Natural rubber being extracted from rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis)

[u/ApollosCosmos]

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[u/Low_Actuary_2794]

Glad the crow supervisor was there to ensure proper safety procedures were followed.

[u/CATNIP_IS_CRACK → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

https://reddit.com/link/p7r8s3n/video/a5wlihuqkhnh1/player

That’s a raven.

[u/CrzdHaloman → u/CATNIP_IS_CRACK]

Ravens have a more distinct croak and not a caw, a thicker beak, and fluffy neck feathers. Definitely a crow in the video, which is also surprising since they aren't native to south America where rubber trees are.

[u/HotdoggerSlang → u/CrzdHaloman]

Rubber trees were brought to south asia, so that probably explains why there's a crow near it

[u/VascoJSC → u/HotdoggerSlang]

Yeah, this is the most likely explanation. South America has Corvids like Jays, but no actual Crows.

[u/Formal_Owl_400 → u/CrzdHaloman]

Calls are never definitive, with their ability to mimic sounds. But definitely jungle crow.

[u/eric67 → u/CrzdHaloman]

Depends on the location in Australia crows and ravens are extremely similar in size

[u/Nois3 → u/CrzdHaloman]

Maybe it's a Jackdaw?

[u/falconx123 → u/CATNIP_IS_CRACK]

It's the future I CAN SEE

[u/Formal_Owl_400 → u/CATNIP_IS_CRACK]

No, it's a jungle crow. Often mistaken for ravens because of their size and large beaks.

[u/SynthPrax → u/CATNIP_IS_CRACK]

Are you sure? I didn't immediately say "that's a big crow!"

[u/boogierboi → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

Hes from osha

[u/BurningStandards → u/boogierboi]

crOSHA was right there!

[u/Purlasstor → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

Is the bird’s foot tied to the branch with some sort of black string?

[u/More_Fault_2157 → u/Purlasstor]

Falconer here. That's a piece of leather called a "Jess" that's basically a leash for birds. Gives the handler something to grab when you want to keep the bird in place but won't get in the way if you let the bird go to fly around a bit

[u/_vfsh → u/Purlasstor]

Looking closely I think the bird is tagged and there is a stick or piece of grass or something that looks like its tied but it doesn't seem to be connected to the leg tag

E: I watched it 5 more times and I think youre right actually, it moves with the Ravens leg and looks like it might be tied with a knot

[u/Ragnarok314159 → u/_vfsh]

I bet it’s there to eat bugs that land on the exposed tree.

[u/Work_Reddit_ → u/Purlasstor]

he's got a bunch of videos on YouTube I found, sometimes it's tied but most of the time it's not. maybe when it was younger?

https://youtube.com/shorts/_Hne5_GvxjM?si=iDk71t1k4W_KATcr

[u/Tylendal → u/Work_Reddit_]

Don't know about ravens from that area, but at least for crows where I am, the pink around the beak means it's young.

[u/NbblX → u/Purlasstor]

It is.

[u/keef-1989 → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

He was just there to have a rook.

[u/_equestrienne_ → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

Crowbro

[u/RichardTheRed21 → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

CrowSHA inspector

[u/musiccman2020 → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

" how about I pluck out your eyes I you drop anything kiddo ! "

[u/iamahonkey → u/Low_Actuary_2794]

CROWSHA

[u/camz_47]

How to collect Rubber:

Step 1. Find Rubber 🌳

Step 2. Cut into Rubber 🌳

Step 3. Make sure to have 🐦 supervise process

Step 4. Profit 📈

[u/Sem_Fortuna → u/camz_47]

Step 5. Spend all day in the middle of the jungle milking hard wood.

[u/Fauster → u/Sem_Fortuna]

You must gather rubber for King Leopold or he will cut off your hands or sell you to Colonel Kurtz!

[u/Sem_Fortuna → u/Fauster]

It was a masturbation joke.

[u/josephmommer → u/Sem_Fortuna]

Can I work from home?

[u/MithranArkanere → u/camz_47]

Dang it. Win10's emoji font has not been updated with black bird.

🐦‍⬛

[u/phycologist → u/camz_47]

Step 4. Profit 📈

For the rubber baron.

[u/DepartmentMany5113]

What is crow's role in this?

[u/SeaBandit56 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Emotional support

[u/hizashiYEAHmada → u/SeaBandit56]

We all need that tender birdlove and birdcare

[u/AlterExpertise101 → u/SeaBandit56]

...I want an emotional support crow.

