The first carries compressed air, water, communications and a constant supply of electricity to power lights that are intended to simulate daytime and nighttime.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In 1990 an equivalent gun would have used 15 times as much compressed air as water, and thus been far more expensive to run.

ECONOMIST: Snowmaking

Air is pumped in and then compressed by the mass of water above it.

FORBES: The Most Important Man in Energy Storage? Try Archimedes

Made of pork shoulder, ham, salt and water, all compressed in a can, the processed meat product became popular during World War II.

BBC: A Spam-tastic festival in Hawaii

The GE team began its energy treasure hunt at Weidmann by shutting down everything at the factory and searching for things like lights unnecessarily left on, compressed air leaks and running water.

FORBES: In Hunt For Energy Savings, GE Woos Clients

Compressed air blows away any factory gnorts, the body is inspected for tiny defects and degreased using an environmentally safe water-based solution and surfaces are wiped with tack cloth in between each process to remove dust.

FORBES: A Private Tour Of Aston-Martin's Factory