This video on how a bicycles are made—or at least on how they were made in 1945 in the UK—is a lot more interesting than you'd think it'd be, particularly if you're British and recall your country's former prominence as a manufacturing giant. It's presented by Raleigh's chief designer of the time, and you catch a glimpse of the army of workers he presides over in the "Drawing Office," noted as one of the more important departments. And on the factory floor, it's fascinating to see how, for instance, a circular piece of steel like this...

...is transformed, step by step, into a joint like this:

As with previous "manufacturing in the past" videos we've shown, you'll note the manpower required, the division of sexes by task, and at least one poor bastard breathing in the steam from a caustic cleaning bath in those pre-OSHA days: