I helped break a 142-year old bell, and that's okay.

It's good to have the real Tom Scott back. We've been surviving on substitutes for a while now, but there's nothing like the real thing.

In Tom's first video back on YouTube, he takes us to see four bells cast in Loughborough, England at Taylor's Bellfoundry. You can check out their behind the scenes video of the visit below and can visit their site here.

Tom sees them make the forms - out of sand, resin, horse manure, graphite, straw, and a whole lot of experience. It's an impressive process which results in four absolutely gorgeous bells cast in bronze.

Amazing Lego-Style HEMP BLOCKS Make Building a House Quick, Easy & Sustainable

Hempcrete?

The hempcrete blocks make me think a whole lot of straw bricks, a pretty old composite technology - which falls into my frequently-reinforced observation that the more environmentally friendly a technology is, the more likely it is to be an updated version of technology that humans were using a thousand or more years ago.

Here the 'hempcrete' is really hemp hurd mixed with lime. The lime then absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as the hempcrete sets.

Hemp has long been put forth as a renewable resource with fibers that can be useful in lots of ways.

If you're interested in learning more about hempcrete...

• Carbon Smart Materials Palette
• American Lime Technology
• Hempitecture
• Hemptraders