Modern Marvels

The world’s largest concrete dam–and the largest concrete structure in the world–lies on the Columbia River in the State of Washington. B uilt in 1931, it is also one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world.

The remarkable story of how the landmark New York City skyscraper was constructed during the depths of the Depression. Requiring 10 million bricks and 60,000 tons of steel beams and using a revolutionary technique to hold the steel girders in place–hot rivets–the world’s tallest building was completed four months ahead of schedule.

Chronicles one of the most incredible engineering feats of all time: construction of the 51-mile canal that took 10 years to build and employed over 40,000 workers, 6,000 of whom died of yellow fever, malaria, and other horrors. An earlier, 9-year attempt by the French ended in failure and cost 20,000 lives.

Join us for a buoyant trip through the history of balloon flight and a tribute to the fearless pilots and engineers brave enough to push the limits of balloon technology into the next weather front, or the next frontier. We’ll demonstrate their diversified applications and talk to pioneers who designed and flew them.

With California finally part of the United States, two rail companies raced to connect the monied East and the promising West. Along the way, fortunes would be made, lives lost, and adversity overcome. This is the story of the largest, most expensive challenge of the 19th century.

Rising from a stretch of desert with nothing but remoteness to recommend it, Las Vegas became a glittering wonderland for dreamers. We’ll take a look at the forces that made Las Vegas a place unlike any on earth.

Considered by many to be the most astounding machine ever built, this reusable spaceship is the apex of flight technology. This program recounts the challenges and the critical issues that led to NASA’s decision to create an “airplane” to navigate space.

It was an engineering feat of almost miraculous proportions and a design of spectacular elegance. Rare photographs and behind-the-scenes stories recall the politics, the struggles, and the tragedies that made possible “the Eighth Wonder of the World”.

There is no more potent demonstration of man’s resolve than the design and construction of tunnels–avenues that slice through a conspiracy of elements in the single-minded determination to connect two points. Whether underwater, blasted through solid rock, or negotiating the shifting strata of earth’s unstable crust, we explore the design and engineering of famous tunnels…and the motivation behind them.

In 1912, a headlight-maker and an auto magnate built the first cross-country road to spur the demand for new cars; 70 years and $125 billion later, the highway system had grown to 42,000 miles. Rare photographs and interviews tell the incredible story of the “paving of America”.

From Alexander Graham Bell’s crude creation, to today’s high-speed wireless networks, we’ll look into the past, present and future of the telephone. We’ll visit the AT&T archives to see how the very first telephone boxes wired together with telegraph cables have evolved into vast wireless networks. Enter into the inner workings of Los Angeles County’s 911 emergency dispatch center, as well as explore advancements made by Lucent/Bell Labs in phone-embedded GPS technology. With telephone privacy issues making headlines, witness a demonstration of how easy it can be for someone to illegally tap your phone. We’ll also look at a technology developed by NASA-Ames that might one day allow people to converse by merely thinking what they want to say.

Many rivers quenched the thirst of millions in the American west and around the world. Without these aqueducts, some of the earth’s largest cities would turn into gigantic ghost towns. Their technology has been in use for over two thousand years. But today these engineering marvels cost billions of dollars to build, requiring thousands of men to toil for years on end. Aqueducts have made some men famous and others fabulously wealthy. In Los Angeles one man’s vision took one hundred thousand men to complete and a great city was truly born. In Northern California the most famous conservationist of our time waged the political fight of his life in an attempt to save one of nature’s most spectacular valleys from San Francisco’s demand for more water.

When “poliomyelitis” swept the nation, thousands died or were disabled before American ingenuity, trial and error, and blatant acts of desperation led to one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history. We’ll see how polio shaped the vision of FDR, and catapulted the young unknown doctor Jonas Salk to international celebrity.

The complete story of the feuds, the mistakes, ingenuity, and successes that made movies possible–and kept Edison at the front of the inventor pack. Includes rare early films from the Edison Studios.

