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00:00My name is Mike Rowe, and this is my job.
00:11I explore the country looking for people who aren't afraid to get dirty.
00:16If that was a goose, I swear to God.
00:19Hard-working men and women who earn an honest living.
00:21Okay, balance test it.
00:23Whoa!
00:24Gene!
00:25Doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us.
00:29Now, get ready to get dirty.
00:36Whoa!
00:37Coming up on Dirty Jobs.
00:39Hang on.
00:40When you shake the tree at Fedora Farms, you know just what kind of nut will fall out.
00:44Walnuts.
00:44We're going to shake them, we're going to sweep them, we're going to pick them up.
00:46This nut house is run by a perfectly sane family, but getting the product from the grove to your table,
00:51well, that's a crazy dirty job.
00:53Does it smell good yet?
00:54No, it doesn't. It doesn't smell good.
00:56And if you don't believe it, well, nuts to you.
00:58I used to like walnuts.
01:00Now, not so much.
01:01And later, these are dead geese, dead ducks.
01:03Little balls.
01:04Guys drop their birds off, she processes the birds.
01:07Dead birds go to the Mallard Duck and Goose Processing Company.
01:10And with the help of Trudy and her grandsons, out comes meat and down pillows.
01:14This is how it works.
01:15We're still hunting, bringing, dressing, gathering, preparing, clucking.
01:19The only way to describe the process is foul.
01:25Oh, God.
01:30Well, it's a beautiful day here in Meridian, California, specifically at Fedora Farms,
01:42and a fine opportunity for me to tell you everything I know about walnuts.
01:46Ready?
01:47They're hard to open, and they grow on trees.
01:49And this is one.
01:50Anything else is going to have to come from an expert.
01:53Fortunately, Brian Fedora is an expert.
01:55You are an expert at this, right?
01:56Certainly.
01:57Good.
01:58You're one of the Fedoras, of course, of Fedora Farms, which has been around forever?
02:01Since the late 1800s.
02:03Wow.
02:04What's this thing right here?
02:05This is a shaker, a walnut shaker.
02:07It shakes the walnuts off the tree.
02:09When the walnuts are on the tree, they're encapsulated in a walnut hull, which we're going
02:14to bring those off the tree and get them on the ground so we can pick them up and get
02:17them into the huller and dryer.
02:18So that's a hull?
02:19That's the green outer hull.
02:21You don't care if I open this up?
02:22No.
02:22If you didn't care if I pulled it off, you won't care if I opened it?
02:24Not at all.
02:25We're going to get them on the ground anyways.
02:26All right.
02:28So this machine shakes these trees.
02:31These fall to the ground.
02:32That's correct.
02:33We're going to shake them.
02:34We're going to sweep them.
02:34We're going to pick them up.
02:35We're going to load them in a truck.
02:36They're going to go in the huller and dryer.
02:37They'll get loaded in another truck.
02:38And then they'll go into a sheller, get shelled, and go on from there.
02:42In market, we eat them.
02:44Or you just cut out all the middle things.
02:46You just pick them off the ground and shove them in your mouth.
02:47That's one of the best.
02:51Over 70% of walnuts traded in the global marketplace are produced
02:55in California.
02:57And this is how you get them off a tree.
03:00We'll clamp the tree.
03:01Yeah.
03:05Once it's clamped, push it.
03:09Can I give it a try?
03:10I'd love you to give it a try.
03:13These brushes are just to get the nuts out of the way of the tires.
03:17That's correct.
03:19We don't want to run them over.
03:21Walnut oil is used for cooking, cosmetics, and even in fine art paint.
03:25In fact, the paint used to create the Mona Lisa contains walnut oil.
03:30I am not much of an artist with this thing, however.
03:34Tricky business.
03:37Hang on, folks.
03:39Hang on.
03:40In ancient Rome, walnuts were considered a food of the gods.
03:48Hey, let's shake Barsky.
03:50Romans threw them to wedding guests for good luck.
03:53Let's see if Barsky feels lucky.
03:58Remarkable.
03:59Brian tells me that walnuts are the omni nuts that contain a significant amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
04:07Now that we've scattered walnuts and debris all over the grove, Brian has another machine to start organizing this mess.
04:30What's its official name?
04:32This is called a sweeper.
04:34Just a sweeper.
04:35And that's what we shook on the trees.
04:37We're now going to put them into a row so we can pick them up and put them in the trailers and haul them into the huller.
04:42This little 12-horsepower beast was built back in 1972, getting a bit cranky, a little loud.
05:07There are newer sweepers out there with cabs and air conditioning, but there's something about a convertible.
05:12The breeze in your hair, the dirt in your face.
05:18Too bad about the hood ornament.
05:20You want to keep yourself next to the road.
05:42Nice job, Mike.
05:45It's not a physically punishing job initially, but what was I on there, 45 minutes?
05:51Something like that.
