Modern Marvels

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  • History
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  • Documentary History

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13
13x1
Wind
Episode overview
This episode has no summary.
13x1
Containers
Episode overview
They hold just about everything we need, from condiments to cargo. Made of steel, aluminum, paper and glass, they protect and preserve. They're underground and above ground, they journey around the world. They've revolutionized civilization.
13x2
Fire
Episode overview
Out of control it’s a monster with a voracious appetite. Properly harnessed it’s a force that has shaped our world. We’ve learned to create and exploit it, but we’ll never truly tame it. .. show full overview
13x3
Cotton
Episode overview
Tune in as Modern Marvels looks into the history of cotton, a product used in hundreds of different products, from clothing to lipstick.
13x6
Cotton
Episode overview
Cotton takes us on a journey from the California cotton fields to the textile mills of North Carolina, the cotton oil mills of Arkansas, and back to the garment factories of Los Angeles. .. show full overview
13x7
Engineering Disasters 18
Episode overview
Engineering disasters highlighted include a coal mine in China, a crane collapse in Milwaukee, ground water contaminated with gasoline additives, and the hazards of radiation. Also .. show full overview
13x61
Nature Tech: Lightning
Episode overview
Modern Marvels examines the incredible phenomenon we know as lightning.
13x5
Engineering Disasters 18
Episode overview
Modern Marvels shows more of the world's biggest engineering disasters. We look at faults in the U.S. Army's Stryker Light Armored Vehicle, the Sunjiawan coal-mine explosion in China in .. show full overview
13x5
Candy
Episode overview
It pulls, stretches, bubbles, hardens, crunches, and melts! We eat about 7-billion tons of it yearly. We’re talking about Candy–loved by kids and savored by adults. Candy-making evolved .. show full overview
13x4
Cola Wars
Episode overview
The story behind the intense cola war between Coca-Cola and Pepsi in their quest to dominate the soft drink market.
13x6
Weird Weapons: The Axis
Episode overview
Examining unusual World War II weapons that were in the planning or testing stages for use by the Axis powers. Included: an assault rifle that could shoot around corners; a death ray capable of boiling people; and an army in space.
13x2
Nature Tech: Avalanche
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This episode has no summary.
13x7
Nature Tech: Avalanches
Episode overview
Examining unusual World War II weapons that were in the planning or testing stages for use by the Allies. Included: floating tanks; pigeon-guided missiles.
13x8
Engineering Disasters: New Orleans
Episode overview
Modern Marvels examines the destruction Hurricane Katrina caused in New Orleans.
13x9
Leather
Episode overview
Made by the tanning of animal hides, leather has proven to be a versatile and important material. Without it, the Pilgrims may not have survived the winters in Plymouth, and the Romans may not have been able to march to the Tigris.
13x11
Engineering disasters 19
Episode overview
The background into the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, two Boeing 737 crashes, a nuclear disaster near Los Angeles, and an oil storage facility.
13x12
Engineering Disasters 19
Episode overview
More engineering disasters are profiled, including the sinking of SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 in Lake Superior; two Boeing 737 crashes; a diesel-fuel leak, a radiation-spilling accident .. show full overview
13x11
Insulation
Episode overview
Although quite simple in nature, insulation is a very important component in keeping our homes a comfortable temperature. In this episode, we'll find out the history of insulation and .. show full overview
13x12
Hi-Tech Hitler
Episode overview
This is the true story of the scientific feats and failures of Hitler's Nazi Germany.
13x13
Hi-Tech Hitler
Episode overview
Germany is portrayed as a nation leading the world in science and technology prior to World War Two. But it squandered this wealth of knowledge, which should have enabled it to win the .. show full overview
13x13
Shovels
Episode overview
Man has always had a need to move large amounts of earth. In this episode, we profile the technological advances which have allowed shovels to become absolutely enormous, capable of carrying 200 tons of earth in one load today.
13x14
Shovels
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13x14
Drilling
Episode overview
The program features the quest to drill the deepest hole ever and the scientific drill ship expected to perform the feat, and also looks at drills used to recover ice cores that will unearth thousands of years of climate history.
