The car wash you get to ride through on a journey to sparklingness is made of a handful of different tools that have been developed over the last century. They have just now reached the point where it all works together so well the industry is booming.
AI Summary
In this episode of Stuff You Should Know, Josh and Chuck dive into the surprisingly rich history of the automated car wash in America, from early 1900s automobile laundries to the high-tech touchless systems of today. They explore how the car wash industry has continuously evolved to reduce human labor, trace the invention of the first fully automated systems in the 1950s, and explain the different types of car washes you'll encounter—from friction-based tunnel washes to touchless laser systems. Along the way, they share personal car-washing stories and break down the technical details of how your car actually gets cleaned as it moves through the tunnel.
"like the blood of the uh what was the creature in Alien? That has a name I can't think of. The Xenomorph. — Josh compares water spots on a car to the acidic blood of the Xenomorph from Alien dripping through levels."
— Josh
"Was that in Aliens? The very first Alien has that sort of iconic moment where it's dripping down through all the levels. — Chuck and Josh discuss whether the iconic Xenomorph blood scene was in Aliens or the original Alien film."
— Chuck
"And then also Breaking Bad's Car Wash, two very famous car washes. — Josh references the car wash featured prominently in the TV series Breaking Bad as a famous car wash in media."
— Josh
Car Wash
1976
PG
1h 37m
★ 6.0
"we cannot go through this episode without mentioning the great movie Car Wash — Josh mentions the classic movie Car Wash as a notable film that should be referenced in an episode about car washes."
— Josh
Day of the Dead
1985
NR
1h 41m
★ 7.0
"And was that day of the dead in the mall? Oh, I don't know. I just sort of threw that in there. — Josh asks if Day of the Dead had a mall sequence, though he admits he was speculating."
— Josh
High Maintenance
2016
TV-MA
★ 6.9
"because of the great TV show, High Maintenance, I got it from Ben Sinclair in High Maintenance — Chuck mentions the TV show High Maintenance as the source of his car wash tradition of playing the song Plantasia while going through the car wash."
— Chuck
Invasion U.S.A.
1985
1h 47m
★ 5.7
"you're gonna be shooting Chuck Norris movies and zombie movies in a car wash like you can an abandoned mall. Right. Exactly. Oh yeah. That was good stuff. Invasion USA, right? — Josh mentions Invasion USA as an example of a movie shot in an abandoned location, comparing it to potential uses for abandoned car wash buildings."
— Josh
Mad Max
1979
1h 31m
★ 6.7
"I mean, look what, uh, I guess in Mad Max, it was gasoline, but any water shortage movie, all the cars are dirty. — Chuck references Mad Max as an example of a movie depicting resource scarcity where cars are dirty due to lack of water."
— Chuck
Night of the Comet
1984
1h 35m
★ 6.2
"Night of the Comet had a mall sequence. There'd been plenty of, yeah. — Chuck mentions Night of the Comet as another movie featuring a mall sequence, in the context of discussing movies shot in abandoned malls."
— Chuck
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