIMITIVE FRENCH CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT.
BY 1889, THE EUROPEANS HAD RUN OUT OF MONEY.
THEY LEFT BEHIND RUSTING HARDWARE
AND THE CORPSES OF 20,000 MEN. THOSE WHO SURVIVED WERE CREDITED
WITH CAUSING THE WORST FINANCIAL FAILURE OF ITS TIME,
A $300 MILLION CATASTROPHE WHICH NEARLY TOPPLED
THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT. BUT THE DREAM OF BUILDING
A PANAMA CANAL WAS NOT DEAD. >> Dill: EVERY MAN
HAD A JOB TO DO, AND HE WAS TO DO IT
TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITY, BECAUSE THE FRENCH HAD FAILED
AND WE WERE DETERMINED TO MAKE A SUCCESS OF BUILDING THE CANAL,
NOT ONLY FOR OURSELVES, BUT FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
AND FOR THE PRESIDENT. >> narrator: AT 104
YEARS OF AGE, ROBERT DILL WAS THE LAST MEMBER
OF THE AMERICAN TEAM THAT BUILT THE PANAMA CANAL.
WHEN HE ARRIVED ON THE ISTHMUS IN 1911, THE CANAL SYMBOLIZED
AMERICA'S EMERGENCE AS A WORLD POWER,
AND PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT WAS THE EMBODIMENT
OF THAT SPIRIT. TEDDY'S ADVICE WAS TO "SPEAK
SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK," BUTHE NEVER SPOKE SOFTLY.
HIS MYTHIC IMAGE HAD BEEN FORGED IN 1898
DURING THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, WHEN, AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF THE NAVY, HE HAD LED THE ROUGH RIDERS
ON A BLOODY CHARGE UP SAN JUAN HILL.
THE PUBLIC APPLAUDED THE VICTORY,
BUT TEDDY WAS UPSET THAT BADLY NEEDED SUPPORT
FROM WEST-COAST BATTLESHIPS WAS NOT AVAILABLE
FOR HIS CARIBBEAN CAMPAIGN. HE SAW AN IMMEDIATE
STRATEGIC NEED FOR A CANAL THAT WOULD FACILITATE
A TWO-OCEAN NAVY. AFTER THE FIGHTING, TEDDY BECAME
VICE PRESIDENT ON THE WINNING REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL TICKET
IN 1900. A YEAR LATER,
WHEN WILLIAM McKINLEY WAS SHOT TO DEATH BY AN ASSASSIN,
ROOSEVELT BECAME PRESIDENT. HIS FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
WAS THE PANAMA CANAL. NEWSREELS ACCLAIMED
HIS EARLY ADDRESSES TO CONGRESS, WHERE HE DECLARED:
"NO WORK WHICH REMAINS TO BE UNDERTAKEN
ON THIS CONTINENT IS OF SUCH CONSEQUENCE
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AS THE PANAMA CANAL."
THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA WAS THE NORTHERN PROVINCE
OF COLUMBIA, AND COLUMBIA HAD NO INTEREST
IN GRANTING THE U.S. THE RIGHT TO BUILD A CANAL.
SO ROOSEVELT ENCOURAGED A HANDFUL
OF PROMINENT PANAMANIANS, WHO STARTED A REVOLUTION
IN 1903 AND DECLARED THE REGION INDEPENDENT.
THE BLOODLESS COUP TOOK LESS THAN 24 HOURS.
AND, TO BE CERTAIN IT WOULDN'T FAIL, TEDDY SENT
U.S. BATTLESHIPS TO THE ISTHMUS WITH ORDERS TO SHOOT DOWN
ANY COLUMBIAN EFFORTS TO KEEP ITS TERRITORY.
ROOSEVELT DENIED ANY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE REVOLUTION
UNTIL RELENTLESS QUESTIONS FROM REPORTERS
PROVOKED HIM INTO SAYING, "I TOOK THE ISTHMUS."
THOSE FOUR WORDS WERE TO PROVE COSTLY.
COLUMBIA DEMANDED $25 MILLION FROM THE UNITED STATES
AS REPARATIONS FOR THE ILLEGAL SEIZURE.
BUT TEDDY COULD FINALLY BUILD HIS CANAL, THANKS TO
A HASTILY DRAWN AGREEMENT IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES
WOULD GIVE THE NEW NATION OF PANAMA $10 MILLION
FOR THE RIGHT TO BUILD AND OPERATE
A TRANSCONTINENTAL WATERWAY. NO PANAMANIANS EVER SIGNED
THAT AGREEMENT. STILL, PREPARATIONS FOR BUILDING
THE DAM BEGAN. IN 1905, JOHN STEVENS BECAME
THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE PROJECT.
>> Dill: I WOULD SAY THAT STEVENS WAS REALLY
THE ARCHITECT, BECAUSE WHEN HE TOOK OVER
THE BUILDING OF THE CANAL IN 1904,
THEY STILL DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS GOING TO BE
A SEA-LEVEL CANAL OR JUST WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO.
>> narrator: STEVENS CONVINCED ROOSEVELT OF THE PLAN
TO DAM PANAMA'S MIGHTIEST RIVER AND CREATE WHAT WAS THEN
THE WORLD'S LARGEST MAN-MADE LAKE,
THEN USE A SYSTEM OF LOCKS TO RAISE AND LOWER SHIPS
85 FEET TO THE LEVEL OF THE LAKE FOR THEIR TRANSIT
ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. BUT PROBLEMS STILL LINGERED.
HOW WOULD STEVENS PROTECT HIS WORK FORCE
FROM THE RAVAGES OF DISEASE, WHICH HAD ALREADY CLAIMED
20,000 LIVES DURING THE FRENCH EFFORT?
THE ANSWER WAS A COMBINATION OF CUNNING AND COMMON SENSE.
AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY,
PANAMA WAS A DEATHTRAP. FOR ROBERT DILL,
IT WAS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO FORGET THE PAST.
>> Dill: 'CAUSE I LEARNED THAT MY FIANCEE HAD GONE OUT
ON WITH ONE OF HER FORMER BOYFRIENDS.