05:52What's the average shift on this demon?
05:55Ten hours.
05:56I can't even hear.
05:57I'm lip-reading right now.
05:58It'll make you a bitter man.
06:00If you said bitter, I'm with you.
06:07Dusty.
06:11Dusty jobs.
06:12This high-tech harvester does far more than just pick up nuts.
06:22It scoops up the rows we've made with the sweeper, and the fan sucks out all the leaves.
06:28Dirt falls out through the bottom.
06:30Sticks get carried over and dropped off the back.
06:32And the walnuts are dropped into the conveyor cart.
06:43So it took me how long to do one row of shaking and lining up and gathering?
06:52Shaking, sweeping, and picking.
06:53About four hours.
06:55Four hours a row.
06:56And you've got, like, what?
06:58A couple million rows here?
07:00A couple hundred.
07:03That's job security, Mike.
07:06Just come straight out and make another wide turn.
07:09It sounded so simple.
07:11I just go to a walnut farm, pick up some nuts.
07:14So far, I've shaken them, swept them, sucked them up, and now apparently we're sending them on a trip.
07:20A couple miles down the road is the Fedora Farm shop.
07:29Here we encounter a giant machine called a huller.
07:32It's designed to remove tons of gunk from tons of nuts.
07:40Let me sum this up as simply as I can.
07:44The nuts arrive from the field in three basic stages.
07:47You've got your walnut still in the hull.
07:49You've got your walnut, which is relatively clean.
07:51And you have your more common walnut, which is dirty.
07:54All of them go through the trash berater first.
07:57Inside the trash berater is a cyclone of air.
08:01And that sucks all the debris away from the nuts, making them cleaner than they were, but not entirely clean.
08:07At this point, you can see some dirty nuts out of their hull on their way for a bath.
08:11All of the nuts, those relatively clean, those hopelessly dirty, and those still inside their hull, are bathed at this point.
08:18There they come to the de-huller, or the hulling machine, and that's where this green thing is removed once and for all.
08:24Now all of the nuts are clean, but there's one final determination to be made, and that determination is as follows.
08:32Good nuts are separated from bad nuts in the aspirator.
08:35Inside of a good nut, as you might imagine, is nothing but good, nutritious, healthy nut meat.
08:45Inside of a bad nut, that's a whole different story.
08:49Here you see meat that is shriveled and disappointing.
08:52I can't prove it, but I'm relatively sure that no one wants to put shriveled, disappointing nut meat into their mouth.
09:00Any questions?
09:02Coming up, is your pit overflowing, jammed?
09:06It's just full.
09:06There's a place here called the pit.
09:08As it starts to break down, it's going to start molding rotten.
09:11Nothing that's called the pit is ever clean.
09:13They look like walnuts to you.
09:14And later, the fella can cut himself on here.
09:18He's not paying attention.
09:19Without a doubt.
09:19If you don't know what you're doing, and excuses won't fly, just wing it.
09:23Still got all your fingers working this over the years?
09:26We don't talk about it while you're on the saw.
09:28That's good advice.
09:35When the walnuts are de-hulled and washed, the dirt and debris that used to be on them has to go somewhere.
09:41And that somewhere will have to be cleaned up as well.
09:43But before the nuts can go up a conveyor and through the huller, they have to go down into what's called the pit.
09:51Sounds like a place where we could see a real dirty side of walnuts.
10:00So from the field, the nut's gone back to the pit, I'm told.
10:04And I guess this would be, you'd be Chris.
10:06I'm Chris.
10:06Brother sends some guards.
10:08Is your pit overflowing, jammed, broken, or is it working the way it's supposed to?
10:12It's working the way it is.
10:13It's just full, constantly feeding the machine.
10:15Sure.
10:16But we're shut down and ready to start cleaning up.
10:20So all the nuts go in here and then, what, into your factory or whatever this place is?
10:24They go up and into the machine that actually removes all the dirt and debris that you guys couldn't get out in the field.
10:30Gotcha.
10:31Good.
10:32We're going down to the pit if you want to join us.
10:40It's nice.
10:42All right, so you got this on now.
10:44What's the job exactly?
10:45All this stuff down here, it's the leave-ins from the walnuts, falls on the ground, and we've got to get it out.
10:52So is this stuff going in or just the stuff that's on the ground?
10:54Just the stuff on the ground.
10:56Well, and the back.
10:58What's in the back?
10:59Oh, yeah.
11:06Sure, little maggots.
11:08Organic matter.
11:09It smells like it's fermenting.
11:10As it starts to break down, it's going to start molding and rotting.
11:14Okay.
11:20Consumers bought an estimated 2.7 million pounds of walnuts for last year's pro football championship.
11:27I'm sure none of them thought of some poor schlub shoveling gunk just so they can have their munchies.
11:33Does it smell good yet?
11:34No, it doesn't.
11:35It doesn't smell good.
