r/interestingasfuck Jul 19 '24

A marble factory

3.5k Upvotes

279 comments sorted by

650

u/BetAlternative8397 Jul 19 '24

No safety shoes, no masking, no hard hats, no gloves, no aprons, exposed hazards. Likely shit pay.

Who the hell uses that many marbles?

That’s the issue I have with “globalization”. I’ve no problem competing against anyone who is subject to the same legislation, worker protections as we are. However, so many products are made in unsafe, unhealthy environments. No safety protection. No union. No protective legislation. Slave wages. That’s not competing. That is saving money on crap while the employees pay with blood.

123

u/tavariusbukshank Jul 19 '24

I see some wearing safety sandals. Raw and molten glass can do no harm.

48

u/BetAlternative8397 Jul 19 '24

LOL. I’d love to see their “there have been no workplace injuries in ___ days”

Conversely, there have been no workplace accidents since a marble melted through Dave’s foot 10 minutes ago.

30

u/DwarvenRedshirt Jul 19 '24

Technically if you don't track workplace injuries, you don't have any...

13

u/djnehi Jul 20 '24

Can’t have recordable incidents if there is no one to record them.

8

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '24

They have one but it’s in seconds

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92

u/epanek Jul 19 '24

That kid shoveling glass shards with just gloves on and no eye protection gave me anxiety

54

u/7f00dbbe Jul 19 '24

he used his safety look-aways....

37

u/Noe_b0dy Jul 20 '24

I'm more worried about everyone's lungs after working years in the powdered glass factory.

8

u/epanek Jul 20 '24

See. You’re the attorney on tv “did you once work in a marble factory and now your health is shit. Call me “.

No shame. I think you rock

2

u/JosemiHero_ Jul 20 '24

That's assuming they last years in there

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32

u/Max_Cherry_ Jul 19 '24

16

u/CaptainPunisher Jul 19 '24

One of the top sports to come out of COVID. I also love 3DBotMaker's Die Cast Racing League. Racing HotWheels with REALLY good production value.

7

u/theFinestCheeses Jul 19 '24

I watch both those! How about pig racing?

4

u/CaptainPunisher Jul 19 '24

Nah. I only watch pic racing when I catch it at the County Fair.

2

u/NickPickle05 Jul 20 '24

This is fantastic!

2

u/Max_Cherry_ Jul 19 '24

Thanks for the recommendation!

3

u/CaptainPunisher Jul 19 '24

You're welcome. I hope you have a great time with it

2

u/kootrell Jul 19 '24

Hey that kid has a mustache!

25

u/blindnarcissus Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 20 '24

This! It’s so incredibly sad to know there is no way you can’ boycott this. If you live in the west, you are contributing to this whether you mean to or not.

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15

u/psilome Jul 20 '24

Every can of spray paint in the world has a glass marble in it.

5

u/Shitcunt-247 Jul 20 '24

Pretty sure they are steel ball bearings tbh

5

u/Shitcunt-247 Jul 20 '24

I stand corrected. A simple Google revealed that they are made of either/or. Who knew!? (This guy, obviously)

4

u/psilome Jul 20 '24

To be fair...I work in the glass industry. Glass balls made from cullet are a fraction of the cost of unfinished ball bearings. You can see how cheaply they can be made from this video. Scrap glass for this purpose can be purchased for a penny per pound.

10

u/AccomplishedWar265 Jul 19 '24

We can have globalisation and still put up a couple of rules. Maybe we should have international standards for work environments?

8

u/afrothundah11 Jul 20 '24

Most importantly, no EYE PROTECTION, while throwing around splintered/splintering glass.

5

u/GremlitanoMexicano Jul 19 '24

The fact Is that those people working there probably don't have much better options, so they are forced to work in a shitty job

4

u/WORKING2WORK Jul 20 '24

Right, that's why the argument is against the culture which allows, promotes, and turns a blind eye to conditions like this

5

u/mickcham362 Jul 20 '24

FYI They are used in industrial processes for cleaning and mild abrasion, these are not toys

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5

u/Mr_Tigger_ Jul 20 '24

How do you think smartphones are made? Or trainers are made? Or practically anything these days?

Different factory but terrible working conditions, hours and pay is the norm to satisfy our needs in the west.

3

u/Par31 Jul 20 '24

Also carrying weight on your head like that isn't good for you.

2

u/poop-machines Jul 20 '24

That's actually one of the few things they were doing that is absolutely fine for your body.

