History Series / HowItsMade

* FollowTheLeader: One of the most blatant examples is ''Factory Made'', another show that basically follows the same premise and airs ''on the same channel''. Creator/FoodNetwork also had ''Unwrapped'' which details how various types of food and sweets are produced.

* ScienceShow: As mentioned, more like "Technology Show", but it fits under "science".

* SpiritualSuccessor: To the "Picture Picture" segments from ''MisterRogersNeighborhood''.

!''How It's Made'' provides examples of:

The show is produced by MAJ Productions in association with the Science Channel (which airs it in the US) and Discovery Channel Canada. The US version is narrated by Brooks Moore; he was replaced for one season, but as of the new season (which started in fall 2008 on the ScienceChannel and January 2009 on the DiscoveryChannel) he has returned.

** Also crossed with HeyItsThatGuy: Here's another blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the voice actors scene. Notice the dark brown short-haired voice actor in the background speaking through a microphone? That voice actor is thirty to thirty-two-year-old Creator/YuriLowenthal, who is the voice of the Prince at the time the segment was filmed. What a rare celebrity moment.

** Sequel: One episode showed the making of polyester yarn from recycled materials (like soda bottles and milk jugs, among other things) into polyester thread that is wound into large spools of polyester yarn. A later episode shows the making of polyester fleece, which begins with... large spools of polyester yarn.

* In some cases where the product being made supports custom logos (like the one where golf balls were made) or specialized etching (where a plasma cutter or water jet literally grinds through steel) the customization will say "How It's Made".

* One episode bumped it "UpToEleven" when they did a grand slam and all four products being examined had a pun: "Today on HowItsMade...Steel wool. When it comes to cleaning, it can be your best alloy. [Steel] Ranges... We have all the elements of this manufacturing process. Carved candles... Making them is a whole new ball of wax. Slot machines... We '''bet''' you'll love this story!"

* AndSomeOtherStuff: A harmless, non-explosive variety. The show sometimes notes that they cannot reveal certain ingredients of some food or chemical products, due to them being trade secrets. The best example of this trope is perhaps the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY1rE_Ncasc segment on marshmallow cookies]].

* BlessedAreTheCheesemakers: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmXAb3G0ek cheese]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgp2-r80Tds Swiss cheese]], and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvF_91PYCl0 goat cheese]] segments.

* ClipShow: The "Automated machines" segments, which are video montages of the various machinery seen in each season.

* AndSomeOtherStuff: A harmless, non-explosive variety. The show sometimes notes that they cannot reveal certain ingredients of some food or chemical products, due to them being trade secrets.

* BrandX: Played straight and subverted at the same time. In the narration, all products are referred to by generic names (presumably as a result of Canadian laws against product placements,) but at the same time no effort is made to hide logos and brand names on the featured products. One example is at the very beginning of the "Video Games" segment, where the boxes for video games are shown, all published by Creator/UbiSoft (''Alex Ferguson's Player Manager 2001'', ''VideoGame/BatmanVengeance'', ''VideoGame/{{Myst}} III: Exile'', and ''[[Disney/{{Tarzan}} Disney's Tarzan: Untamed]]'').

* HurricaneOfPuns: The US dub in particular ''loves'' this trope. This, for example, comes from the episode about kitchen knives:

** That's nothing - every episode in the UK dub ends with a HurricaneOfPuns about the items from the show.
** The original Canadian dub is also riddled with puns, mostly to the same effect as the US version.
* ProductPlacement: Inverted. Usually brand names will only be shown when absolutely necessary (as in packaging), and many businesses in and around Montreal and Quebec City getting unexpected publicity from the series, along with businesses in Europe (European products are seen when an American or Canadian equivalent of a product cannot be found).

** In the segment about [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewGJnGmhDEo veggie burgers]], the narrator mentions that the factory wrap and packed about [[Memes/DragonBall over 9000]] veggie burger patties each day.
* SlowMotion: Typically industrial work machines are dizzyingly fast, and it's really hard to understand what exactly they're doing - all you see is a blur. The show goes to great pains to slow this down so the viewer can see every step: either the machine is slowed down or the video is overcranked. Occasionally the slowed-down machines have jerky movements hinting they're being moved by hand, as they probably can't go that slowly by themselves. When they're done explaining they usually show you how the machine looks when it's ''not'' slowed down.

* CallASmeerpARabbit: Though not an animal, in the "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uvSSBQ8xYQ Gas tanks]]" section, the narrator calls propane gas tanks "barbecue tanks" instead of propane gas tanks!
** Probably because propane tanks are most associated with propane barbecue grills, thus it's a probably name for it.

** Also crossed with HeyItsThatGuy: Here's another blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the voice actors scene. Notice the dark brown short-haired voice actor in the background speaking through a microphone? That voice actor is thirty to thirty-two-year-old Creator/YuriLowenthall, who is the voice of the Prince at the time the segment was filmed. What a rare celebrity moment.

* BrandX: Played straight and subverted at the same time. In the narration, all products are referred to by generic names (presumably as a result of Canadian laws against product placements,) but at the same time no effort is made to hide logos and brand names on the featured products.

* ShoutOut: In one "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlX3PdZLDTw Video Games]]" segment, this one must have been a shout-out to ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime''... particularly because the guys borrowed some "behind-the-scenes" making of the game in video. And did we mention that the narrator talks about ''modern'' video games instead of old ones?

* ShoutOut: In one "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_5Ob-Z4Iek Video Games]]" segment, this one must have been a shout-out to ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime''... particularly because the guys borrowed some "behind-the-scenes" making of the game in video. And did we mention that the narrator talks about ''modern'' video games instead of old ones?

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
* FollowTheLeader: One of the most blatant examples is Factory Made, another show that basically follows the same premise and airs ''on the same channel''. Creator/FoodNetwork also had ''Unwrapped'' which details how various types of food and sweets are produced.

* ForgingScene
* GunPorn: Literally during shows where rifles and handgun creation processes are shown.

* ScienceShow

** And now we have ''How It's Made: [[CoolCar Dream Cars]]''. It's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin

* HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure: In the episode showing the manufacture of steel coffins: "This requires 900 tons of pulling force -- the equivalent of hoisting 27 fully loaded tractor-trailers."

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: And ''[[{{Pun}} how]]''.