SO INSTEAD OF JOINING THE FOREIGN LEGION
OR JUMPING OFF OF A BRIDGE, I DECIDED THAT I WOULD GO
TO PANAMA AND WORK ON THE CANAL. I LIVED IN GORGONA
IN BACHELOR QUARTERS THAT WERE PROVIDED
BY THE CANAL COMMISSION. THERE WERE TWO OF US
IN ONE ROOM, AND THE BUILDINGS WERE BUILT
FOR CIRCULATION OF AIR. THE AGGRAVATION, I MIGHT SAY,
WOULD BE THAT, DUE TO THE DAMPNESS
OR THE HUMIDITY, WE WOULD GET UP IN THE MORNING
AND OPEN OUR CLOTHES CLOSET, AND WE'D FIND THAT OUR SHOES
WERE FULL OF MOLD. >> narrator: MOST OF THE MEN
WHO BUILT THE CANAL WERE NOT AMERICANS
ASSIGNED TO BACHELOR QUARTERS, BUT TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF DESPERATELY POOR WORKERS FROM IMPOVERISHED
CARIBBEAN ISLANDS, WHO WERE HOUSED UNDER FAR MORE PRIMITIVE
LIVING CONDITIONS AND WORKED FOR FAR LESS MONEY.
>> Dill: THE LABORERS WAS PAID 90¢ A DAY,
AND THEIR MEALS WERE 9¢. THEIR QUARTERS WERE PROVIDED,
AND THE REST, OF COURSE, WAS UP TO THEM
WHETHER THEY SAVED IT OR SPENT IT.
WELL, MY PAY AS A MACHINIST, I THINK, STARTED OUT
ABOUT 38¢ AN HOUR, AND I RECEIVED FOUR PROMOTIONS
IN THE 5 1/2 YEARS. >> narrator: THERE WAS
ONLY ONE THING EQUAL BETWEEN THE AMERICANS
AND THE MASSIVE BLACK LABOR FORCE:
THE POSSIBILITY THAT TROPICAL DISEASES
WOULD CLAIM THEIR LIVES. IT WAS A REALITY THAT ROOSEVELT
HAD FACED DURING THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
>> Dill: THIRTEEN TIMES OF THE MEN THAT WERE KILLED
DURING THE BATTLE HAD DIED FROM MALARIA FEVER--
FROM DISEASE. SO WHEN TEDDY ROOSEVELT KNEW
THAT WE HAD A SANITATION PROBLEM TO SOLVE, DR. GORGAS WAS THE MAN
FOR THE JOB. HE WAS THE MAN THAT--
ERADICATED IS THE WORD-- THE MALARIA FEVER
AND TYPHOID IN CUBA. HE FELT THAT, IN ADDITION
TO THE HEALTH SITUATION, WE HAD TO BUILD STREETS,
BECAUSE SOME OF THE STREETS WERE DRAINAGE DITCHES,
AND HE CALLED OFF ALL THE WORK ON THE CANAL UNTIL THEY GOT
IN A SANITARY CONDITION TO WHERE THE MEN
THEN COULD FEEL FREE TO WORK. THAT HAD TO BE DONE FIRST.
>> narrator: DRAINAGE DITCHES WERE CLEANED OF STANDING WATER
WHERE MOSQUITOES BREED. SWAMP GRASS WAS TRIMMED
TO ALLOW SMALL FISH TO FEAST ON THE INSECT LARVAE.
PONDS AND PUDDLES WERE SPRAYED WITH A FILM OF OIL TO KILL
THE NEWLY HATCHED INSECTS. LIVING QUARTERS WERE FUMIGATED,
AND INSECT SCREENS WERE ATTACHED TO WINDOWS.
AS THE ENVIRONMENT WAS BEING CONTROLLED,
MASSIVE SHIPMENTS OF SANITATION MATERIALS ARRIVED:
120 TONS OF INSECTICIDE, 8,000 POUNDS OF SOAP,
THOUSANDS OF BUCKETS, BROOMS, AND RAKES.
IN A FEW MONTHS, THE MEN HAD ACCOMPLISHED THE IMPOSSIBLE:
BY CHRISTMAS OF 1905, YELLOW FEVER
HAD BEEN ELIMINATED IN PANAMA. [fast-paced drumming]
BUT HEALTH DID NOT COME CHEAPLY. EVERY MOSQUITO KILLED
COST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT $10.
BUT THE GOVERNMENT WENT EVEN FURTHER TO PROTECT
THE WORKERS. THE MEN WERE PRESCRIBED
REGULAR RATIONS OF QUININE. >> Dill: THEY WOULD HAVE A MAN
WITH LIQUID QUININE-- THE PERSON THAT WOULD GO AROUND
TO THE SHOPS, THE GANGS, WHEREVER THERE WAS ACTIVITY
AND MEN WORKING, AND YOU WOULD TAKE THE REQUIRED
AMOUNT OF LIQUID QUININE. >> narrator: BUT QUININE
WAS DISTRIBUTED TO WORKERS IN A RACIALLY SEGREGATED WAY.
AMERICAN MEN WERE LABELED ASGOLD EMPLOYEES,
AND THE BLACK CARIBBEAN LABORERS ASSILVER EMPLOYEES.
>> AND THE GOLD WOULD DRINK OUT OF THE GOLD CUP,
AND THE NONAMERICANS, OF COURSE, WOULD DRINK
OUT OF THE SILVER CUP. >> narrator: WHEN CANAL
CONSTRUCTION BEGAN FULL FORCE, NEW DANGERS SURFACED.
THE HARDEST WORK WAS IN THE CULEBRA CUT,
WHERE WHOLE MOUNTAINS WERE REMOVED TO CARVE A PATH
8 MILES LONG, 300 FEET WIDE, 50 FEET DEEP.
THIS MAN-MADE GORGE WOULD LATER BE FILLED WITH THE COOL WATERS
DAMMED FROM THE CHAGRES RIVER. UNTIL THEN, THE MEN WORKED
IN 120-DEGREE TEMPERATURES TO BLAST AWAY SLIDING HILLSIDES
AND DIG 200 TRAINLOADS OF EARTH EVERY DAY.
FIFTY TO SIXTY STEAM SHOVELS WERE OPERATING AT ANY ONE TIME
IN A CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE WITH NONSTOP LOCOMOTIVES.
>> Dill: SO THEY ARRANGED THE TIMING THAT THE TRAIN
WOULD MOVE VERY SLOWLY. THE STEAM SHOVEL WOULD COME OVER
AND PUT A LOAD, AND IT WOULD MAKE A LOAD,
AND THE TRAIN WOULD MOVE FAR ENOUGH THEN AHEAD
FOR IT TO PUT THE SECOND DIPPER THERE.
