1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum here, come with me for just a moment. 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: Back to the mid nineteen sixties, when airspace giant Boeing 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: was preparing to build the original Boeing seven forty seven. 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: It would be the world's first jumbo jet, two and 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: a half times bigger than the largest existing airliners, The 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: seven forty seven would revolutionize air transportation by making it 8 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: possible to fly more people in cargo at a lower 9 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: cost than ever before. But before the seven forty seven 10 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: could get off the ground, Boeing and it's then president 11 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: and chairman of the board, William M. Allen, needed to 12 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: build a facility that was huge enough to accommodate the 13 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,919 Speaker 1: construction of the massive plane. Bowing considered building a new 14 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: plant in California, but the seven forty seven s head 15 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: engineer Joe Sutter reportedly resisted putting the facility that far 16 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: away from Boeing's Seattle headquarters, arguing that all that travel 17 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: time might slow the project. Instead, the company ended up 18 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: picking the site of a former military airport in Everett, 19 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: twenty two miles that's thirty five kilometers north of Seattle. 20 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: It was a remote area filled with woods that were 21 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: home to bears that occasionally had to be shoot away 22 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:10,479 Speaker 1: from the first folks who arrived. Working at breakneck speed, 23 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: and a little more than a year, construction workers erected 24 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: what was and still is the world's biggest factory. No 25 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: report on where the bears went, but we do know 26 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: that a railroad spur had to be built to the 27 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: site to rush building materials there and holloway debris. It 28 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: all cost more than one billion dollars, more than Boeing 29 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: was worth at the time, and is considered a feat 30 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: of human industry and resourcefulness. More than half a century 31 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: after its completion in nineteen sixty seven, Boeing's Everett factory 32 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: is still producing planes and inspiring off from the hordes 33 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 1: of visitors who've turned it into a major Washington tourist attraction. 34 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: So just how big is the plant? It covers ninety 35 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: eight acres and its interior measures at four hundred and 36 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: seventy two million cubic feet. That's a little over thirteen 37 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: million cubic meters. For perspective, the entire Disneyland theme park 38 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: could fit in side with room to spare. It's so 39 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: massive than what it was initially built. Accumulation of warm 40 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: air and moisture inside actually caused clouds to form just 41 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: below the ceiling until equipment was set up to keep 42 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: the air circulating. The ceiling is ninety feet that's twenty 43 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: seven meters above the factory floor, high enough to fit 44 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: an eight story office building. Inside. There are six doors 45 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: on the south side of the factory. The four to 46 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: the west are eighty two feet high that's about thirty 47 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: meters and three hundred feet wide over nine The two 48 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: to the east are about the same height but fifty 49 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: feet wider that's about fifteen meters. They open at the 50 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: push of a button, but it takes about five minutes 51 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: for them to do so. Inside the plant has approximately 52 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: one million overhead lights and twenty six overhead cranes that 53 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: run on thirty nine miles that's sixty three kilometers of 54 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: ceiling tracks, which lift and move big pieces and sections 55 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: of planes as they're being built. The aircraft are assembled 56 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:56,799 Speaker 1: on a production line that moves about an inch and 57 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: a half that's three point eight centimeters per minute. Under 58 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: the floor, there's an elaborate two point three three mile 59 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: that's three point seven kilometers system of tunnels which contain 60 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: the water, sewer, and electrical utilities, and also allow workers 61 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: to move around the facility without getting in the way 62 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: of the aircraft production. They use one thousand, three hundred 63 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: bicycles and tricycles to cover the distances more quickly. The 64 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: Everett plant is the equivalent of a small city, with 65 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: thirty six thousand workers on site every day. It has 66 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: its own fire department, banks, daycare facilities, a fully equipped 67 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: medical clinic, and a water treatment plant. One thing that 68 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: the Everett Factory doesn't have, though, is air conditioning. If 69 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: it starts to get too warm inside, workers open the 70 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: factory doors and use fans to draw air inside to 71 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: cool the facility. Conversely, if it gets too chilly, they 72 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: turn on more of the overhead lights to heat the 73 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: air inside. A Seattle's relatively mild climate enables these measures 74 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: to work out just fine. The original building was expanded twice, 75 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: first in nineteen seventy eight to accommodate production of the 76 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: Bowing seven sixty seven, and then again in ninety nine 77 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: two for the Boeing seven seventy seven program. Recently, additional 78 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: buildings have been added to the factory site to handle, 79 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: robotic assembly of the seven seventy seven fuselage and fabrication 80 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: of the composite wings of the seven seventy seven X. 81 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: The murals on the Factory six massive doors are the 82 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: biggest digital graphics on the planet, covering more than a 83 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: hundred thousand square feet that's over nine thousand square meters. 84 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Patrick Jake Tiger and produced 85 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of 86 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: other enormous topics with intricate detail, visit our home planet, 87 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com.