Set: The History of Concrete

The fascinating history of the compound that can fairly be said to be the very foundation upon which civilization stands.

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This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

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Script by THG

#history #thehistoryguy #invention

[nitrogasm]

In 1984, the Sun and Fun RV park was being built on Ave 200 just outside Tulare CA. Me and my friends rode our bicycles the 5 miles to check it out. While riding my bike on the sidewalk, I rode over a patch that wasn't yet dry and left tire marks. They are still there today. The only reason I know is I live there today and walk by it daily.

[MarianneKat]

My dad was a civil engineer, and owned a concrete testing company. He worked on a lot of michigan road projects and was a perfectionist. The companies dont get paid by the state until he signs off. His famous saying, driving over the Lansing portion of I 69 (he did NOT work on it), which had bumps every 10ft and sounded like you were on railroad tracks, was "I would never have signed off on this!". 😂 we still say "dad would not have signed off on this". Every project he worked on was well done, even if they had to rip it out 3x, which did not make him popular. But his projects live on, in excellent condition, and will never be on shows like 'engineering disasters'. 😊

[politicsuncensored]

The thumbnail of the big paw print got me. In 2016 we decided to have built a enclosed heated swimming pool. The owner of the pool company asked me to come out to see the concrete patio they had just finished smoothing out for our deck/TV area at the far end of the pool. When we both noticed my very big Walker hound on the far side of the wet cement who decided to take a walk across the wet cement. The pool guy was horrified, but I laughed. I told him to leave the big paw prints as it would always remind me of my big lovable boy. I lost my hound boy 07-19-23. I laugh everyday when I go out to the pool and see those beautiful paw prints. Shalom

[michaelcollins]

I’m always impressed with THG when he covers a topic that I know about, and it serves to further impress me with how good he is at researching to a high level on a subject and presenting the most salient points (not just random interesting points), and how quickly THG must do this in order to turn around so many videos.
I tip my hat to you sir

[leifsonoferik]

Concrete, WA has been around since 1909. Concrete WA history began in 1890, when the town-site was platted by Magnus Miller. A post office was set up, and the name “Baker” was adopted. This was on the west bank of the Baker River. On the east bank of the river, the community that sprang up around the Washington Portland Cement Company (1905) was named “Cement City.” After the Superior Portland Cement Company plant (1908) was built in Baker, it was decided to merge the two towns, and in 1909, after much discussion, the new community settled on the name “Concrete.”

[bradleyalexander]

As a “concrete construction field engineer” for forty years, concrete has always fascinated me. Excellent topic for the THG world wide staff to showcase so well. Thanks Team THG.

[kencarp]

This hard-hitting video is the most solid one you've published in a long time, Lance! I'm sure that making it had you pre-stressed, but you pre-cast a wide net with it, and you reinforced what you said. As I pore over this video, in the aggregate I'm quite impressed! This video is truly one for the ages!

[terryturman]

When I was younger, I worked in construction for about 12 years
Nothing more satisfying, then turning around and looking back at sidewalk you just poured.
Another great episode!

[nikburton]

Here in Bellefontaine, Ohio we are reminded that Court Ave. Is the first Concrete Street in America every time we drive or walk down main street. There's a sign right there. Another one as you come into town. There's a nice little coffee shop there, and the first Edward Jones office.

[adreabrooks]

Duct tape, saccharine sweetener, shipping crates and now concrete... I sometimes think that The History Guy makes some of these videos just to see if there's a topic too mundane for us to enjoy.
Keep looking, Lance! 😉

[bruscifer]

One of my first jobs was working for a concrete company. I small one. The owner was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We did mostly small jobs like curbing, and the biggest jobs were driveways. I LOVED that job. I learned so much. I learned the "ART" of concrete finishing, and I could put a mirror finish on it. Of course that is not what is always wanted, but it could be done. I would love to build a concrete house for myself one day.

[JarheadCrayonEater]

Awesome!
My family owned a large concrete forming company in Denver from the 1950's until 2010, when we had to unfortunately close the doors after the recession. It was unrecoverable at that point, due to jobs being stopped and too much overhead right before it.

However, I learned a lot during that time!

[robertjensen]

I was trying to expose the cement company for using cheap materials.
But I couldn't find any concrete evidence.

[v.e.]

Your factoid about concrete being the second most consumed product by man vs water is a WOW factor for me.

[garyvee]

Having been a concreter for over 40 years and a hard construction supervisor for nearly 10, I found this fascinating. I couldn't believe how "wet" the concrete was in the "early" videos..., that would be rejected in a heartbeat now-a-days.

[buzbuz-]

My first summer job was loading the materials into cement trucks to create ready-mix concrete. One of my worst days was when I accidentally loaded 2X the cement required and they had to dump the entire load and wash out the truck. The drivers never let me forget that day.

[plunder]

When I was about 20 we had a lecture by a historian from the Building Research Institute. He explained that a vast field of triangular concrete hut foundations in Mesopotamia (Probably Iraq) had been discovered that were almost 5000 years old. Nobody knows who made them. Unfortunately the secrete of making concrete keeps getting lost and rediscovered, with new tricks added on each occasion. The Concrete in the salt water Harbour of Ostia built by the Romans is still solid today. Then go and look at the Pantheon in Rome. A miracle of design, still solid and in ue today. The Romans were amazing.

[ghowell]

Great episode! As someone who has to lay laminate, tile and carpet over finished concrete, I knew a bit about this, but some of it I certainly didn't!
Thanks, and have a great week!

[positrondesign]

I was an architectural engineer. Working with steel is relatively straight forward. But I enjoyed designing reinforced concrete for the challenge. It always seemed like magic that a contractor could pour fancy "mud" and it could harden into huge safe structures.
Thanks for the history lesson.

[ohhsjhx]

Good monday morning THG and fellow history fans.