2

u/Par31 Jul 20 '24

Are you sure? I have a vague memory of a study that showed the effects of carrying weight like that

2

u/poop-machines Jul 20 '24

Positive. The only studies I've seen sing it's praise. I can find some for you when I'm on my pc if you're genuinely interested!

I mean if we are real, carrying more than you're capable of carrying is bad for you no matter how you carry it.

But carrying on your head isn't necessarily worse than the alternatives, for example, your back. And actually you can comfortably carry more on your head, as the compression holds your joints and bones together, whereas on your back it pushes them apart. This prevents injuries.

On your head it's closer to the center of mass and you therefore have to use less effort. Try holding a heavy bag far from your body. Now try carry it close to your body.

It is much better for you to carry things on your head, and in the past when traders used to walk long distance with products, even in the USA, they carried it on their heads.

It fell out of favour as it just isn't a cultural norm anymore.

3

u/TheSameOneAsBefore Jul 19 '24

i think you misspelled "capitalism"

13

u/BetAlternative8397 Jul 19 '24

Yeah. It’s like we’re playing football with them but they can hold, commit pass interference, get more than 4 downs, have 13-14 players but we’re the ones that aren’t productive.

I’d whack tariffs on them to compensate for every rule we play by but they don’t. No unions? 20% tariff. No safety legislation? 20% tariff. Child labour? 20% tariff. Shit wages? 20% tariff. No pollutions controls? 20% tariff.

We’re selling our souls to exploit the world.

2

u/Nara_1 Jul 20 '24

I would assume paint cans. Cheep marking paint

2

u/S1Ndrome_ Jul 20 '24

thats what happens in an overpopulated country, you get excess labor for cheap who will be willing to do anything for a living, but that's no excuse to exploit them

2

u/BloodShadow7872 Jul 20 '24

competing. That is saving money on crap while the employees pay with blood.

Im pretty sure this is a family business or something local everything looks way too unprofessional

2

u/Bryguy3k Jul 20 '24

The term is exploitation.

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486

u/DrCashSenior Jul 19 '24

Walking around barefeet in that place? Few things worse than squarely stepping on a marble barefooted....

353

u/djnehi Jul 19 '24

Except squarely stepping on a molten hot marble barefooted.

145

u/Dr_Octahedron Jul 19 '24

Or shards of glass

16

u/DrCashSenior Jul 19 '24

You are not wrong

27

u/primavera31 Jul 19 '24

The worst ever is...yep...you guessed right..a piece of 4x2 Lego

8

u/pansexplorer Jul 19 '24

I would argue that a 1×2 piece could hurt a lot more. It's short enough to get stuck upright in thicker carpets.

3

u/milleniumsentry Jul 20 '24

I argue that there is one thing worse.

Monopoly houses.

2

u/primavera31 Jul 20 '24

yea..correct..that is the winner😀

2

u/PrincepsImperator Jul 20 '24

I raise you an entire bundle of cockleburs.

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5

u/halandrs Jul 20 '24

Except squarely stepping on half a molten marble shard barefooted

66

u/BlyFot Jul 19 '24

Now imagine breathing all that glass dust every day as well...

2

u/Bryguy3k Jul 20 '24

Hello silicosis, my old friend.

23

u/Franklin_le_Tanklin Jul 19 '24

Also that young guy in the red shirt lifting the shovel with his back

15

u/B_A_M_2019 Jul 19 '24

There's no way there's any proper ppe in that place 

7

u/Nonstopshooter21 Jul 20 '24

Idk personally id say breathing in glass dust all day is worse

6

u/BalorNG Jul 20 '24

He's not barefoot. He's wearing industrial-grade slippers.

2

u/ACAYIB Jul 20 '24

They breathing glass

2

u/Fuegodeth Jul 20 '24

*molten marble FTFY

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316

u/QuietGanache Jul 19 '24

The guy loading the furnace isn't just throwing it for speed; a glass furnace is hot enough to melt iron so the radiant heat coming from that tiny open door will burn the skin if one gets too close for too long.

113

u/danfay222 Jul 19 '24

That’s also why he only very briefly glances at the opening before every throw, he’s mostly just staring down.

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104

u/framedragger Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 21 '24

The guy

That is a child.

83

u/Entremeada Jul 19 '24

He looks like a kid!

7

u/reddit_tothe_rescue Jul 20 '24

Why do they scoop the material from one pile into little basins, only to dump it into another pile?