Strong enough to survive their fiery launch into orbit, sophisticated enough to provide life-saving images or relay tens of thousands of phone calls at the same time. By monitoring weapons systems and troop movements, these "eyes in the sky" may be the difference between security and annihilation. From the futuristic visions of a British sci-fi writer to creations of a German rocket designer for the Nazi war machine to the Cold War technological race, we review the satellites that link our world.

While a civilization’s greatness is reflected in the achievements of architects and engineers, equally impressive are spectacular acts of destruction throughout history. The cycle of construction and destruction reflects the shifting values of any given era. We’ll trace the evolution of planned destruction from ancient to modern-day.

The Atlantic Wall explores the construction of the shore fortifications built by the Nazis during World War II. We highlight the logistics of construction, types of fortifications, weapons, and obstacles used in the wall. The Nazis attempted to fortify 3,000 miles of occupied European coastline before the Allies launched thier attack on occupied Europe. Finally the Allied D-Day invasion planning and execution, with its associated propaganda and deception, are detailed.

A look up at the symbol of the American Century–the skyscraper, the construction of which is a triumph of engineering and capitalism. Climb to the top of the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Sears Tower, and World Trade Center to see how ego, money, and technology joined to build the tallest of man-made structures.

Beneath every modern city, hidden by manhole covers, drains, and ventilation grates – lies a labyrinth of tunnels, wires, conduits and pipes. They deliver power to our homes, water to our faucets, messages to our loved ones and sometimes – they even move us. Workers create the secret world beneath our feet using everything from shovels, pickaxes and dynamite to multi-million dollar tunneling equipment. The modern subterranean worker, or as they like to be called, “Sandhogs” use time tested methods as well as modern inventions, such as airlocks and computerized mapping techniques to avoid pitfalls and get the job done in the city beneath the street.

Join us as we span the history of one of the world’s most famous bridges, London’s Tower Bridge. The world’s largest bascule bridge (a counterweighted drawbridge), when it was erected in 1892, it became a postcard image of London. The famed gothic towers of this pioneering steel structure, sheathed in stone, are purely decorative.

The challenge of linking Britain and France with a tunnel under the English Channel was both monumental and delicate. It took 18 months just to design and build the 28 foot diameter TBMs, and nearly a year to assemble and position them underground. Modern Marvels takes you through the entire process from start to finish.

From battle armor to bubble gum, you might be surprised by what soldiers have carried into battle–and what they'll carry in future wars. In this look at the development of weapons–from the Roman soldier's gladius to the M16 assault rifle to infrared scopes and biological weapons protection–we also discover the evolution of body armor–from knights to Kelvar-protected "Land Warriors". And we'll also find out what the "Future Warrior" will look like.

Where can you fire a missile without scaring the neighbors? Or lift millions of pounds in pursuit of a couple of ounces of gold? On a proving ground, of course, where performance is the only thing that matters. Because in the heat of battle or head-to-head competition, no excuses can be given. We’ll visit the US military’s Cold Regions Testing Center in Alaska and desert proving grounds in Arizona, the Olympic Complex in Colorado, and the now-defunct Packard proving grounds in Michigan.

Commercial Jets traces the evolution of commercial aviation from the stumbling beginnings of the De Havilland Comet to the wide-body rocket ships of today. This is the story of a high-tech worldwide competition among a field of high stakes players. Billion dollar deals ride on cutting-edge designs to carry more passengers father, faster and safer.

From Pilgrim brew masters to early commercial ventures to today's monolithic corporations, we'll imbibe American beer's long history, focusing on the commercial brewing industry that developed in the 19th century and continues to today. We'll also taste social experiments from the past, like the Temperance Movement and Prohibition, to see how they left scars on the industry and continue to influence sobriety today.

Flight was born in America at the turn of the 20th century. But WWII saw more planes built in a single year–300,000–than had been built in the previous 40. Footage of restored aircraft, historic film ranging from factory floors to dogfights, and interviews with pilots and designers recapture the aviation industry's finest hour.