IN ORDER WORDS, THERE WAS NO LOST MOTION
BY THE STEAM SHOVELS. >> narrator: SPECIAL
DUMPING DEVICES ALLOWED THE TRAINS
TO BE UNLOADED WITH ONE GIANT SWEEP,
DEPOSITING MILLIONS OF TONS OF SOIL TO CREATE
A HUGE EARTHEN DAM ONE AND A HALF MILES LONG,
A HALF MILE THICK AT THE BASE. IT WOULD TAKE THAT MUCH VOLUME
TO HOLD BACK THE WATER OF THE HUGE MAN-MADE LAKE.
MEANWHILE IN THE CUT, 61 MILLION POUNDS OF DYNAMITE
WAS THE PRIMARY TOOL FOR MOVING EARTH.
THE EXPLOSIVE FORCE WAS EQUAL TO ALL THE FIREPOWER
USED IN ALL THE WARS THE UNITED STATES HAD FOUGHT
UP UNTIL THAT TIME. OFTEN, THE TROPICAL HEAT
WOULD MAKE THE DYNAMITE UNSTABLE.
IT WOULD EXPLODE UNPREDICTABLY. A SUDDEN BLAST KILLED 27 MEN
IN A SINGLE BLINDING INSTANT. OTHER WORKERS WERE KILLED
OR INJURED BY FLYING DEBRIS. FUNERALS WERE AS REGULAR
AS RAIN. SOMETIMES THE BLASTS
SPARKED DEADLY FIRES. A PANAMANIAN FIRE DEPARTMENT
WAS FORMED TO RESPOND BUT WAS LARGELY UNTRAINED
IN THE TECHNIQUES OF FIGHTING FIRES.
>> Dill: THE PANAMANIAN FIRE DEPARTMENT,
INSTEAD OF GOING AROUND, YOU KNOW, AND FIGHTING
IN BACK OF IT, THEY JUST FOLLOWED WITH IT,
AND WHEN IT EXPLODED, I THINK THERE WERE SIX OR SEVEN FIREMEN
THAT WERE JUST BLOWN TO BITS. >> narrator: IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON
FOR WORKERS TO BE GROUND UNDER THE WHEELS
OF THE SPEEDING TRAINS, CAUGHT UNAWARE
DUE TO THE DEAFENING NOISE AT THE SITE.
BUT TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAS PLEASED WITH THE PROGRESS.
THE AMERICAN EFFORT WAS DIGGING IN A SINGLE DAY WHAT THE FRENCH
HAD TAKEN A MONTH TO MATCH. IN 1906, ROOSEVELT DECIDED
TO SEE THE WORK FOR HIMSELF AND ARRIVED IN PANAMA
FOR AN INSPECTION TOUR: THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY
A PRESIDENT HAD LEFT THE UNITED STATES
WHILE IN OFFICE, AND THE FIRST TIME
A WORLD LEADER HAD EVER POSED FOR PHOTOS
IN THE SEAT OF A STEAM SHOVEL. >> Dill: IT WAS IN NOVEMBER,
WHICH WAS THE WORST MONTH OF THE RAINY SEASON,
AND WHEN HE SAW THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE MEN
WERE WORKING, THEIR SINCERITY,
THEIR DETERMINATION TO GET THE JOB DONE,
HE FELT THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE A PIN OR A BADGE OR SOMETHING.
SO HE HAD FRENCH JUNK SENT TO THE PHILADELPHIA MINT,
AND THERE WERE OVER 7,400 MEDALS THAT WERE STRUCK AND WERE GIVEN
TO THOSE WHO HAD SERVED TWO YEARS OR MORE
DURING THE CONSTRUCTION DAYS. >> narrator: THE MEDALS, STRUCK
FROM THE STEEL OF DISCARDED FRENCH CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT,
FEATURED A CAMEO OF ROOSEVELT. >> Dill: MY MEDAL--
NUMBER 6,726-- THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY
BETWEEN NUMBER 1 AND 6,726. >> narrator: DIGGING
THE WATERWAY THROUGH THE PANAMANIAN MOUNTAINS
WAS A MONUMENTAL FEAT, BUT THAT WAS ONLY PART
OF THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS. THE LOCKS WHICH WOULD LIFT
AND LOWER SHIPS FROM THE ELEVATED CANAL
WERE EQUALLY MAMMOTH STRUCTURES. THEIR JOBS WOULD BE TO RAISE
THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHIPS TO THE HEIGHT
OF A SEVEN-STORY BUILDING. BUILT IN 36-FOOT SECTIONS,
THEY WERE THE LARGEST CONCRETE STRUCTURES ON EARTH.
A THOUSAND FEET LONG, 110 FEET WIDE.
EACH OF THE SIX LOCKS COULD HOLD AN OBJECT
THE SIZE OF THE EIFFEL TOWER. THEY WERE DESIGNED
TO FILL WITH WATER FLUSHED IN FROM THE LAKE
THROUGH PIPES THE SIZE OF RAILROAD TUNNELS,
WITH TWO VALVES WEIGHING TEN TONS EACH.
EVEN THOUGH THE LOCK DOORS WEIGHED 700 TONS,
THEY WERE SO PERFECTLY BALANCED THAT THEIR OPENING AND CLOSING
REQUIRED ONLY THE POWER OF A 40-HORSEPOWER MOTOR,
THE SAME POWER USED BY MANY INDUSTRIAL LAWNMOWERS.
THE LOCKS OPERATED EXCLUSIVELY FROM ELECTRICITY,
A RADICAL NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE TIME, AND THEIR POWER
WAS TO BE GENERATED BY GATUN DAM,
A ONE AND ONE-HALF MILE LONG EARTH BARRIER MADE FROM THE SOIL
OF THE CALEBRA CUT. BECAUSE OF THE ENORMOUS VOLUME
OF WATER IN THE MAN-MADE LAKE, THE DAM IS DESIGNED
TO PROCESS IN A SINGLE DAY THE WATER EQUIVALENT
OF TWO NIAGARA FALLS. THE PANAMA CANAL REPRESENTS
A PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND TEAMWORK,
DREAMS AND DETERMINATION. IT WAS BORN
OF A UNIQUE CONVERGENCE OF MEN, MIGHT, AND MONEY,
WHICH DEFINED A DEFIANT AGE.
I THINK I SHOULD MENTION WHAT IT MEANT TO WORK ON THE PANAMA CANAL,
AND THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OF WORKING TOGETHER
WITH A CLOSENESS THAT YOU NEVER FELT THAT YOU WERE ALONE.
