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I Tried To Make Something In America (The Smarter Scrubber Experiment) - Smarter Every Day 308

SmarterEveryDay · documentary · Watch on YouTube

Manufacturing & industrial processesBusiness & economics (other)Labor, work & inequality

What it is

Destin Sandlin of Smarter Every Day tries to manufacture a grill scrubber entirely in the United States. Along the way he runs into missing supply chains, tooling and institutional manufacturing knowledge.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN cites it constantly in US manufacturing debates as a vivid demonstration of how much domestic industrial capability has been lost.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2025, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “Here's a great video by Smarter Every Day that came out a few months ago”

    Destin's attempt to make a grill scrubber entirely in the US reveals lost manufacturing skills.

    ndiddy, 2025-08 · Strong recommendation · in “The decline of high-tech manufacturing in the United States”

  2. “does a good job of demonstrating the institutional knowledge gap”

    Demonstrates the institutional knowledge gap in US manufacturing

    j_bum, 2025-06 · Recommendation · in “BYD begins testing solid-state EV batteries in the Seal”

  3. “He details all the challenges, and it's a pretty good watch.”

    Details the challenges of making a product in the US

    aeonik, 2025-07 · Recommendation · in “They tried Made in the USA – it was too expensive for their customers”

  4. “This video[0] about building a grill scrubber in America really highlighted the problem for me.”

    Highlights the decline of US blue collar manufacturing skills.

    Corrado, 2025-10 · Recommendation · in “Ford CEO on his 'epiphany' after talking to his Gen Z factory workers”

  5. “That guy from smarter every day had a great youtube video about why that's basically impossible in the US right now”

    Explains why US manufacturing of such products is nearly impossible now.

    legacynl, 2025-12 · Recommendation · in “Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges”

  6. “trying to manufacture something as simple as a grill scrubber with a US supply chain would help you understand how bad it is”

    Shows how hard a simple product is to make with a US supply chain.

    fooker, 2026-03 · Recommendation · in “Why the US Navy Won't Blast the Iranians and 'Open' Strait of Hormuz”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: manufacturing, supply chain, injection molding, made in usa, smarter every day

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