11:38You sure it's not toxic?
11:40I don't know.
11:43I just, what am I eating?
11:56Whatever they are, they're flying down my throat.
11:59They look like walnuts to you?
12:00I used to like walnuts.
12:14Now?
12:16Not so much.
12:19You'll tell me when we're done, right?
12:21We're done.
12:23You have to ask.
12:24Now what?
12:25Now what's that little thing?
12:26That's cute.
12:27This way you need on the next job.
12:30We're going to the black hole.
12:33The black hole.
12:35Sounds like a dirty, dangerous place.
12:37Fortunately, I'm armed with an odd miniature hoe.
12:41This way?
12:42No.
12:44No.
12:45What's on the other side?
12:48Black hole.
12:48What does this machine do?
12:57This is what takes out all the loose debris that's lighter than the weight of a good nut.
13:02So anything that's weight.
13:03So leaves, grass, little sticks, the dried up hole that's loose.
13:08Very small rocks.
13:09It's like a big vacuum.
13:10Okay, how does one get in?
13:14Really?
13:16Ow.
13:17Ah.
13:19Ow.
13:20This better not be a made-up job, man.
13:22People really get in here?
13:23Ah.
13:24Ah.
13:25Now you're moving.
13:28Ah.
13:31There's nowhere to stand, man.
13:34All right, give me that flat little hoe.
13:37That's why it's small.
13:37Ah.
13:40From fermented gunk to this dry, crusty crud, these little nuts create a lot of dirt.
13:54There you go, now you can just kind of lean on back.
13:58Yeah, it's a good picnic, though.
14:05Do these need to be razor sharp like that?
14:07That looks pretty good.
14:24Yeah, thanks.
14:25I think you're done.
14:27Coming up.
14:27You gotta reach your hand up in there and make sure that there's nothing plugging it.
14:30Sometimes you feel like a nut.
14:32After a day working at a walnut farm, you don't.
14:34Don't forget the other side.
14:35Head later.
14:39Feels very different without the stuff on it, I gotta tell you.
14:42Like a raw chicken.
14:43This job doesn't ruffle your feathers.
14:45Bang!
14:46You must be unflappable.
14:48He lost his head!
14:49This is the float tank.
15:01The float tank.
15:02So walnuts...
15:03Walnuts float.
15:04Walnuts float.
15:06All right.
15:07Rocks, mud, dirt clods, poo, sprinkler heads, wrenches, don't.
15:15Actually, poo can float.
15:17Okay, I'll give you that.
15:19Trust me.
15:19So how do we clean this?
15:21Uh, there's two valves at the bottom, and we gotta open those up.
15:25Okay.
15:26And then we're gonna wash it out.
15:30Oh, crap.
15:31You know what?
15:31Why don't I have boots on?
15:37Dirty walnut bathwater.
15:39How refreshing.
15:39This water will be reclaimed and used to irrigate the walnut groves at Fedora Farms.
16:03While you're there, you gotta reach your hand up in there and make sure that there's nothing plugging it.
16:09And I'm looking for clogs.
16:16Well, anything metal, it could cut the belt.
16:22It's not metal.
16:24That's not metal.
16:27That's not metal.
16:31If you don't feel anything there, don't forget the other side.
16:33That's a walnut hull.
16:42That's a hull.
16:43These are, of course, nuts.
16:47That's a hull.
16:48So come on up, and we got a big hose here that you can, uh, rinse the rest of it out with.
17:07Good enough?
17:08Good enough.
17:09We're getting down to the clean stuff now.
17:11Is there anything on my pants?
17:19These were brand new, too.
17:20First day I wore them.
17:22After washing and sorting, the nuts are sent below to the dryers.
17:26The bins are heated from below while the nuts dry on the top.
17:29I'm here to meet the patriarch of the family, Sib Fedora.
17:35You must be the big cheese.
17:37Must be.
17:38How you doing?
17:38Sib, right?
17:39Good.
17:40Mike.
17:40Mike.
17:41Those, uh, spent the day with your boys.
17:43It's quite a pair you got there.
17:45Quite a pair.
17:46Understatement.
17:47What are you doing, and where am I?
17:48Okay, this is in the middle of our, uh, bulk dryer.
17:51We're preparing to ship these out.
17:53Just check the moisture on them.
17:54They're good to go.
17:55They've got to be 8% or less for the handler to take them.
17:59Why?
17:59Because of mold and mildew issues.
18:01If they're too moist, they can't store them until they get them shelled and processed or bagged in the manner they want them in.
18:07Right.
18:08So how do we go about the business, then, of loading the truck?
18:14What we're going to do is we're going to crank this door open just enough to fill this conveyor.
18:20How many of these will you do?
18:22How many of these bins?
18:23For the truckload, eight bins.
18:25Eight bins, okay.
18:35Just a momentarily, you're going to hear it going in the truck.