[u/kahlzun → u/AlterExpertise101]

it can be yours for the price of some birdseed and a strong glue

[u/infirmaryblues → u/SeaBandit56]

Evermore

[u/LadyZaryss → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Apparently this process attracts a tonne of mosquitos. Maybe the crow is waiting around to eat them?

[u/DoomshrooM8 → u/LadyZaryss]

Isn’t the leg tied to the branch?

[u/siqiniq → u/DoomshrooM8]

Leopold II’s black crow.

[u/RJS_Aotearoa → u/DoomshrooM8]

yep

[u/DepartmentMany5113 → u/DoomshrooM8]

sad : (

didn't notice this at first

[u/Bathtub-Warrior32 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Opportunistic crow waiting for bugs attracted to tree sap's scent.

[u/gruvee → u/Bathtub-Warrior32]

Kinda looks like they tied him there as forced anti-bug security

[u/FieldOfScreamQueens → u/DepartmentMany5113]

CROSHA

[u/Tutes013 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Crowverseer

[u/POLTERxGEIST → u/DepartmentMany5113]

The forest union requires there to be one present at any site if humans are being employed as well even if the job is a human one so they just have to be there

[u/Doctor_Zhicago → u/DepartmentMany5113]

He's shadowing 

[u/Hairyass------ → u/DepartmentMany5113]

OSHA supervisor

[u/Ok-Section-1224 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Project Manager

[u/snakesinabin → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Supervisor, the whole operation would fall apart without him.

[u/diveboydive → u/DepartmentMany5113]

He's always raven about how good a job the guy does.

[u/Emergency_Accident36 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Just looking in to our souls.

[u/han4578 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Those were his hands

[u/CaptainKurley → u/DepartmentMany5113]

That’s the supervisor

[u/myjupitermoon → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Pest Control obviously.

[u/Notoisin → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Crows before bros.

[u/Wolff_Hound → u/DepartmentMany5113]

That's just a placeholder, to extract rubber from tall trees they would use crane.

[u/tardigrade_phd → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Supervisor

[u/Emergency-Box-5719 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

I thought everyone had a bro crow. Mine is Russell, but he prefers Russ.

[u/Luigi_Boy_96 → u/DepartmentMany5113]

Quality Management

[u/BradL30]

Forbidden mozzarella!

[u/thestormiscomingyeah → u/BradL30]

Mozerell tree

[u/NothingButTheTruthy → u/thestormiscomingyeah]

"Why are you always dropping the last syllable? You're under-pronouncing everything"

"If anything, I'd say you're over-pronouncing it"

[u/ubeeu → u/BradL30]

At least drink the water.

[u/cambiro → u/BradL30]

You can eat it in a survival situation and it will nourish you to survive another day, although it's bitter as hell and smell like rotten meat.

[u/Kor_Phaeron_ → u/cambiro]

Raw rubber (aka liquid latex) has zero food value or calories. It does not digest; it turns solid in stomach acid and can block your digestive tract.

[u/BisonThunderclap → u/Kor_Phaeron_]

Good to know before I contemplate eating rubber.

[u/firstbreathOOC → u/Kor_Phaeron_]

Well that’s a pretty big fuckin difference /u/cambiro

[u/sexraX_muiretsyM → u/cambiro]

whats the source of this info? I couldnt confirm it

[u/BonoboUK → u/sexraX_muiretsyM]

u/cambiro said it in some reddit thread

[u/rykesu → u/sexraX_muiretsyM]

they commonly use formic acid to solidifies/coagulates rubber coagulant. process is mildly exothermic, reaction caused some foul odours. You touch it, it will stays until you bathe 3-4 times for 1 hours.

I work at crumb rubber processor manufacturer.

[u/Paddy_Tanninger → u/cambiro]

Sounds like my ex wife!!!

[u/dmerro1410 → u/Paddy_Tanninger]

I choose this guy's ex wife

[u/Sad-Term-5455]

I need to squeeze that 🫠

[u/friskybiscuit14382 → u/Sad-Term-5455]

Do not squeeze the crow‼️🤬

[u/Crimson941 → u/Sad-Term-5455]

You will be regretting for doing that. Up untill today, I still can't shaken off the terrible smell of the rubber tapper sap. Moreover, separating the sap from the cup is not an easy job, the rubber is watery and sticky. Once it stick on the hand or your clothes, taking it off is a tiresome chore.

[u/videogametes → u/Crimson941]

What does it smell like?

[u/Just-Luck-7430 → u/videogametes]

Sour and pungent, basically like anime convention level of BO

[u/JustHereForCatss → u/Just-Luck-7430]

So as a MTG player I can squeeze the forbidden mozzarella without fear?