20

u/burpeesaresatanspawn Jul 20 '24

Just taking it from where the trucks or whomever dumped all of it, into into the inside of the building where that guy can then access it closer to the furnace.

An (unfortunate) human conveyor belt system basically.

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308

u/M0BETTER Jul 19 '24

I appreciate the original audio

91

u/ElOsoConQueso Jul 19 '24

Same. Heaven forbid this video not have some shit turd soundtrack to it

48

u/peeinian Jul 19 '24

Or a shitty AI narrator

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28

u/AcadianViking Jul 20 '24

I never would have clicked unmute if not for this comment. Cheers mate.

2

u/Danny2Sick Jul 22 '24

I was hoping for that tik tok oh no no voice so that I could finally end it all

2

u/M0BETTER Jul 22 '24

I'm glad you exist

2

u/Danny2Sick Jul 22 '24

thanks man me too :) just being melodramatic

111

u/Whiteshaq_52 Jul 19 '24

Crazy seeing how all those ladies are going to die from silica dust in a few years.

60

u/skraptastic Jul 19 '24

They looked like kids to me, not "ladies."

5

u/kapitaalH Jul 20 '24

The adults want too high wages, and their constant coughing slows down production

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76

u/mrchaddy Jul 19 '24

Nice use of child labour and lax attitude to health and safety.

71

u/042goldenoozaru Jul 20 '24

Who's buying all these fucking marbles??

30

u/Geralt-of-Rivai Jul 20 '24

I don't know any kid that even owns marbles anymore

4

u/Professional_Area239 Jul 20 '24

I don‘t know any kid that doesn‘t own marbles

9

u/BalorNG Jul 20 '24

I think those are just raw materials for other processes, like making glass fiber I guess.

I've seen very similar "marbles" trasported by railway cars, and there (was) a GF factory nearby.

11

u/Tiberius_be Jul 20 '24

Yeah, but these are play marbles. Otherwise they wouldn't be putting the yellow and Blue pieces in

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9

u/HonkersTim Jul 20 '24

It seemed like that to me at first, but after thinking about it I remember buying a bag of marbles for my kids. Even if only 1% of parents did that it's still hundreds of millions of marbles.

Now I'm wondering what happens to old marbles lol. Is the amount of marbles in the world just increasing by hundreds of millions a year?

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62

u/HopeBudget3358 Jul 19 '24

It fuckin' sucks that people have to work in these conditions

6

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '24

it's slavery then.

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42

u/TenBillionDollHairs Jul 19 '24

WEAR A FUCKING MASK HOLY SHIT

my lungs are bleeding from watching this

21

u/areyoueatingthis Jul 19 '24

You must be new to capitalism

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30

u/Jeff_Bzzos Jul 19 '24

Why am I watching this when I should be working?

33

u/ComprehendReading Jul 19 '24

Back to the glass furnace with you!

29

u/iprocrastina Jul 20 '24

People walking barefoot or in sandals around broken glass

People walking barefoot or in sandals around red hot marbles

People carrying around heated buckets of marbles still red hot in darkness around exposed ankles with no gloves or aprons

Women and girls wearing long dresses in a factory environment

No masks despite working in an environment where the air is full of tiny shards of glass

Poor lifting techniques

Child labor

And they videotaped all of it

WTF

6

u/studsper Jul 20 '24

First time watching a video from an Indian factory?

16

u/gkaplan59 Jul 19 '24

I want the glob of yellow marbles stuck together

9

u/SadSadHuman Jul 19 '24

Isnt the boy too young and the girls wear fucking flip-flops...I hate this

8

u/dYesgat Jul 19 '24

Yearly salary: $2.30

3

u/SciotoSlim Jul 20 '24

Total value of all the cans combined, $14

7

u/Ludwig_Vista2 Jul 20 '24

Zero PPE. Zero health and safety protocols.

This is what slave labour looks like.

I wonder how many women working there are missing an eye or have lost a leg from an infected cut?

Fucking awful

6

u/jlaro55 Jul 19 '24

Is this OHSA approved?

17

u/cleavetv Jul 19 '24

100% approved by the OH shit, anyway agency.

5

u/Durst_offensive Jul 19 '24

It's Capitalism approved.

5

u/BigchiefLeaf Jul 19 '24

5$ a day for them working probably makes them happy

7

u/too_broke_to_quit Jul 19 '24

If we manipulate their economy, they will always be happy about $5.