13x15
Drilling
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13x17
80's Tech
Episode overview
Remember “brick” cell phones, Pac-Man, Rubik’s Cube, Sony Walkman, and the first music CDs? Remember all the new and exciting gadgets of the 1980s? Join us as we investigate the .. show full overview
13x46
80's Tech
Episode overview
Technology from the 1980s is remembered, including early cell phones and CD players; the Sony Walkman; and personal computers. Also: comments by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak; and a tour of the Computer History Museum in California.
13x16
Ben Franklin Tech
Episode overview
One of the most prodigious American inventors, Ben Franklin is credited for creating things like the lightning rod, the armonica, the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, and the flexible .. show full overview
13x17
Ben Franklin Tech
Episode overview
This episode has no summary.
13x19
Copper Kings
Episode overview
More than a century ago two men controlled nearly all of U.S. copper production, transforming Butte, Montana from a washed-up gold-mining camp into a global powerhouse. William Clark, a .. show full overview
13x18
Heavy Metals
Episode overview
Some metals are so critical to the US economy the the Federal Government retains a strategic stock pile of them. This program describes how these metals are produced and what they are .. show full overview
13x20
Heavy Metals
Episode overview
They are elements that occupy a select portion of the periodic table and are so essential to America's economic and military might that they are stored in the National Defense Stockpile .. show full overview
13x19
Money
Episode overview
How does America make money--literally? We visit the United States Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see the secretive government facilities where our legal tender is .. show full overview
13x19
Horsepower
Episode overview
Everything related to horsepower beginning with the definition of what exactly horsepower is and how it is measured. Profiled are some of the fastest, largest, most dangerous, and most powerful engines ever made.
13x40
Horsepower
Episode overview
Buckle up for a rip-roaring ride through the world of extreme horsepower. Experience the fastest accelerating cars on earth. Find out how horsepower was first coined as a marketing tool .. show full overview
13x20
BBQ Tech
Episode overview
An old-fashioned style of cooking, barbecue has evolved into a modern food craze and spawned a multi-billion dollar industry. We digest famous barbecue cook-offs and visit .. show full overview
13x20
BBQ Tech
Episode overview
This episode has no summary.
13x22
High Explosives
Episode overview
Since the creation of black powder in China centuries ago, explosives have been decisive on the battlefield. Follow their incendiary story from ancient times right up to today's plastic demolitions.
13x25
Pirate Tech
Episode overview
Bold, cunning, and audacious, pirates are a breed of fighting men and women who have terrorized the high seas since before recorded history. At the height of their power in the 1700's .. show full overview
13x22
World's Biggest Machines 5
Episode overview
The world's largest engineering feats are explored. Included: NASA's wind tunnel and flight simulator at the Ames Research Center in California; a continuous mining machine in .. show full overview
13x24
Boneyard: Where Machines End Their Lives
Episode overview
Where do machines go when they die? From B-52 Bombers to massive aircraft carriers, from passenger cars to Cold War cruise missiles and remnants of the Twin Towers, all that we .. show full overview
13x26
World's Biggest Machines 5
Episode overview
Join us for another look at big machines. At NASA's Ames Research Center, we visit the world's biggest wind tunnel, part of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex, and one of the .. show full overview
13x28
Super Tools: Skyscraper
Episode overview
Skyscrapers are an extraordinary feat of human engineering: exposing millions of pounds of concrete and steel to the enemy forces of wind and gravity. Starting with the foundation and on .. show full overview
13x26
Super Tools: Skyscrapers
Episode overview
Skyscrapers are an extraordinary feat of human engineering: exposing millions of pounds of concrete and steel to the enemy forces of wind and gravity. Starting with the foundation and on .. show full overview
13x27
The AK-47
Episode overview
The development of the deadly Avtomat Kalashnikova, 1947, known as the AK-47, is discussed by its inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov, who talks about working within the secretive world of the Soviet military at the height of the Cold War.
13x23
Nuts
Episode overview
The story of how nuts from harvest to consumption feed the world.