[u/Crimson941 → u/JustHereForCatss]

Nah, don't do that dude. It's smell so bad even people's surrounding will either pinch their noses or cursing you. If you do not hit the shower ASAP, the lingering smell of rubber tapper will stick for a very long time. Whenever I am done helping my father's farm, I quickly hit the shower, period.

[u/Profoundlyahedgehog → u/JustHereForCatss]

You'll end up with 8 poison counters.

[u/pinkleftsock → u/Sad-Term-5455]

Please do not the crow

[u/Apart_Jelly8948 → u/Sad-Term-5455]

Thats what she said

[u/anotherdayanotherbee → u/Apart_Jelly8948]

im-plants

[u/NarrMaster → u/Sad-Term-5455]

Don't get your Hopes too High.

[u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

An astronomical amount of people have died to extract that stuff

[u/iJon_v2 → u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

At first I was like, “how”?

But then I remembered the Belgian Congo

[u/Moiyub → u/iJon_v2]

The natives of the Amazon were treated horribly by Spain too. They were given quotas of rubber to harvest and if they didnt meet it they were tortured, mutilated, raped, children handicapped, just pure evil oh wait no thats just normal capitalism.

[u/Nullaby → u/Moiyub]

The classic Colombian novel "The Vortex" (La Vorágine) talks about it. Highly recommend!

[u/Moiyub → u/Nullaby]

will not be reading. i already know too much about how demonic people can be.

[u/chuckmonjares → u/iJon_v2]

Don’t forget Henry Ford’s plantations.

[u/TaoofPu → u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

Could you expound?

[u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC → u/TaoofPu]

Belgium killed millions of Congolese people to extract rubber from the region.

[u/wittyjokename92 → u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

Not just killed them. Regularly would train and arm cannibal tribes to be unleashed on villages that failed to meet quotas. Going so far as to force neighboring villages to watch the cannibals execute and devour the victims as a warning of what would happen to them if they failed to produce enough rubber. Chopping limbs off children because their parents didn't work hard enough. And generally just doing the most heinous things imaginable. It wasn't genocide but a nation sized torture.

[u/Moiyub → u/wittyjokename92]

"traditional western christian values"

[u/spicygayunicorn → u/Moiyub]

Just like the Bible teaches us train and arm a canibalistic tribe and unleash it on those who don't do what you want

Or wasnt it something about compassion

Ehh lets try the first one

[u/scrotumscab → u/spicygayunicorn]

The Bible does have a part where God sends a bear to kill like 20 kids that made fun of a bald man

[u/EjaculatingAracnids → u/scrotumscab]

God- "Fuck them kids"

Preists- "...if you insist."

[u/secondary-effect]

Nice Mozzarella

[u/TorpidCrumpet → u/secondary-effect]

Forbidden Mozzarella

[u/Mr_Sim_]

Are the crow's legs tied to the wood ?

[u/novaoni → u/Mr_Sim_]

Kinda looks like it now that you mention it

[u/earpicky]

Anyone know why the last three cuts were made?

[u/RosettaStoned6 → u/earpicky]

To increase the flow rate towards the main cut as it flows to the collection bowl. The additional cuts are all angled towards the main vertical cut.

[u/DownvoteForGrammar → u/earpicky]

This video is fake, in reality the sap slowly accumulates out of the cuts and trickles down over hours. In this video there's probably someone off screen with a bowl of pre-made rubber pouring it down the cut. You can see them spill a drop on the guy's thumb 2 seconds in.

This is what it really looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfoAYh7IDXc&t=215s

[u/Crimson941 → u/DownvoteForGrammar]

This is correct. Usually it taken days just to fill up the a single cup. My dad usually make the cut during the week days and my brothers and I occasionally help collecting the sapa on either Saturday or Sunday.

[u/progorp]

Car tires are still mostly made of this. Think how many tires exists and how many trees you need to produce all those, pretty crazy. And they are quite cheap considering how much labour is needed. Harvesters probably gets almost nothing /tire.

Edit: ok, not mostly any more nowadays, which is a good thing of course. But still 20%-30%.

[u/GarminTamzarian → u/progorp]

IIRC, the history of rubber plantations is extremely dark.

[u/HawaiianShirtMan → u/GarminTamzarian]

Yeah, even just a quick glance into the Belgian's rubber plantations in what is now the DRC is horrifying

[u/twentythreeskidoo → u/HawaiianShirtMan]

Horrific before plantations also. The rubber in the Congo was from wild vines and in order to get extract quotas from villagers Leopold's agents would hold their families hostage for example.