18:42It's like a waterfall.
18:47This process is going to take about 30 minutes to fill 25 times.
18:51Got it.
18:53Are these good for you?
18:55Perfect food.
18:56Absolutely the perfect food.
18:58The omega-3s in it.
19:00If you eat an ounce a day, instead of a shot a day, eat an ounce of walls a day.
19:04Yeah.
19:05Perfect for your body.
19:07This is funny because as good as these are for your heart and your circulatory system,
19:14it seems like everything in your whole place, you've got to crawl into a little hole and knock the plaque away.
19:19That's why you need to be healthy and eat walling.
19:21Anything else I can clean up for you while this is happening?
19:28Well, that's my day at the Fedora Walnut Farm.
19:41I know a whole lot more about walnuts at the end of the day than I did at the beginning,
19:44but this much will stay with me forever.
19:46However, if you spend enough time cleaning nuts, you'll start to feel kind of dirty.
19:53Fortunately, I'll wash off.
19:58Coming up.
19:59Now give me the wing.
20:00Yeah.
20:00Will you finish, please?
20:02Yes, ma'am.
20:02When they say nothing goes to waste in a place like this, they really mean it.
20:06Looks like an owl.
20:07Keeps the birds from pooping on your new car.
20:09I'm tired of them pooping on my car.
20:11Everything you say should be on a t-shirt, woman.
20:14And later.
20:15How long back here?
20:16As long as I can remember.
20:17Three.
20:17Everybody starts here like when they're three years old.
20:19Well, until the government changed it.
20:21Reminiscing about what were the good old days for some people.
20:25And then the government changed it.
20:26You couldn't hit them with a dead duck and discipline them.
20:29What's it like to be struck with it?
20:31I mean, it's all around wrong.
20:41This pillow is 100% genuine goose down.
20:52This genuine goose is 100% dead.
20:55The process by which this is transformed into this goes on in that building behind me.
21:01No, I'm not going to tell you it's a dirty job.
21:05I'm going to show you.
21:06Okay, you've got two rushes ahead of you, Alan.
21:13Another guide with 50 birds.
21:17This is a busy time of year in Tule Lake, California.
21:20It's waterfowl hunting season.
21:22And the nearby wildlife refuge is teeming with ducks, geese, and shotgun-toting hunters.
21:28As a function of waterfowl management, the licensed hunting of ducks and geese during the six-week season is allowed until 1 p.m.
21:36The license fees help manage to maintain the refuge.
21:39Okay, take those with you.
21:42The birds are primarily hunted for food.
21:44I'll take these up.
21:45But their feathers have been used for centuries as stuffing for pillows and quilts.
21:51Here's 43.
21:52Almost every part of the bird is utilized.
21:55These go with you.
21:56You've got four white friends back there?
21:59Thank you for being patient.
22:03We've got one duck and a total of ten geese.
22:07Yeah, it looks like most any other store on the block, but it's different.
22:10It's full of fluffy things and, well, dead things.
22:14Was that in my truck?
22:15It was.
22:16Phil, right?
22:16Yes.
22:17All right, Mike, how are you?
22:18And you must be Trudy?
22:19Yes, I'm glad to meet you.
22:20It's nice to meet you.
22:21These are dead geese, dead ducks, a little of both?
22:23A little of both.
22:24All right, so you bring Trudy dead things and she turns them into fluffy things.
22:28She turns them into fluffy things and when we get to the meat, she processes the birds so they're just like bringing home a store-bought bird.
22:35I keep their feathers and sell them a pillow.
22:38All right, so what's the official name of your place here, Trudy?
22:40The Mallard Duck and Goose Processing Company.
22:43When you say down versus feathers, you're pulling the down off now?
22:47I'm pulling the feathers off.
22:48Those are the feathers?
22:49The top layer.
22:50Where's the down exactly?
22:51That's where we're going.
22:53Oh, yeah, that's nice.
22:54How long have you been doing this?
22:56Forty years.
22:58Forty long years.
23:00Right here?
23:01Right behind this counter?
23:02Doing this thing?
23:03Before, I worked at the University of California as a plant breeder.
23:07But this has been the best thing that ever happened to me.
23:09Really?
23:10You get to meet all kinds of people.
23:11People like Phil.
23:13Phil's my buddy.
23:14Now, do you, I mean, are you hunting for fun?
23:16You take tours?
23:17Actually, I'm one of the guides here on Tule Lake and Lower Clamath Refuges.
23:21Guys come in, drop their birds off.
23:23They come back the next day and everything's done for them.
23:25Let me ask you.
23:26So things are busy, right?
23:28I mean, calls are coming in.
23:29Let's listen to this.
23:30Mallard.
23:31Calls coming in from literally all over the block.
23:34Birds coming in?
23:35That's playing.
23:35Seven geese and 12 ducks.
23:38Oh, that's a good shirt.
23:39That's my business partner.