AND IF YOU WERE WORKING WITH A GROUP--IF FOR SOME REASON
ONE MAN FELL OUT, WHY THEN THERE WERE OTHERS
RIGHT THERE TO TAKE ON HIS PART. THERE WAS NO SUCH THING
AS SAYING, "WELL, THAT'S HIS JOB."
IT WAS OUR JOB. >> narrator: THE EPIC NATURE
OF THE PANAMA CANAL INSPIRED A SPIRIT OF CAMARADERIE
AMONG THE WORKERS, BUT THE PROJECT COULD TEST
THE STRONGEST OF MEN. IN FEBRUARY OF 1907,
FOR PERSONAL REASONS, CHIEF ENGINEER JOHN STEVENS
RESIGNED HIS POST AND LEFT PANAMA.
IT DISHEARTENED THE CREWS, BUT IT ENRAGED THE PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WAS SET ON APPOINTING A NEW MAN
TO HEAD THE EFFORT WHO COULD NOT LEAVE HIS POST.
THAT MAN WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON GOETHALS.
HE WAS REGULAR MILITARY, DEMANDING, AUTHORITATIVE,
AND, BEST OF ALL, IF HE TRIED TO QUIT,
HE COULD BE COURT-MARTIALED AND SENT TO PRISON.
>> Dill: EVERY DAY WAS A WORK DAY,
AND, OF COURSE, SUNDAY WE WERE ALL SUPPOSED
TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH, BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS
NECESSARY WORK TO BE DONE THAT COULDN'T WAIT FOR MONDAY.
>> narrator: THE MILITARY REGIMEN PUSHED THE PROJECT
OVER THE TOP. IN THE END, 12 MILLION
CUBIC YARDS OF CONCRETE WERE SET IN THE LOCKS, AND ENOUGH DIRT
WAS HAULED FROM CULEBRA CUT TO EQUAL 3 1/2 TIMES THE VOLUME
OF THE SUEZ CANAL. ON MAY 20, 1913,
JOSEPH KIRK, IN SHOVEL 222, MET D.J. McDONALD,
IN SHOVEL 230, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EXCAVATION.
THE DIGGING WAS DONE. THE CANAL WAS PREPARED
TO BE FILLED. FOUR MONTHS LATER, WORKERS
PLACED THE FINAL DYNAMITE IN A SMALL DIKE THAT HELD BACK
THE CHAGRES RIVER. >> Dill: WE WERE VERY,
VERY PROUD TO BE SUCCESSFUL, AND WHEN THE CANAL
WAS COMPLETED, AND WHEN THEY BLEW UP
THE DIKE AT GAMBOR, WHY, IT WAS--I'LL NEVER FORGET
THE APPLAUSE OR THE NOISE, THE WHISTLING AND THE YELLING
AND ALL THAT EVERYONE MADE THAT WERE STANDING
ON THE BANKS OF THE CANAL WHEN THE DIKE WAS BLOWN UP.
>> narrator: THE WATER STARTED FLOWING;
THE LOCKS WERE FILLED; AND WHEN THE WATER LEVEL
HAD RISEN, A TUGBOAT WAS DRAPED IN FLAGS AND SENT TO MAKE
THE FIRST TRIP THROUGH THE GREATEST ENGINEERING
ACCOMPLISHMENT OF ITS TIME. THOUSANDS CHEERED THE TRIUMPH,
BUT THE CHEERING DID NOT LAST LONG.
BY THE TIME THE STEAMSHIP, ANCON, OFFICIALLY OPENED
CANAL OPERATIONS ON AUGUST 15, 1914, TEN YEARS
AFTER THE WORK HAD BEGUN, THE STORY OF THE PANAMA CANAL
WAS BURIED ON THE BACK PAGES OF NEWSPAPERS BECAUSE,
JUST DAYS BEFORE, EUROPE HAD ERUPTED IN WAR.
AT FIRST, AMERICA WAS DETERMINED TO STAY OUT OF THE CONFLICT.
INSTEAD OF FIGHTING, WE PUT ON A FAIR:
THE SPECTACULAR PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION
IN SAN FRANCISCO, CELEBRATING THE INGENUITY
AND MAGNIFICENCE OF AMERICA AND THE CANAL
AND MARKING THE EMERGENCE OF THE UNITED STATES
AS A CULTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD POWER.
BUT THE REST OF THE WORLD DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO CELEBRATE.
[explosion] THE UNITED STATES
FINALLY ENTERED THE WAR, AND WITH THE PASSAGE
OF THE PACIFIC FLEET THROUGH THE CANAL IN 1919,
TEDDY ROOSEVELT'S DREAM OF A TWO-OCEAN NAVY
BECAME A REALITY. BUT TEDDY NEVER LIVED
TO SEE THE TRIUMPH. HE HAD DIED
A FEW MONTHS EARLIER. AFTER THE WAR, THE UNITED STATES
DISASSEMBLED 1/3 OF ITS BATTLESHIPS
IN THE COLLECTIVE CAUSE OF WORLD PEACE.
THE NAVY'S USE OF THE CANAL DROPPED OFF,
AND A WORLDWIDE DEPRESSION WAS HAVING A NEGATIVE IMPACT
ON THE CANAL AS WELL. >> Muller: THERE WERE
PERIODS OF TIME, TRAFFIC BECAME SO SLOW,
SO LOW, SO MINIMAL, THAT THERE WERE LAYOFFS,
AND I RECALL ONCE MY FATHER WAS WORKING TWO DIFFERENT JOBS.
>> IF THEY WERE LAID OFF, THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO
BACK TO THE STATES, AND WHAT WE WOULD WE DO THERE?
STAND ON STREET CORNERS, SELLING APPLES AND PENCILS.
>> narrator: GEORGE MULLER AND JOAN MARIE RIDGE DEGRUMMOND
ARE CANAL BRATS, CHILDREN OF CANAL WORKERS
WHO LIVED IN THE AMERICAN ZONE AND OFTEN GREW UP TO JOIN
THE WORKFORCE THEMSELVES. AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF PANAMA,
THEY DEVELOPED THEIR OWN WAY OF MAKING IT THROUGH
THE DEPRESSION. >> DeGrummond: THESE MEN
PULLED TOGETHER, AND THEY DECIDED
THAT THEY WOULD WORK MAYBE ONE OR TWO WEEKS A MONTH,
AND THAT PERSON COULD WORK ONE OR TWO WEEKS A MONTH,
AND THAT WAY THEY COULD KEEP THEIR HOUSING
AND STILL HAVE THE JOB. >> narrator: BUT WITH THE BASIC
CANAL CONSTRUCTION FINISHED, AND MOST OF THE WORKERS
SHIPPED BACK HOME, THE AMERICAN PRESENCE IN PANAMA
BECAME A MILITARY ONE. A STRONG DEFENSE OF THE CANAL
WOULD BECOME AN IMPORTANT ASSET AS THE WORLD GREW MORE RESTLESS.