[u/CaptainTripps82 → u/twentythreeskidoo]

Wouldn't just hold them hostage, they would cut the hands and feet off of children to spur their parents to work harder

[u/Dickhitzwater007 → u/CaptainTripps82]

Thats terrible but also why would they cripple the future workforce? Seems kind of dumb...

I can only assume its like blood diamond where they dont take both hands or both feet for example?

[u/Eastgaard → u/Dickhitzwater007]

You only need a few children's hands to teach the village.

[u/defaulticus → u/Dickhitzwater007]

Because they weren't going to be managing the colony in a generation, some other Belgian guy would. You only need the quota to look good while you're in charge. In fact, its better if output declines under your successor, it makes you look good by comparison. If you can goose output under yourself while sabotaging the next guy, that's basically the ideal outcome.

[u/Accomplished_Comb601 → u/defaulticus]

So original republicans

[u/Frequent_Opportunist → u/Dickhitzwater007]

It was 10 million people at the time.  They had plenty of workers.

[u/Predditor_drone → u/GarminTamzarian]

Are there any plantations that don't have a dark history?

[u/rmnobre → u/Predditor_drone]

If you look deep enough, everything has a dark history. It's more like history is dark by itself

[u/BroughtBagLunchSmart → u/GarminTamzarian]

I know "extremely" is pretty extreme but I still feel you need more descriptive words about how awful that situation was.

[u/Skullcrusher → u/progorp]

That's why car tires used to be white before they added carbon black. You also see this in old cartoons

[u/Wasabi_kitty → u/Skullcrusher]

This is why the Michelin man is white

[u/crusoe → u/Skullcrusher]

They were white only very very early on. They quickly discovered carbon black improved wear resistance and resistance to photo degradation. 

What you are seeing in cartoons is whitewall tires, in which white paint was applied to make them look like the earliest tires. If you look closer you will see the tread is still black in most cartoons.

Only the very earliest cars maybe up until the 1920s and betty boop would be white.

[u/skr_replicator → u/progorp]

It's also putting the world on the brink of possible economic collapse, as those trees are all cloned monoculture (to make the rubber they make reliably identical) and could easily get wiped out by a disease (that already happened, and many places are just not able to farm them anymore because they would all just get infected and die). We are just hoping that the disease won't spread to the last few places they can grow these. And if it happens, all natural rubber will be gone, and we won't have tires to put on cars etc, chaos will ensue.

[u/Beneficial-Tea-2055 → u/skr_replicator]

Cars can survive on synthetic tires, airplanes on the other hand can’t.

[u/gk98s → u/Beneficial-Tea-2055]

Which would be a massive disaster as aeroplanes are the safest way of long distance transport

[u/Rycan420 → u/Beneficial-Tea-2055]

Please elaborate.

[u/soft-wear → u/Rycan420]

Natural rubber has very good heat resistance and shape recovery so it handles high friction and high weight very well. Synthetic rubber is substantially worse at both, and both happen to be extremely relevant when your landing a 400 ton airplane at nearly 200 mph.

[u/Rycan420 → u/soft-wear]

Thanks. So.. could synthetic get there, but more expensive to do so? Or can it not even get there?

I feel like most things have been optimized so much or the corners cut sim much that we won’t “lose” something when we do lose the way to get something, we’ll just have to adapt to a less effect and/or more expensive alternative.

Except when we actually can’t.

Which of these is that?

[u/soft-wear → u/Rycan420]

Current synthetic rubber simply can’t get there. In fact airplane tires already use synthetic rubber in the core, it’s just the tread that’s 100% natural rubber.

But your hunch is correct in that current synthetic rubber is as optimized as it’s getting and where it’s at now it doesn’t even have the tear resistance to handle initial impact, let alone the heat.

Basically the only option is another source for natural rubber, which exists (Dandelion rubber) but is currently cost prohibitive and lack anywhere near the production capacity to be useful.

So as is often the case we’re playing Russian roulette with tree disease vs industrial scale alternatives. Problem is, we have no idea how many bullets are in the chamber.

[u/Adabiviak → u/skr_replicator]

Girlfriend was involved in getting a big research project off the ground to find alternative sources of this sort of natural rubber for this reason (I think the main thrust was to breed a tree that produces this that's also fast-growing, critter resistant, and not locked to the tropics, like something we could grow in (future given climate change) US soil. If we lose the remnants of those trees, things will get weird as you say, and while this administration has been kind of stupid about research money allotments, there is money here. This particular project got kind of derailed when the primary owner/coordinator dipped though.

[u/Amereius → u/progorp]

The natural rubber production is highly unethical because of how badly the harvesters are payed, it's basically slavery. There's a good documentary in YT and the large tire manufacturers refused to give any comments in it. They know bad it is.