23:40He's out today.
23:42Great.
23:42On a rush.
23:43Oh, he's on a rush.
23:43That means chop chop.
23:45Chop chop.
23:45No, I get it.
23:46I get it.
23:48Oh, dear.
23:49So this is Toby.
23:51Mike.
23:52Nice to meet you.
23:53How are you?
23:53I'm okay, thanks.
23:55Trudy, what's he doing?
23:57Winging and pulling off the feathers over four inches.
24:01State of California doesn't want it in their bedding.
24:06That's winging, huh?
24:07That's winging.
24:08So these birds are grounded.
24:10Yep.
24:11Because if you leave the wings on and you put them on the picker, the bird will come back
24:16and slap you in the face.
24:17I wouldn't blame it.
24:19What's your job here officially?
24:21I do everything, pretty much.
24:23Yeah?
24:23Wing, pick, gut, do it all.
24:26Wing, pick, and gut.
24:27Have you been working with or for Trudy now for a while?
24:29Yeah, I've been in here ever since I was three years old.
24:32No kidding.
24:32Yeah.
24:33How long has that been?
24:34Well, 22 now.
24:35No kidding.
24:36All right, so you know what you're doing.
24:38Toby is Trudy's grandson.
24:40Show me what you do.
24:41All right.
24:41Grab a bird out of the basket.
24:43Pull the wing all the way out.
24:45Slide it into the gap.
24:47Pull it down.
24:48Cut the wing off.
24:49Pull the feathers bigger than four inches out.
24:52Uh-huh.
24:53Feathers over four inches are too hard to clean, according to California law.
24:56And your bird's been winged.
24:59You mind if I do one of these?
25:00Yeah, go ahead.
25:02Just grab a little over there.
25:05Slide it in the hole.
25:07Pull it down.
25:08All right.
25:09There's the little cutoff.
25:10Interesting.
25:11All right.
25:15Bell could cut himself on here.
25:16He's not paying attention.
25:18Without a doubt.
25:19Any near misses for you?
25:21Not that I know of.
25:22No.
25:24What about you, Trudy?
25:25What?
25:26You still got all your fingers from working this over the years?
25:29We don't talk about it while you're on the saw.
25:32Okay, good.
25:33You're right.
25:33That's good advice.
25:34Concentrate.
25:36What happened to this guy, aside from the fact he got shot?
25:39Canada goose.
25:40That's a big one.
25:41Yeah.
25:42How much would you say this weighs?
25:43Probably about eight and three quarter to nine pounds.
25:46All right.
25:48Do you charge the same to process a bird of this size as you do?
25:51This is $9 to pick and process this bird.
25:54Pick process.
25:55All right.
25:56P&P, we call it.
25:57Do you call it that?
25:58No.
25:59Well, there you go.
26:00You could, though.
26:02You'll understand it after you do him.
26:08Everything you say should be on a T-shirt, woman.
26:11So we'll swing him over here.
26:13Now give me the wing.
26:15Yeah.
26:15Will you finish, please?
26:16Yes, ma'am.
26:26You're welcome.
26:26Now, what some Thule Lakers do, we fold this back, we put a string through it, and hang
26:33it in our trees because it looks like an owl.
26:37And it keeps the birds from pooping on your new car.
26:40Is that true?
26:40It works.
26:41So you say this as a woman who's clearly owned a new car that's been pooped on.
26:46I'm tired of them pooping on my car.
26:48Something else for the T-shirt.
26:50Coming up.
26:51This is the goose room.
26:53It's okay to walk on it?
26:54Yes.
26:54It's fun.
26:55Though it's indoors with no windows, this room's a winter wonderland all year round.
26:59And when you throw it up, it's like snow.
27:04Sure is.
27:04It's hanging off your hat.
27:07Head later.
27:07Just reach on inside.
27:08Can I pull the intestines out first?
27:10Yeah, if you want.
27:11I'd like to.
27:12I see what goes through a goose.
27:14That's a gizzard I've been waiting for.
27:16And this is full of little rocks and stuff.
27:18You want to cut it open?
27:19While it's still in the goose.
27:21Here's everything that's been eaten.
27:22Feel in here.
27:23Through the pebbles.
27:24How cool is that?
27:24It's like dirt almost.
27:25Amazing.
27:26Amazing.
27:26After we removed the birds' wings, it was on to relieving them of their feathers.
27:42We were given a hand by Justin, another of Trudy's grandsons.
27:46So what am I looking at?
27:47A goose picker.
27:50Is it rubber?
27:51Yeah.
27:52You just put the geese under there and it just pulls the feathers off?
27:58Yeah.
27:59You might have to show me one of those.
28:00All right.
28:04Looks like a lot of feathers back there.
28:06A lot.
28:09Okay.
28:09Well, that is way more efficient than I imagined.
28:22Yeah, you can pick one in two minutes.
28:25Maybe three.