DECEMBER 7, 1941.
ONCE AGAIN, WAR HAD ERUPTED, AND, ONCE AGAIN, SEA POWER
WOULD BE A DETERMINING FACTOR. THE PANAMA CANAL
WOULD BE A VULNERABLE LINCHPIN IN THE ALLIED EFFORT.
[explosions] FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT,
CONCERNED ABOUT PANAMA'S STRATEGIC VALUE,
EXPOSED NAZI DESIGNS ON THE WATERWAY.
>> Roosevelt: THEY HAVE DIVIDED SOUTH AMERICA
INTO FIVE VASSAL STATES, BRINGING THE WHOLE CONTINENT
UNDER THEIR DOMINATION, AND THEY HAVE ALSO SO ARRANGED
IT THAT THE TERRITORY OF ONE OF THESE NEW
PUPPET STATES INCLUDES THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA
AND OUR GREAT LIFELINE, THE PANAMA CANAL.
THAT IS HIS PLAN. IT WILL NEVER GO INTO EFFECT.
>> narrator: IN APRIL 1941, THE U.S. COAST GUARD SEIZED
SEVERAL AXIS SHIPS TO PREVENT THE WIDESPREAD
NAZI SABOTAGE PLOT, WHICH INCLUDED THE SCUFFLING
OF VESSELS IN THE CANAL. THE FEAR WAS ROOTED IN REALITY,
FOR GERMANY, IN CONQUERING ITS WEAKER EUROPEAN NEIGHBORS,
HAD GAINED CONTROL OF SOME OF THEIR COLONIAL FOOTHOLDS
IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. THIS PUT THE CANAL
WITHIN RANGE OF AIR ATTACK. TO PROTECT AGAINST ATTACK
AND SABOTAGE, THE CANAL INSTITUTED
A TOP SECRET PROGRAM CALLEDSIP7,
AN EMERGENCY DAMMING METHOD IN WHICH AN UNDERWATER BLOCKADE
COULD BE LIFTED HYDRAULICALLY TO HOLD BACK THE RAGING WATERS
OF GATUN LAKE, IF THE DOORS OF THE LOCKS
WERE HIT BY NAZI BOMBS. >> Muller: SHOULD A GATE
BE DAMAGED BY SOME WARTIME ACTIVITY,
THEY COULD EASILY LOSE ALL THE WATER IN GATUN LAKE,
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THEIR CONCERNS.
>> narrator: IT COULD BE ACTIVATED IN MINUTES,
EVEN BY HAND, IF ALL ELECTRICITY WERE CUT OFF.
SIP7 PROVED TO BE AN INTEGRAL PART
OF AMERICA'S WARTIME DEFENSE, BUT THE CANAL HAD
ANOTHER UNUSUAL INFLUENCE ON THE WAR EFFORT.
AROUND THE GLOBE, AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN
WERE SUDDENLY ENCOUNTERING RARE TROPICAL DISEASES.
WHAT HAD BEEN LEARNED ABOUT CONTROLLING MALARIA DURING
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CANAL, WAS NOW TAUGHT TO GIs
THROUGH EDUCATIONAL CARTOONS. >> newsreel announcer:
THIS IS THE STORY OF AN OUTCAST,
NOW A HUNTED WANDERER OVER THE FACE OF THE GLOBE.
YOU ALL KNOW HER NAME: ANOPHELES ANNIE,
THE MALARIA MOSQUITO. [gulping]
[spitting] >> TO LOOK AT ME NOW,
YOU WOULDN'T HARDLY BELIEVE IT. [hiccup]
BUT BACK IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS, I WAS REALLY SOME STUFF.
YEAH. I TOOK MY DRINKS STRAIGHT;
BUT THE BOYS GOT THEIRS MIXED WITH A MICKEY FINN.
[wings beating] [wings whirring]
[explosion] >> narrator: AS A FACILITY,
AND AS A SYMBOL OF A NATION'S MIGHT,
THE PANAMA CANAL HAD ESTABLISHED ITS IMPORTANCE.
BUT THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO FORGOT
THAT DESPITE THE MONEY, BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS
THE UNITED STATES HAD INVESTED IN THE TEN-MILE STRIP,
PANAMA STILL BELONGED TO THE PANAMANIANS.
THERE WAS AN ENFORCED SEGREGATION BETWEEN AMERICANS
AND THE PANAMANIAN PEOPLE. >> Muller: IF YOU WERE NOT
AN AMERICAN CITIZEN LIVING IN THE CANAL ZONE,
YOU WERE EXPECTED TO BE OUT OF THE CANAL ZONE
AFTER DARK IN THE EVENING, UNLESS YOU HAD BUSINESS.
NOW, MANY OF US HAD DOMESTIC SERVANTS,
AND THEY COULD STAY SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE SUN SET,
AND THEY WOULD NOT BE CHALLENGED AS THEY WERE RETURNING
TO THEIR OWN HOMES IN PANAMA OR COMING BACK INTO THE ZONE
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. ONE THING ABOUT THE CANAL ZONE,
THEY INSISTED ON EMPLOYEES-- THE PARENTS, THAT IS,
WITH THEIR FAMILIES, RETURN TO THE STATES PERIODICALLY.
THE IDEA BEING THAT THEY WANTED THE FAMILIES TO REMAIN
AMERICANIZED, RATHER THAN TO ASSIMILATE
TOO MUCH OF THE PANAMANIAN CULTURE, TO THE EXTENT
THAT THEY WOULD FORGET THEIR IDENTITY AS AMERICANS.
>> narrator: AS PANAMA GREW INTO THE 20th CENTURY,
PANAMANIAN NATIONALISM INCREASED.
IN 1964, THE UNITED STATES REFUSED TO ALLOW
THE PANAMANIAN FLAG TO BE RAISED ALONGSIDE THE U.S. FLAG
IN THE CANAL ZONE. ENRAGED CITIZENS
TOOK THEIR ANGER TO THE STREETS IN A VIOLENT RIOT
THAT CLAIMED THE LIVES OF 22 PANAMANIANS
AND 4 U.S. SOLDIERS AND INJURED
MORE THAN 350 PEOPLE. MANY IN THE U.S. BLAMED
A SUBVERSIVE COMMUNIST ELEMENT FOR INFLAMING THE PANAMANIANS,
BUT THE PANAMANIAN GOVERNMENT DIDN'T AGREE THAT NATIONALISM
WAS SUBVERSIVE, AND IMMEDIATELY SEVERED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
WITH THE UNITED STATES. THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN
STATES CALLED AN EMERGENCY MEETING
TO URGE NEGOTIATION. >> man: HOW WOULD YOU FEEL
IF FRANCE EXERCISED JURISDICTION OVER A SWATH OF LAND
TEN MILES WIDE ALONG THE BANKS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,
FROM NEW ORLEANS TO CANADA? NOTHING IN THE 1903 TREATY,
OR ITS AMENDMENTS, INDICATES THAT PANAMA EVER CEDED
THE CANAL ZONE TO THE UNITED STATES.
>> narrator: SO PRESIDENT JOHNSON
PROMISED TO RENEGOTIATE THE TREATY OF 1903
AND RECOGNIZE THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE ISTHMUS.
THAT WAS THE FIRST STAGE IN A PROCESS
THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY TURN CONTROL OF THE WATERWAY
OVER TO THE COUNTRY THAT HAD BEEN CREATED
SO THE PANAMA CANAL COULD BE BUILT.
THE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OF THE PANAMA CANAL
ARE OBVIOUS. ITS UNIQUE GEOGRAPHY FACILITATES
TRADE WITH A DIRECT WATER LINK BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC,
AND TRIMS NEARLY 8,000 MILES OFF THE SHIPPING ROUTE
BETWEEN NEW YORK AND SAN FRANCISCO.
THE ENGINEERING BEHIND THIS MODERN MARVEL
IS INGENIOUS, AND THE TRANSIT OF SHIPS,
A MASTERPIECE OF CHOREOGRAPHY. THE ROUTE BEGINS
ON EITHER THE ATLANTIC OR PACIFIC ENTRANCE,
WHERE VESSELS MAKE THEIR REQUESTS
TO CANAL TRAFFIC CONTROL, FOR PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH
THE LOCKS. THE LOCKS ARE DOUBLE-SIDED,
PERMITTING TRAFFIC TO FLOW IN EITHER OR BOTH DIRECTIONS
AT ONCE. EXPERIENCED CANAL PILOTS
BOARD THE SHIPS TO NAVIGATE THEM THROUGH THE NARROW WATERWAYS,
HELPED INTO THE LOCKS THEMSELVES BY SPECIAL ELECTRIC
LOCOMOTIVES CALLEDMULES, WHICH PULL THE SHIPS
INTO THE CHAMBERS. EXCEPT FOR THE OPENING
AND CLOSING OF THE MASSIVE LOCK DOORS,
AND THE TOWING OF SHIPS INTO THE LOCK CHAMBERS,
THE ENTIRE RAISING AND LOWERING OPERATION WORKS FROM GRAVITY.
PANAMA'S JUNGLES RECEIVE 100 INCHES OF RAINFALL
EACH YEAR AND FLUSH BILLIONS OF POUNDS OF WATER
FROM THE HIGH REGIONS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
TO THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. AS THE WATER FILLS THE LOCK
CHAMBERS ON ITS WAY TO THE SEA, SHIPS FLOAT ON ITS SURFACE
AND RISE WITHOUT MECHANICAL ASSISTANCE.
WHAT IS MIND-BOGGLING ABOUT THE OPERATION
IS ITS OVERWHELMING SIZE, WHICH CAN BEST BE APPRECIATED
WHEN THE LOCKS ARE DRAINED FOR MAINTENANCE.
REPAIR AND UPKEEP IS AN ONGOING DEMAND,
WITH OVER $100 MILLION SPENT IN THE LAST 10 YEARS
ON IMPROVEMENTS. THE DIFFICULT HANDWORK
IS ACCOMPLISHED IN LARGELY THE SAME FASHION AS IN 1915.
A HUMAN TOUCH IS REQUIRED ON EVERY SQUARE INCH
OF THE LOCKS. THE LOCK CHAMBERS ARE MASSIVE:
THEIR LENGTH, LONGER THAN THREE REGULATION FOOTBALL FIELDS,
THEIR VOLUME, THE EQUIVALENT OF NEARLY 500 SCHOOL BUSES.
FOUR SPACE SHUTTLES COULD BE PARKED
WITHIN EACH OF THE LOCKS. WHEN THESE GIANT CHAMBERS
WERE FIRST DESIGNED, THEY COULD EASILY ACCOMMODATE
THREE OCEAN-WORTHY VESSELS AT A TIME.
TODAY SHIPBUILDERS BASE THE DIMENSIONS
OF THEIRPANAMAX CARGO SHIPS SO THAT ONE ENORMOUS CRAFT
CAN PERFECTLY MATCH THE CONTOURS OF THE LOCK.
ONCE THROUGH THE LOCK, SHIPS ENTER
THE MAN-MADE GATUN LAKE FORMED BY THE WATERS
OF THE CHAGRES RIVER. THE LAKE ALSO CONTAINS
HUNDREDS OF TINY ISLANDS WITH ECOLOGICAL MICROSYSTEMS,
WHICH ARE NATURAL LABORATORIES FOR VALUABLE RESEARCH
BY UNIVERSITIES AND SCIENTISTS. BUT THE LAKE DOES NOT EXTEND
FROM ONE COAST TO THE OTHER. THE CULEBRA CUT MEANDERS
FOR NINE MILES THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TO LINK THE SYSTEM.
CARVING THIS PIECE OF THE PUZZLE WAS THE DEADLIEST PART
OF THE CANAL CONSTRUCTION, AS UNSTABLE HILLS
AVALANCHED INTO THE WORK AREA TO BURY MEN AND EQUIPMENT.
EVEN TODAY, THE MOST INTENSIVE CANAL MAINTENANCE EFFORTS
ARE FOCUSED ON THE TREACHEROUS CULEBRA CUT.