Winchester…the name still evokes images of the Wild West and the taming of the frontier–it was the first reliable repeating rifle and settlers brought it along as they moved west. Prized by Civil War soldiers, the lever-action rifle was preferred by lawmen and outlaws alike. A classic Winchester can command upwards of $100,000 from collectors trying to buy a piece of the Old West. We see how a shirt manufacturer named Oliver Winchester became the most famous gun maker of the American West.

It’s the longest, most expensive and complicated railroad ever built. Ordered by the Czar in an effort to save his empire and unify his country at the twilight of the 19th century, the Trans-Siberian Railroad nearly tore Russia apart. Intended in part for defense, the railroad provoked a war, crossed great lengths over treacherous terrain, and encountered logistical and economic failures. Ironically, “enemies of the state” built the railroad–men sentenced to hard labor in Siberian prisons.

Some of the most imposing structures ever built, medieval castles withstood both bloody assaults and the test of time. Designed like machines with nearly every architectural detail devoted to defense, castles represented the perfect fusion of form and function. Journey back to that unruly era as we examine the complexity of their construction and the multipurpose they served–homes to kings and nobles, economic centers, courthouses, treasuries, prisons, and torture chambers.

Based on the book Denison’s Ice Road by Edith Iglauer, the episode detailed the treacherous job of driving trucks over frozen lakes, also known as ice roads, in Canada’s Northwest Territories. After 2000, reruns of the documentary were aired as an episode of the series Modern Marvels instead of Suicide Missions/Dangerous Missions.

Forged in Europe’s shadow, Russian small arms were once dismissed as crude copies. Often lacking the finish of Western counterparts, Russian guns have been battle-proven worldwide, with their emphasis on robustness and simplicity of design. Review the long history of Russian small arms–from Peter the Great to the Cold War.

Built to put U.S. pilots back in charge of the skies, the F-15 Eagle proved its superiority in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In a dogfight, it can maneuver against the toughest fighters and climb to Mt. Everest’s height in 60 seconds. One of the toughest planes in the world, one fortunate F-15 pilot flew back to base after losing a wing! Featuring interviews with Operation Iraqi Freedom pilots and footage that puts the viewer right in the cockpit of the world’s greatest fighter aircraft.

Since ancient times, man has tried to control the "devil's bounty"–deadly substances found throughout nature. Paradoxically, some of these lethal compounds are now found to possess life-giving properties. In this hour, we explore how ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans came to rely on the pernicious power of poisons and learn the physiological action of these potent killers. During the Renaissance, known as the Golden Age of Poison, the deadly practice helped shape European history–most especially that of the Catholic Church. We continue our investigation into the gas attacks of WWI and up to the 21st century, when a new and serious threat of bioterrorism plagues the globe. Finally, we peer into the future with scientists experimenting with poisons and venoms from the plant and animal kingdoms that may play an important part in healing diseases such as arthritis and even cancer.

Engage the satellite navigation, fire-up the fuel cell, and activate the radar-guided cruise control! You’re in for the joyride of your life as we investigate what drives and will drive our vehicular destiny. In this 2-hour special, we talk to auto industry engineers, designers, historians and futurists, and meet carmakers standing at the threshold of a brave new automotive world and on the verge of technical innovations that might prove as far-reaching as the switch from horses to horsepower.

Join us as we explore the vast and varied world of the arch, one of the strongest and most versatile structures made by man. Deceptively simple, an arch can support tremendous weight because its structure is compressed by pressure, and it provides a much more spacious opening than its predecessor–post and lintel construction. Although ancient Egyptians and Greeks experimented with the arch, the Romans perfected it. Medieval Arabs incorporated it into stunning mosque architecture, soon followed by Europe's great medieval churches. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the steel arch became a favorite of architects and structural engineers. Dam builders employed it horizontally, using the water behind the dam to provide the pressure to compress it. And tomorrow, the arch will continue to serve mankind in every form–from nanotechnology to domes on Mars and beyond.