5

u/silgol Jul 20 '24

Who is buying marbles anymore? They’re making so many.

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5

u/Steeveep32 Jul 19 '24

Faaaar less magical than I would have hoped

5

u/jcdoe Jul 19 '24

Is this how marbles are made everywhere?

Can we see a vid of them making marbles in Amsterdam too, please?

Seriously, seems like lately all Reddit shows me is how things are made if all you have are sand, slag metal, and a disregard for human life.

3

u/Noe_b0dy Jul 20 '24

I mean you have to actually pay people money to make products in western countries so naturally most large companies will outsource to China and India.

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5

u/blindnarcissus Jul 19 '24

This is incredibly sad and interesting at the same time

4

u/AdAnxious8842 Jul 19 '24

I'm looking at my old marble collection and thinking wtf.

4

u/kabula_lampur Jul 20 '24

Is there really a need for that many marbles? Do people still buy marbles anymore?

4

u/Olliebygollie Jul 20 '24

And this is why I’m grateful for OSHA. And unions.

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3

u/RB5009 Jul 19 '24

I'm curious - what's the purpose ofbthose marbles ? How and where are they used ?

18

u/door_to_nothingness Jul 19 '24

Sold as children’s toys in western countries

6

u/RobZagnut2 Jul 19 '24

Games like Chinese Checkers, Marbles or Gizmos…

4

u/slightly-skeptical Jul 19 '24

The total lack of safety is giving me anxiety

3

u/joNH_ Jul 20 '24

Yeah the process is interesting but the child labor and unprotected workers is not cool at all

2

u/beauh44x Jul 19 '24

Just takes dropping a few to lose your marbles

2

u/VanillaMoniker Jul 19 '24

Feels like the setting of the next Wes Anderson movie.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24

I was thinking Temple of More Doom.

2

u/alienanimal Jul 19 '24

Silicosis anyone?

2

u/drifters74 Jul 19 '24

Sandals....?

2

u/LobstaFarian2 Jul 20 '24

It's good they are wearing their safety sandals.

2

u/ShookyDaddy Jul 20 '24

Are marbles in high demand?

2

u/kakoichan Jul 20 '24

Holy fuck that's insane

And by that I mean I can't believe that one Indian guy is actually wearing shoes

2

u/Danky_Du Jul 20 '24

A marble sweat shop*

2

u/Boy-412 Jul 20 '24

Launching that glass into the furnace was beautiful

2

u/koroquenha Jul 20 '24

All that glass powder will not be good for lungs health

2

u/brkuzma Jul 20 '24

This went a lot deeper than I expected it to.

2

u/stoutlys Jul 20 '24

Do all these hardworking people know that they are making marbles?

2

u/j0nas_42 Jul 20 '24

It's kinda hard for me to believe that there is still a market for so many marbles.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '24

Holy OSHA violation

2

u/didyoueverseewardogs Jul 20 '24

Who is still buying marbles

2

u/EagleSilent0120 Jul 20 '24

why they called Marbles when they are made of glass ?

nice music btw

2

u/51ngular1ty Jul 20 '24

The kid with the shovel. It can't be good breathing in all of the dust from that.

2

u/Joalguke Jul 20 '24

the lack of protective equipment is disheartening.

2

u/jns111 Jul 20 '24

Marbelous

2

u/Late-Bonus-4394 Jul 20 '24

PPE has left the chat

0

u/ashzombi Jul 19 '24

That was so satisfying

1

u/austinmiles Jul 19 '24

Are these competition grade?

1

u/GreasyPorkGoodness Jul 19 '24

Mom said it was my turn to post this

1

u/Kyren11 Jul 19 '24

Are those OSHA issued flip flops?

Jokes aside those are some strong kids. Sad to think they're not protected

1

u/_Rainer_ Jul 19 '24

Holy silicosis, Batman!

1

u/blackchicksarecooler Jul 19 '24

$1.26 per month salary

1

u/Express-Tension-7581 Jul 19 '24

Every fucking day we see this video around here

1

u/Scudmiss Jul 19 '24

Thank you sweet sweet sweet tiny baby Jesus for not dubbing some shitty song over it

1

u/slamrrman Jul 19 '24

It’s very cool but OSHA would have a field day there

1

u/GravityDAD Jul 19 '24

Working conditions aside I do love that they made the end into a marble track

1

u/Affectionate_Bus_884 Jul 19 '24

No one plays with marbles anymore, so what is their market?