SINCE ITS ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION, THIS CHANNEL HAS BEEN WIDENED
FROM 300 FEET TO 500 FEET TO ALLOW PASSAGE
OF WIDER MODERN VESSELS. MORE EARTH HAS BEEN REMOVED
IN THIS EXPLOSIVE PROCESS OF WIDENING THAN WAS EXCAVATED
ORIGINALLY TO BUILD THE CANAL. [explosions]
THE ENORMITY OF CONTEMPORARY SHIPS
CONTRIBUTES TO THE EROSION OF THE CANAL'S NARROW BANKS,
AS THE CHURNING OF THEIR GIANT PROPELLERS
SCOUR THE CANAL'S SHALLOW BASE, DISLODGING SILT.
MORE THAN 500 MEN LABOR 365 DAYS A YEAR,
IN A CONSTANT DREDGING OPERATION TO REMOVE 2.5 MILLION
CUBIC YARDS OF SOIL EACH YEAR. THE SLUDGE IS PUMPED INLAND
TO DRAIN AND DRY, BUT THE PANAMANIAN WEATHER
OFTEN SABOTAGES THAT EFFORT. AT NINE DEGREES
ABOVE THE EQUATOR, THE TROPICAL SUN BAKES
A THIN CRUST ON THE SURFACE OF THE SOIL,
KEEPING THE THICK, GLUTINOUS SOUP PROTECTED UNDERNEATH,
UNABLE TO DRAIN. DURING THE RAINY SEASON,
WATER COLLECTS IN THE CRACKS AND BECOMES A BREEDING GROUND
FOR DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITOES. THESE CRUSTS MUST ROUTINELY
BE BROKEN FOR DRAINAGE, BUT THE WEIGHT
OF MEN AND EQUIPMENT WOULD EASILY CRACK THE SURFACE
AND CAUSE THEM TO BE SUCKED INTO THE SLIME.
THE SOLUTION IS CALLEDEXPLOSIVE DITCHING,
A PROCESS IN WHICH MEN RACE ACROSS THE PITS
TO DEPOSIT DYNAMITE CHARGES, THEN BLAST AWAY CHANNELS
IN THE CRUST TO ALLOW STANDING WATER
TO DRAIN BACK INTO THE CANAL. THE RESULTS ARE IMMEDIATE.
BLASTS ARE MONITORED WITH SPECIAL HIGH-SPEED CAMERAS,
SO THE SHOCKWAVES FROM THE EXPLOSIONS
CAN BE MEASURED FROM A SAFE DISTANCE AND STUDIED.
[explosions] AS IN THE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION
OF THE CANAL, A MASSIVE FULL-TIME CREW
OF MORE THAN 8,000 PEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY BLASTING,
DIGGING, AND DREDGING TO MAINTAIN THE CANAL.
>> Tekosky: A PROJECT LIKE THE PANAMA CANAL
CAN NO LONGER BE BUILT. IN FACT, IT WOULD BE
MIND-BOGGLING TO ASSUME THAT THAT PROJECT
COULD GET THROUGH ALL THE ENVIRONMENTAL HURDLES
THAT ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO HAVE A PROJECT
LIKE THAT PROPOSED, CIRCULATED, AND BUILT TO COMPLETION.
>> narrator: WHEN TEDDY ROOSEVELT
BULLIED THE PANAMA CANAL INTO EXISTENCE,
HE DIDN'T HAVE TO CONTEND WITH THE LEGAL CHALLENGES
WHICH WOULD TODAY PREVENT THE FIRST SHOVEL
FROM EVER BREAKING EARTH. IN THAT SENSE, THE CANAL
IS THE LAST HURRAH FOR THE KIND OF AMBITIOUS PROJECT
WHICH WOULD DARE TO CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THE WORLD.
YET THE WATERWAY HAS FOUND A PERMANENT PLACE
IN THE IMAGINATION OF MAN. OVER HALF A MILLION SHIPS
HAVE MADE THE NINE-HOUR VOYAGE FROM SEA TO SEA
OVER THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE SPANNED BY THE PANAMA CANAL.
THE OPERATION IS FUNDED BY TOLLS FOR USING THE LOCKS,
RANGING FROM $142,000 FOR MAJESTIC CRUISE SHIPS
TO 38¢ FOR ONE DARING MAN WHO SWAM THE DISTANCE.
BUT THE REAL VALUE OF THE CANAL CANNOT BE MEASURED IN DOLLARS.
THE PANAMA CANAL IS A WORKING MONUMENT
TO MAN'S NATURE. AT TIMES, STUBBORN AND HARSH,
BUT ALWAYS LONGING FOR GREATNESS AND CRADLED
IN BITTERSWEET GLORY. >> Knight: AS WE PASS
THROUGH THE CANAL DURING THE DAY, WE GET TO A SPOT
WHICH IS THE DEEPEST CUT. IT'S CALLED THE GALLARD CUT
AND THAT WAS THE SCENE OF THE BIGGEST DIGGING AND,
OF COURSE, BIGGEST CASUALTIES WHILE THEY WERE DIGGING THROUGH.
AND, AS WE GO THROUGH, THERE'S A BIG PLAQUE
ON THE SIDE OF THE HILL TO COMMEMORATE ALL THE LIVES
THAT WERE LOST DURING THE CONSTRUCTION.
>> narrator: THE THOUSANDS OF WORKERS
WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES WHEN THIS NARROW SLIVER OF LAND
WAS WRENCHED FROM NATURE WERE ALSO BUILDING CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN MEN AND CREATING A DOOR WHICH WOULD LEAD THE WORLD
INTO THE 20th CENTURY. >> Dill: IT WAS
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY EDUCATION.
I LEARNED THINGS THERE THAT CANNOT BE WRITTEN,
SOME THAT YOU CAN'T LEARN FROM TEXTBOOKS,
AND THAT NO ONE CAN TEACH YOU. YOU MUST PARTICIPATE
AND OBSERVE AND WORK WITH PEOPLE.
I WISH NOW I HAD STAYED, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.
-------------------------------------------
Could Your Teeth Be Killing You? Have You Had A Root Canal Or Amalgam Filling? - Duration: 11:10.
Hi, Dr. Minkoff here.
I want to talk for a little bit today about teeth.
So, this is an average tooth.
All right?
Molar tooth.
It's got a crown.
It's got a root.
the gum line is here,
A tooth is actually bone, so it's living.
Living tissue.
And there is a nerve, an artery and a vein
that come up through the bottom of the tooth
into this space which is called the pulp.
And since the cells out here are alive,
there has to be a system so that the nutrients can get to those cells,
and the waste from those cells can get out.