28:26Wow.
28:27How long did it take in the good old days before this?
28:30Forever.
28:32In the good old days, they pulled the feathers out by hand.
28:34I'm real fussy about the booties, the very, where the feather's in.
28:40You're fussy about a lot of things.
28:43Well, I don't like them fuzzy when they come to the gutter.
28:50This is the accepted method of doing it everywhere, wherever it's done?
28:53Wherever it's done, there's so few left.
28:56There you go, Mike.
28:57And that's a goose with no feathers.
29:01See?
29:02See the booties are all clean?
29:05The booties?
29:06That's that area?
29:07Right here.
29:08The bottom of the lake.
29:09All clean.
29:14All right.
29:16Good.
29:17Feels very different without the stuff on it.
29:19Yeah.
29:20Like a raw chicken.
29:23Flip him around and grab his hand by the beak.
29:26By the beak?
29:26Yep.
29:27Throw the butt in that way.
29:30And just...
29:35Whoa!
29:40You okay, Mike?
29:42I get you?
29:43Oh, it's okay.
29:44This is scared the hell out of me.
29:45I thought it came back to life.
29:47But it flew, it came all the way around the top.
29:48Get a 360 on it.
29:50All right.
29:51I got my attention.
29:52I got my attention.
29:57Great!
29:58Great!
30:02Well...
30:02What'd you get?
30:03Well, you really cleaned it up.
30:06I'm sorry, man.
30:07I tore it to hell.
30:12I'm sorry, man.
30:14Go ahead.
30:14He lost his hand.
30:16Yeah.
30:16I'm sorry.
30:17Trudy, show me another one from start to finish.
30:19The way you do it.
30:20Okay.
30:21I've got a good grip on his tail and his legs.
30:24This goes here.
30:26You go in, out, and up.
30:30And rotate.
30:30And bump.
30:41It's in and out, and up.
30:43In, out, and up.
30:46Did you hear that?
30:47Yeah.
30:48I didn't want to, but I did.
30:49Did you hear your grandmother talking in sexual metaphors?
30:52Yes, I did.
30:55Foul.
30:56That machine's mean.
31:02I'll say.
31:04So, how long back here with Grandma doing this?
31:08As long as I can remember.
31:10Since he was three.
31:11Yeah.
31:11Uh-huh.
31:12Just like the Toby.
31:13Yeah.
31:14Everybody starts here like when they're three years old.
31:16Yeah.
31:17Well, until the government changed it.
31:18What'd the government do?
31:20It passed a law that you had to be 14.
31:23More child labor laws.
31:26That's the problem with our government.
31:28Yeah.
31:28They're not letting three-year-olds pull their weight.
31:31And then the government changed it.
31:32You couldn't hit them with a dead duck and discipline them.
31:35You've been struck with a dead duck by sight?
31:38I have.
31:38I've hit them with dead ducks.
31:40What's it like to be struck with a duck?
31:41I mean, it's just a...
31:42It's all around wrong.
31:45That's a goose.
31:45That's a heavy one.
31:47Greasy.
31:54Greasy goose.
31:56Where to?
31:56Done there.
31:57Down here?
31:58Yep.
31:58Now we're going to go to the trimming table.
31:59Going to the trimming table.
32:01This area?
32:02Yep.
32:03This will do right here.
32:05Okay.
32:06Where exactly are all the feathers going?
32:09They go in a big, giant room in the back?
32:10Yeah.
32:11We'll take you on back in there.
32:12Show you where they go.
32:14You know, I think I'd like to do that before I do whatever I'm going to do here.
32:19All right.
32:19Can you show?
32:20Yeah.
32:21It's right through here.
32:22Follow me.
32:22You'll come too, Trudy?
32:23Right.
32:24All right.
32:24You follow him.
32:25I'll follow you.
32:26You follow me.
32:30These are all raw feathers.
32:32The last few years crop.
32:35Oh, okay.
32:36This is the goose room.
32:38It's okay to walk on it?
32:39Yes.
32:40It's fun.
32:41Yeah, I guess there's a certain funness to it.
32:47So this is, I mean, this is like the best insulation on the planet, right?
32:51Right.
32:51I mean, the best natural insulation, right?
32:53Or is it even better than unnatural insulation?
32:56And when you throw it up, it's like snow.
33:02Sure is.
33:03It's just hanging off your hat.
33:04So this is all, that's all down.
33:06It's all down.
33:08The down dries in this room for a year before it's bagged.
33:12All right, now I got it in my mind's eye.
33:14Now I understand.
33:14Now we can pull the guts out of that big goose.
33:16Right.
33:17All right.
33:18What do you do with this guy?
33:19Go ahead and grab a knife.
33:20And then you're going to start by taking the feathers off from around the wings.
33:25Don't stab yourself in the eye.
33:32Once again, t-shirt material.
33:34Yeah.