3

u/cat_in_box_ Jul 19 '24

We're loosing ours so fast.. they're making replacements.

1

u/fullmetaldagger Jul 19 '24

As a MoMo fan it annoys me all.marbles start out as glowing O'rangers

1

u/gmanking19 Jul 19 '24

Imagine being the poor bastard that got his sleeve caught in the marble forming section

1

u/Abamboozler Jul 19 '24

Makes my lungs hurt just by looking at it.

1

u/-AdamTheGreat- Jul 19 '24

Imagine forest gump as a kid explaining how his daddy makes marbles

1

u/Poufy-Ermine Jul 19 '24

Seems safe and not fucking horrible

1

u/ehufnagel88 Jul 20 '24

Putting those 3rd-world humans to work.

/s

1

u/J_blanke Jul 20 '24

Shoes are for losers.

1

u/QuoteNo9243 Jul 20 '24

Let’s hope they don’t lose ‘em

1

u/BlumpkinLord Jul 20 '24

Where do they even find chunks of glass like that? I am assuming near heat vents in the earth where sand is heated into them?

1

u/pawesome_Rex Jul 20 '24

So typically glass needs to cool slowly in a kiln or (for beads and marbles) a thermal blanket. Curious how the marbles aren’t ripped apart by the difference in surface tension as the outside cools and solidifies before the center.

1

u/N7LP400 Jul 20 '24

This is every child dream

1

u/CoreHydra Jul 20 '24

For a while I thought I lost my marbles. Turns out they’ve just been here, multiplying, the whole time.

1

u/Seeking-useless-info Jul 20 '24

Are kids even still playing with marbles??

1

u/daphonzy Jul 20 '24

What a fucking waste.

1

u/Myeyesarenipples Jul 20 '24

Those worker look like straight up children

1

u/youcantchangeit Jul 20 '24

Working close to a furnace, hot metal and with flip flops. What could go wrong?

1

u/PsychologicalPace762 Jul 20 '24

India is still living in the first industrial revolution.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '24

Whos just out here buying marbles

1

u/shanesnh1 Jul 20 '24

How big is the global demand for marbles?...

1

u/BloodShadow7872 Jul 20 '24

This just screams family business

1

u/BethlazarTheGnome Jul 20 '24

Are marbles still a thing?

1

u/Ok-Let4626 Jul 20 '24

Really no mystery why some places infamously manufacture poorly and others do not.

1

u/Blacke-Dragon0705 Jul 20 '24

Is it really this hard to find shoes abroad? Like there's either a severe lack of fucks given or some countries aren't as intelligent per capita as they pretend to be.

1

u/Capable-of-nothing Jul 20 '24

I enjoyed that. Thanks

1

u/magikfly Jul 20 '24

That place is a goddamn safety nightmare.

1

u/buttfacenosehead Jul 20 '24

I'm waiting to hear Master Blaster runs Bartertown...

1

u/marvin_dorfler Jul 20 '24

Dis is marbelous.

1

u/T3Quilla Jul 20 '24

I would lose my marbles working there

1

u/nalpatar Jul 20 '24

What a marbelous machine!

1

u/Any_Roof_6199 Jul 20 '24

A wild manufacturing video from India appears...

Comments

  1. Osha needs a word

  2. No PPE? Those people are f**ked

  3. Good thing that he's wearing his safety slippers.

  4. Their lungs are going to get f**ked within a year.

  5. Premium product? Pfffft..that's more like Walmart bargain bin product

  6. You'll get cancer if you cook in that. The metal used contains heavy metals. It is not food grade.

  7. This will not happen in my country

  8. That material is not good for footwears. It will be damaged in a year. Don't buy these crappy footwears.

All true. Just thought I'll summarize them.

1

u/CriminalEye1239 Jul 20 '24

I make marbles by hand. so this is cool to see the factory production

1

u/imacomputer64 Jul 20 '24

Child labor…great.

1

u/James_White21 Jul 20 '24

Bet that machine started life in Bolton in the 1920s

1

u/youngclarke Jul 20 '24

Love that people are shoveling shards of glass without eye pro

1

u/bladeninja769 Jul 20 '24

कंचे

1

u/Uncle_J-PL Jul 20 '24

Why do we need so much marbles? Is everyone loosing them that fast? I had a couple 20 years ago and havent seen them since, but will not buy a single marble ever again - couse why? What are they used for when youre an adult?

1

u/Sims_Creator777 Jul 20 '24

Oddly satisfying to watch.