13x28
Nuts
Episode overview
Pintsized as a pea or big as a bowling ball, nutritional, durable, and versatile, nuts have been a staple of the human diet since time began, and archaeological evidence places them .. show full overview
13x29
Classic Cars
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This episode has no summary.
13x30
Making Medieval Armor
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13x31
Rube Goldberg
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13x25
Mummy Tech
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13x33
Mummy Tech
Episode overview
After thousands of years, Egyptian mummies are speaking from the grave. With the use of state-of-the-art computer tomography scanning we explore inside a 2,000-year-old mummified body of an Egyptian child.
13x29
Renewable Energy
Episode overview
Global problems require global solutions. Modern Marvels: Renewable Energy, a one-hour History Channel documentary, shows how the combined forces of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, .. show full overview
13x26
Levees
Episode overview
This episode has no summary.
13x34
Levees
Episode overview
From collapsing floodwalls in New Orleans to high-tech mechanical storm surge barriers in Europe, we'll explore the 2,500-year history of keeping rivers and tides at bay by erecting levees.
13x27
Water
Episode overview
Water is examined as a natural wonder and as the substance that sustains life. Also studied is the technology it supports and which supports it. Included: irrigation systems; fountains; and the bottled-water industry.
13x35
Water
Episode overview
Water, the most needed substance for life, so powerful it can carve our landscape, yet so nurturing it can spawn life and support its intricate matrix.
13x33
Cola Wars
Episode overview
Coke vs Pepsi for world supremacy. Each year, Americans consume more soft drinks than tap water. Available in nearly 200 countries, Coca-Cola alone sells one-billion bottles, cans, and .. show full overview
13x37
Copper
Episode overview
It transports electricity, water, and heat. It brings music to our ears and beauty to our eyes. Copper--its impressive traits, long history, and how it's mined. This versatile metal’s most famous attribute is its ability to conduct electricity.
13x39
Building in the Name of God
Episode overview
The greatest religious structures are marvels of engineering, technology, and invention, representing not only the glory of God, but also the ingenuity of man.
13x30
Freight Trains
Episode overview
The story behind the development and the modern innovations of freight trains.
13x41
Renewable Energy
Episode overview
Take an in-depth look at the most proven and reliable sources: solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels, and tidal power. From the experimental to the tried-and-true, renewable energy sources .. show full overview
13x42
Freight Trains
Episode overview
Explore the history of freight transportation from its humble beginnings as tramways in mines to complex system of rails that stretches to every corner of the nation.
13x43
Cities of the Underworld
Episode overview
Teamed with leading archeologists and experts, peel back the layers of the past--to reveal a hidden history that hasn't seen the light of day for ages.
13x44
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
Episode overview
The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway is comprised of a system of canals, land cuts, and a series of natural and artificial barrier islands, which provide a protected passage for low-draft .. show full overview
13x32
Stealth and Beyond: Sea Stealth
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This episode has no summary.
13x40
Sea Stealth
Episode overview
It's one thing to make a 60-foot-long jet aircraft seem invisible, but quite another to hide a 400-foot-long warship from the prying eyes of an enemy. Explore the challenging world of .. show full overview
13x41
Air Stealth
Episode overview
They are the swarthy eagles of the sky: Past, present, and future advances in stealth military aircraft
13x47
Ink
Episode overview
Invented by the Chinese in about 3000BC, it spread the word of God and war. It set us free and spelled out our rights. It tells stories, sells products and solves crimes. It's ink and it's everywhere!
13x43
More Earth Movers
Episode overview
Join us for a second look at the big earth-moving machines used to tackle the most challenging jobs on, under, and off Earth! We'll ride on specialized behemoth dump trucks, delve below .. show full overview
13x44
Distilleries 2
Episode overview
It's an art, it's a science and it's a marriage of vapor and water. From the elite to the illegal, the banned, to the celebrated, the distillation of spirits is a 50 billion dollar a .. show full overview
13x35
World's Strongest
Episode overview
Some of the world's strongest machines featured include tractor pull sleds and tugboats. Also profiled are the world's strongest rope and plastic, spider silk, and the many uses of diamonds.