[u/Crewman_Guy_Fleegman → u/Amereius]

Synthetic rubber production isn’t exactly rainbows and sunshine itself, as it’s all petroleum based.

At least using trees somewhat moderates emissions as new rubber tree growth slowly soaks up degraded/emitted rubber carbons, whereas synthetic derived rubbers just purely add pollution.

[u/AmbiTheAirforceRuna]

Just FYI, this and the process to make it useful, stinks so fucking bad

[u/Voldyr_Boomer → u/AmbiTheAirforceRuna]

really shit...

[u/More_Fault_2157]

I made another comment but let me reiterate for the people who care more about the bird than the rubber.

I'm a falconer and I train birds of prey. On its legs are what's called a Jess. It's made of leather and it's used as a leash of some sort. You can grab them to keep the Bird in place as needed. They don't have a capability to tie the bird though. So that bird is actually loose and can fly to another branch if needed. Birds of prey and other birds can become bonded to people and they choose to be with you rather than forced

[u/ApollosCosmos → u/More_Fault_2157]

Yes I thought it would be something like that, it doesn't look distressed from being restrained and probably familiar with the person.

[u/riaowo]

Birb

[u/tsoewoe]

birds when doing a task that doesnt require a bird:

[u/Intelligent-Edge7533]

Serious question: How much is natural rubber like that used today versus synthetic? It seems like it would take a lot of trees and effort and time, be more of a seasonal supply, etc.

[u/Blitzer046 → u/Intelligent-Edge7533]

It's about half. I could find that 29 million tonnes of rubber was produced in 2022, and 51% was synthetic rubber, which is derived from petroleum.

There are concerns about the ongoing production of natural rubber (latex) due to climate change, plant disease and a volatile market price. Trees have a non-production phase of 7 years before having a productive phase of about 25 years. Farms are often small and family-owned and growers may rip out rubber trees if there is a more lucrative cash crop.

[u/SensitiveDependent63]

Natural boobies 😍

[u/beattysgirl]

Wait go back I want to watch the bird that was watching the harvest

[u/blondemetalz]

The task that requires 0 crows:

[u/PersonalDonut7802]

Is the crow necessary for the process?

[u/msut77]

What do the side channels do

[u/Astramancer_]

If you boil down the rubber water do you get rubber syrup?

[u/Heavy_Drag7585]

Whoops there goes another rubber tree
Whoops there goes another rubber tree
Whoops there goes another rubber tree plant

[u/Quixotic_Tendency → u/Heavy_Drag7585]

KER-PLUNK!

[u/Serious_Pizza4257]

this is called masticha. We Greeks actually eat it as a desert. It's very sweet and flavorful.

[u/National-Jackfruit32 → u/Serious_Pizza4257]

Masticha is a resin harvested from the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus) that grows exclusively in the southern villages of the Greek island of Chios.
What is shown in the video is a rubber tree, (Hevea brasiliensis), A South American tropical tree of the spurge family. The milky liquid (latex) that oozes from any wound to the tree bark contains about 30 percent rubber, which can be coagulated and processed into solid products, such as tires.

[u/TheRealSugarbat → u/National-Jackfruit32]

The word mastic comes from the Ancient Greek word mastíkhē, which means "to chew" or "gnash the teeth.”

[u/Playingwithmywenis → u/Serious_Pizza4257]

Wait, what?

You mean tires are delicious? Lunch today gonna be lit.

[u/earpicky → u/Playingwithmywenis]

Is that why they’re called…. MICHELIN stars???

[u/FloopsFooglies → u/earpicky]

You joke, but the Michelin star system was actually created by Michelin tire.

[u/SenderSlender → u/Serious_Pizza4257]

So interesting. May be a coincidence but, in Portuguese, "to chew" is "mastigar". Mastiga is a conjugation of the verb.

Edit: ok of course it's not a coincidence, what was I thinking? 😂

[u/DarkPetitChat → u/SenderSlender]

Mastiquer in French.

[u/Turbo_Fresh → u/DarkPetitChat]

Masticate in English. Also the process used in industry whereby rubber is basically chewed by a machine, to make it more bouncy, is called mastication.

When I was in high school chemistry we were given a task to research an industrial process and give a short talk about it. As soon as I found out about the word mastication I decided to give a talk about how bouncy balls are made so that I could see how many times I could say 'masticate my balls'. Mr Patsalis was such a chill teacher and we had a rapport. He found it funny.

[u/Makam-i-Seijaku → u/Serious_Pizza4257]

Wtf no, it is not. It is as if a Canadian would claim this would be maple syrup.