33:35Things I've learned from Trudy.
33:36There's two tubes in the neck that we've got to cut towards the head.
33:41Right there.
33:41And just slice that now.
33:43Feels like it goes all the way to the other end of it.
33:45My brain's hard to get past.
33:47Something else for the t-shirt.
33:49There you go.
33:50There it is.
33:51That's done.
33:52And find the breastbone up top.
33:53Make a slice from those two bones all the way to that.
33:55Oh dear.
33:56Now she's ready to gut.
33:57Ready to gut.
33:59I just want to pause for a second and say that, you know, this business of knowing where
34:03our food comes from is kind of important.
34:05I mean, it's got to be important to you.
34:07I mean, this is what you're devoting your life to.
34:09I mean, people need to know, right, that this is how it works.
34:13We're still hunting, bringing, dressing, gathering, preparing, plucking, et cetera.
34:19Yes, sir.
34:20No reason to feel bad about any of this, right?
34:22Nope.
34:23This is going to be eaten, this bird.
34:24Nothing's going to go to waste on it.
34:26Well, some might.
34:28Yeah.
34:28There are a few things in here that might be wasted.
34:30Yeah, you do.
34:31Just reach on inside.
34:32Can I pull the intestines out first?
34:34Yeah, if you want.
34:34I'd like to.
34:35You'll find a big fat gizzard.
34:37Nope, no gizzard.
34:39I don't think this goose had a heart.
34:41Ah, yeah.
34:43I think I might, I may have, I may have the heart.
34:46Pull it on out.
34:47Let's see.
34:48Wow.
34:50There's the heart.
34:51Where's the gizzard?
34:53It's in there.
34:53This is one of the mysteries of the modern world.
34:56What's this thing?
34:57That's a gizzard I've been waiting for.
34:59Oh.
35:00What?
35:01This is, well, that's a gizzard, huh?
35:03What exactly is the gizzard in layman's terms?
35:06It's where the food gets stored.
35:08Uh-huh.
35:08And they pick up little pebbles because they don't have anything to grind it up and digest
35:13it, so they use the pebbles to grind it up and digest it.
35:16So instead of a stomach, the goose has a gizzard, and this is full of little rocks and stuff.
35:21Yeah.
35:21You want to cut it open?
35:23Are you kidding me?
35:27They're tough.
35:29So am I, Trini.
35:30So am I.
35:31I'm happy for you.
35:38Okay.
35:39All right.
35:40What are we looking at, Doctor?
35:41All right.
35:41So here's everything that's been eaten.
35:45Green.
35:45Feel in here?
35:46See the pebbles?
35:47The little tiny rocks?
35:48Yeah.
35:49Stuff in there?
35:49That's what it's using to grind it up.
35:51Oh, look at this.
35:54How cool is that?
35:54It's like dirt almost.
35:56Sand.
35:56It's a fine sand.
35:58Okay.
35:59Amazing.
36:00Now all we got to do is rinse her off.
36:02She's cleaned out.
36:05Rub him good.
36:07Polish the bird.
36:09T-shirt.
36:10See?
36:10That's what I'm talking about.
36:11Polish the bird.
36:13I might cheat a little bit.
36:14I push from this side, too.
36:16T-shirt.
36:17When you can't pull it, cut it.
36:19T-shirt.
36:20The male drake, the plumage is gorgeous.
36:23Once you get him undressed, he looks like this.
36:25T-shirt.
36:26They're hard to control when they're slippery.
36:30Now try it.
36:32T-shirt.
36:33Coming up.
36:34How do you know when a thing's full?
36:35Instinct.
36:36Mine or yours?
36:37Whoever speaks first.
36:39If pillows could talk, these would probably go quack.
36:43Oh, my God.
36:44We went crazy, didn't we?
36:45You want to make two?
36:46We over-stuffed it.
36:56I mean, this is not the image I want to leave with.
37:01I want to go back to the fluffy, nice, soft pillows you do.
37:04Just jam it in.
37:05Oh, pillows?
37:05I want to make a pillow.
37:08The walk to the other side of the building gives one time to psychologically make the transition
37:13from waterfowl cleaner to pillow stuffer.
37:16This is the headquarters for the actual pillow stuffing.
37:20The pillows company is 30 years old.
37:23Mm-hmm.
37:23Now, you're going to make a pillow.
37:25Mm-hmm.
37:26You get to choose which color you would like.
37:29Well, let's see.
37:31Neutral is the safe way to go.
37:33Blue, of course, is the traditional.
37:34All men like blue.
37:36Pink is the choice that a man would make who is so secure in his masculinity, he doesn't
37:40much care about the opinions of others.
37:42Really?
37:43Yeah, I'll take the blue.
37:44No, no.
37:45I want pink.
37:46Okay.
37:47That gets clamped down.
37:48Mm-hmm.
37:49This one is for arthritic hands.