13x45
World's Strongest
Episode overview
Strength...a powerful word, but what does it mean? How is it measured? Why are some things simply stronger than others. How strong is a rope, a tractor, a diamond, a tugboat or even plastic. How and why strength matther to us every day.
13x36
Tomcat Sunset
Episode overview
This episode has no summary.
13x50
The Final Farewell to the F-14 Tomcat
Episode overview
Hosted by Terry Deitz, a former Tomcat pilot, this special explores the legacy of one of the greatest fighter jets ever built. Witness first hand the last F-14 catapult launches and .. show full overview
13x37
Tobacco
Episode overview
This episode has no summary.
13x51
Tobacco
Episode overview
Discovered around 18,000 years ago, tobacco was first cultivated in the Andes between 5000 and 3000 B.C. At a modern tobacco farm in North Carolina, a farmer will show how the crop is .. show full overview
13x38
The Supermarket
Episode overview
The history of supermarkets and a behind the scenes look at how they operate.
13x52
The Supermarket
Episode overview
Our basic need and desire for food has made the supermarket one of the great success stories of modern retailing. Making customers' visits to the market as efficient as possible has led .. show full overview
13x39
Breakfast Tech
Episode overview
Wether it's bacon, eggs, and toast, oatmeal, a breakfast sandwich or cold cereal; it's the most important meal of the day. Sit back with glass of orange juice and see how your breakfast .. show full overview
13x53
Breakfast Tech
Episode overview
It slices and squeezes, sorts and sizes, mixes and cooks. Every morning we count on it to keep our orange juice fresh, our eggs whole, our cereals flaked, and our McGriddle syrupy--this is Breakfast Tech.
13x50
Harvesting 2
Episode overview
In America's orchards and farm fields, the constant struggle between hand labor and mechanization has produced dozens of efficient and sometimes bizarre harvesting methods. Learn the .. show full overview
13x54
Wine
Episode overview
A glass a day is said to keep the doctor away. A defeated Napoleon drowned his sorrows in it; Thomas Jefferson became obsessed with it. Wine is an integral part of our culture and more .. show full overview
13x42
Engineering Disasters 20
Episode overview
The story behind BP's Texas City oil refinery explosion in 2005, the 2001 crash of an American Airlines flight, and the Skylab space station.
13x52
Engineering Disasters 20
Episode overview
In March of 2005, the BP Refinery in Texas City, Texas, suffered a series of explosions that decimated a large portion of the facility and killed 15 workers. Then the unusual series of .. show full overview
13x43
Snow
Episode overview
The story of snow including how it is formed and the human inventions that help us live with the white stuff.
13x57
Snow
Episode overview
It is the bane of every suburban parent and the joy to every school kid. Born in a swirling storm cloud through a process called nucleation, the characteristics of snow flakes are threatened by pollution trapped in the clouds.
13x44
Tea
Episode overview
An hour steeped in the history of tea includes a visit to the Lipton Tea plant in Suffolk, Va., the Charleston Tea Plantation in South Carolina and the Celestial Seasonings plant in .. show full overview
13x58
Tea
Episode overview
After water, tea is the second most popular drink in the world. It has been around as a drink for 5000 years, and 6 billion pounds of tea are harvested annually.
13x45
Christmas Tech
Episode overview
The story behind our modern Christmas traditions including how Christmas trees are grown and harvested as well as how Christmas lights and ornaments are made. Also featured are holiday .. show full overview
13x55
Christmas Tech
Episode overview
Christmas is observed by nearly one-third of the world's population and probably more if you count the non-Christians who incorporate the more secular traditions into their winter .. show full overview
13x32
Batteries
Episode overview
Mixtures of metals and caustic chemicals that make our tech, tools and toys surge with energy.
13x41
Harvesting 2
Episode overview
In America's orchards and farm fields, the constant struggle between hand labor and mechanization has produced dozens of efficient and sometimes bizarre harvesting methods. Learn the .. show full overview

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