And these little dentin tubules,
in an average molar tooth,
there are two to three miles of them.
There are millions.
They're very short.
But, if you put them end to end,
it'd be a couple of miles.
Now, what had happened?
So, you get a cavity.
The enamel breaks through here,
and you don't get on it right away,
or you get a cavity,
and the dentist puts in an amalgam filling.
Amalgam is like half mercury, then a mixture of silver/tin/copper.
Now,
the amalgam,
when you eat something hot,
is going to swell,
and when you eat something cold,
it's going to shrink.
And it doesn't really bond to this side of the tooth,
so the bacteria can come and get in here.
So, if it's an open filling, they come in.
If it's an amalgam filling they come in.
If you get a white filling,
they actually bond with the tooth and they're pretty secure.
They don't let things in.
But if bacteria come into here,
they can go into these tubules and start to live,
they can track all the way down to the bottom here
and form an abscess,
and somewhere along the line you're gonna feel pain.
Sometimes it tracks out here
and it'll come up here
and there will be like a bleb on the gum,
which is a puss pocket.
Now,
what does the dentist do?
Well you have pain, so he's gonna try to help you with your pain.
Usually what happens is,
that you get recommended that you have a procedure,
called a root canal, done.
And you go to a specialist usually
and that specialist is going to drill down through here,
clean this out,
put some cement in here
and a post like a metal post,
because when you drill out the tooth the tooth could get fragile.
So, you put a metal post in there
with some gluey stuff,
so that now you have like a rebar in the tooth.
In the process, the nerve and the artery and the vein are obliterated.
And, the bacteria that have been living in here are still there.
And, the stuff that's supposed to seal it off,
doesn't seal it off.
And so, now what you have
is a dead
tooth
that's infected.
Now, you're happy with the dentist
because it doesn't hurt anymore.
And it looks good.
And, the criteria and dentistry is:
If it doesn't hurt and it looks good,
we did a good job.
But really,
you have a dead infected organ in your body.
Now, nobody in medicine leaves dead infected organs,
except dentists.
If you've got a dead infected gangrenous toe,
you cut it off.
If you kind of dead infected appendix,
you cut it out.
You can't live with these things,
because the poisons will kill you.
And the problem with this is that these poisons kill you,
but they do it slowly.
Okay?
Now I'm not saying that everyone is bad,
but I can tell you 100%,
that every chronically ill person that I see,
with Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's,
MS,
chronic fatigue,
chronic lyme,
if they have a root canal tooth,
it's a big part of their problem.
And cancer, too.
And if we don't get this out of their body,
they basically will never heal, in my experience.
They never heal.
Because these guys that are in here,
are anaerobic bacteria and they're very toxic.
And, if you put a whole bunch of this in the water supply,
you could kill a lot of people.
We used to be able to do a test on this
where we could take a stiff piece of cardboard,
and stick it down here
and get some of the juice from the abscess,
and pull it back out and we could send it to a lab,
and the lab would do an assay on the toxins.
And what we would find,
and we would do a healthy tooth on the other side so we had a comparison,
is that there was 95% block of enzymes
in the body that produce energy.
Krebs cycle enzymes.
There would be 95% blocked so they didn't even work.
So, this stuff leaks into the tissue
and it's a problem.
Now,
some very interesting research has been done.
They took a large group of men
that had had fatal heart attacks.
Okay?
So, a heart attack is
when the arteries that go to the heart muscle block up,
usually with a clot,
and then the heart muscle doesn't get blood,
and then the heart has a spasm, and it doesn't pump and you die.
Or, you have an arrhythmia and you die.
So, they took a sample of the clot that blocked up their artery,
and they did a test on it where they could look at,
"Were there bacteria in there?"
It's called a PCR test.
They could look at the DNA of the bacteria.
Question was, "Were there bacteria in the clot?"
And then, these men also had root canal teeth.
They pulled the root canal teeth.
They took a sample of the abscess
and they did the PCR on that too.
And they found that 75% of the time
the bacteria from the tooth were in the clot,
which had killed the guy.
Now, it's been known for a long time in cardiology
that if you have deep pockets,
gum disease,
that those bacteria lead to heart attacks, too.
So this is a known thing,
but if you're walking around with these things,
you could end up with a problem later on.
Because nobody is looking at this.
When I get a new patient,
when I see that on the record that they haven't had a root canal,
My first action is,
I send them down the street
and we do what's called a CBCT.
So, this is a CT scan.
CB stands for cone beam.
It's a cone beam CT of the teeth only.
And I write on the report "Rule out abscess."
And in about 95% of the people who have root canal teeth,
the dentist report,
the radiology report comes back positive abcess.
Yes, there's abscess there.
There's an abscess sitting right here,
which is brewing,
it's an infection,
it's a chronic infection.
And it's affecting the body.
Now, the other very interesting part of this is,
that the teeth are on nerve pathways,
which go to other organs.
And you probably heard the term stomach teeth.
Like, the stomach teeth are coming in.
Now, the stomach teeth are the molar teeth on the top,
and the premolar teeth on the bottom.
The stomach teeth equates to what's called
the stomach meridian in acupuncture.
And the stomach meridian
goes through the thyroid, the breasts, and the ovaries.
And we have many, many cases of breast cancer
where they have root canal teeth
on the stomach meridian.
There is an impairment of nerve flow function
that goes through the teeth on the way to the breast,
from the abscess.
So this is really important.
And I've had people with chronic lower back pain
where it came from the teeth.
So,
Number one,
you want to see a natural dentist who understands
that the materials that they use for filling
should be compatible with you.
And, that the procedures that are done on teeth,
are procedures that are going to actually enhance your overall health.
It's better not to have an infected dead tooth,
than to have one.
And so, dentistry is very important.
Brush your teeth twice a day
or three times a day, after every meal.
Floss every day.
And, get regular dental check-ups
by a dentist who's a natural type dentist
who's thinking about
that the mouth is part of the body,
and the teeth are part of the body,
and not to do things in the mouth
that you wouldn't do in another part of the body.
And that for your overall health is really important.
In everything from chronic pain somewhere else,
to a heart attack that you definitely don't want,
to breast cancer that you definitely don't want.
A lot of people who have chronic thyroiditis,
have lower molar teeth,
premolar teeth,
where there's inflammation or infection,
and it can affect the thyroid.
Okay?
So take home is: Take care of your teeth,
and then see a practitioner
who's a natural dentist who understands this stuff
and they can help you the best.
Okay?
Hope this helps.
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