37:52That's just to re-insure that it doesn't go blowing off.
37:55Well, I see you've really put that on there with a certain clarity that defies description.
37:59Reset it.
37:59Mm-hmm.
38:01Okay.
38:02For the arthritic hands.
38:04It's here.
38:05You've got to squeeze.
38:06Good.
38:07You can't let big wads jam here.
38:11It'll jam the machinery.
38:12You have to let an air flow.
38:14You have to look for this kind of stuff.
38:17Feathers.
38:18Well, this one's that rigid one I told you about.
38:22We don't want it in there.
38:23T-shirt.
38:24You've got to turn it on at a certain speed.
38:28Now, this is just airing here now, right?
38:33Man, if you couldn't hear me before, you'll never hear me with this on.
38:36How about it?
38:37It takes about two pounds of feathers.
38:39All right, here we go.
38:44How do you know when the thing's full?
38:49Uh, instinct.
38:51Oh.
38:53Mine or yours?
38:54Whoever speaks first.
38:57Ha-ha.
38:58Are you sure this thing's not full yet?
39:01I'm going to check it.
39:03Oh, my God.
39:09We went crazy, didn't we?
39:10Do you want to make two?
39:12We overstuffed it.
39:13I felt like, I mean, we took a quarter of your bag.
39:15Look at that.
39:16It's enough for a queen.
39:17A queen?
39:18Liberace?
39:20Oh, that wasn't too bad.
39:21No, what is it?
39:222.09?
39:23Yeah, that's too much.
39:25Oh, that's a nice pillow.
39:26There's no give to it.
39:28Pillows need to breathe.
39:33A little more.
39:34So you're sucking it out of this pillow.
39:36Right.
39:38Okay.
39:40I can sleep on that.
39:42Good.
39:43But obviously, we've got to do some sewing.
39:46And you hold it like this to keep it even.
39:49Whoa, I don't know why it's doing that.
39:55I think because you're going 90 miles an hour.
39:58Yeah.
39:58I thought you liked it fast.
39:59I thought you were all about speed, speed, speed.
40:07Good, good.
40:08Whoa, you've got to put your tag on.
40:13The contents of pillows are regulated by law and must be listed on the tag.
40:17Down and feather pillows like this must contain a minimum amount of down and must not exceed
40:23a maximum amount of feathers.
40:25Okay.
40:25I'm going to buy this from you, and I'm just going to take it on and rip it off.
40:28Okay, slow up a little bit.
40:29The consumer can remove the tag.
40:31All the way through?
40:32Go for it.
40:33You buy it, you can de-tag.
40:35There.
40:36Not bad.
40:37That's generally what I shoot for.
40:39Not good, not bad?
40:40Not good, not bad.
40:42Okay, beers on ice.
40:44Hold on, we're not done yet.
40:45Hold on.
40:47Come on, just let me say goodbye to you.
40:49Have a nice little wrap-up out of this crazy show.
40:51Oh, is that what you do?
40:52That's what I try and do.
40:53I don't know when I lost confidence.
40:54Tell you the day.
40:55Tell you the truth.
40:57You want a pillow fight?
40:58No, we're not going to strip down and have a pillow fight.
41:00All right.
41:01But I just want to tell you, it was an absolute treat to come out here.
41:04Thanks for cutting the heads off geese with me and taking off their feathers and pulling
41:07out their guts and then putting their soft down inside of these pillows.
41:10That was nice.
41:11How come you're so nice?
41:12Thanks, son.
41:13Can I give you a hug?
41:14Yeah.
41:14Oh, God, I love hugs.
41:15Okay, cool.
41:18I know, I know.
41:20You're sitting at home and you're scratching your head and you're saying, why in this age
41:23of enlightenment is it still necessary to blast these beautiful creatures out of the sky?
41:28And the answer is simple.
41:30Responsible hunting has always been a part of responsible conservation.
41:33Plus, they taste really good.
41:35And one other thing.
41:38If it weren't for Trudy and her arthritic knuckles and her 40 years of tireless service,
41:43our nights would be restless.
41:46And that is something to sleep on.
41:50Hey, over here.
41:57That's right.
41:58I'm talking to you.
42:00Come on.
42:01I want to show you something.
42:02I'm in the dark.
42:03I'm freezing.
42:05Hunting spiders.
42:06Look, I found one.
42:08He's small, but it's a good start.
42:10I'm here because you suggested I go hunt for spiders in the cold dark.
42:15Somebody went to discovery.com forward slash dirty jobs and said that very thing.
42:19So here I am doing your bidding.
42:22Now I'm done and I need a new idea.
42:24Discovery.com forward slash dirty jobs.
42:27Much obliged.
42:29Hurry.
42:31I'm freezing.
42:35It's the perfect food.
42:45You got it.
42:53All right.
42:54Take that tree.
43:00Something could have thought that one through a little better.
43:02It's the perfect food.
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