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.

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. From furnaces to flamethrowers, fire testing to fireballs, now, Fire, on Modern Marvels.

Tune in as Modern Marvels looks into the history of cotton, a product used in hundreds of different products, from clothing to lipstick.

Examining the technology and evolution of balls used in sports. Included: a tour of the Wilson Football Factory Ohio; the Rawlings baseball factory Costa Rica and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. And also "juego de pelota" - the ancient Mesoamerican ball game.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan to a Manhattan skyscraper we’ll see the 21st Century’s cutting-edge “green” technologies in action. New technologies such as carbon sequestration and bioremediation take on our most daunting environmental crises, from global warming and deforestation to nuclear waste.

It's the unsung essential of modern life. Canning is the method of a preserving and packaging food, without which civilization would never have ventured beyond the local food supply. It changed the way the world eats and revolutionized the food industry.

Got milk? Billions of pounds of milk are consumed worldwide on a daily basis. Milk is the basis for its own food group, and has been around since the dawn of mammals. Visit a farm with a milking parlor that looks more like a cow merry-go-round. Learn what pasteurization is really all about, and even milk a yak. Find out what those active cultures in yogurt are and discover if milk truly makes the body good. Wait until you discover just how many types of cows there truly are.

Carbon is the chemical basis of all known life and yet this simple element is also the foundation of modern technology. Carbon burns hotter, cuts deeper, insulates more thoroughly and absorbs more fully than any other material. See why carbon is the key both in heavy-duty industries, as well as in tools like the graphite pencil, the charcoal water filter, and the diamond saw blade.

The dot.com decade opened up the information superhighway and for the first time, people could shop, search, and surf online with the click of a mouse. Take a trip to the end of the 20th century and the beginning of today technologies.

You know the old saying "dull as dirt"…wrong! In Las Vegas we'll see how thousands of tons of dirt transform a stadium into a Supercross course, and in New Jersey we'll slog into a secret bog to collect the special mud that every major league team relies on to give extra grip to baseballs. Then, we'll join in the down and dirty fun of mud wrestling at a state fair in Hawaii. In Tucson we'll see how modern adobe and stunning rammed-earth homes are made. To farmers, "dirt" is "soil" and in a teaspoon of healthy soil there are more living organisms than people on our planet. We'll find out where they came from at a sprawling potting soil facility in central California where huge earth moving equipment adds tons of dried kelp, bat guano and other ingredients to dirt. At exclusive spas we'll watch patrons submerge in mud. Finally, we'll visit the Tide detergent factory–why? To get the dirt out, of course.

Each year in the U.S., 280 million hens lay 80 billion eggs, one of the world's most affordable sources of protein. We'll chart the "journey of the egg" from henhouse to breakfast table…from massive traditional Iowa farms, where millions of eggs move from hens to delivery trucks without being touched by human hands…to "cage-free" and "pasture raised" farms where chickens have more room to roam but consumers pay the price. Find out what labels like "Grade A, Organic" and "Omega-3 Enhanced" really mean. See how powdered eggs get made and what happens to the billions of whites and yolks that go their separate ways. Try the world's largest omelet, made from an ostrich egg, the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs. How about some pickled eggs or "century" duck eggs? And prepare to be awed by the "Michelangelo" of the egg-shell world as he sculpts egg shells less than 1/32 inch thick into jaw-dropping works of art.

It is among the most versatile, nutritious, and varied foodstuffs in the world. The Potato is the ultimate comfort food. We'll travel from the Potato's mysterious origins in the South American Andes to the ethnic enclaves of New York's lower Eastside, for some tasty Potato Knishes. In Northern Maine we'll discover a farmer of exotic potatoes: blue, green, pink, and dark purple varieties. We'll reveal how large-scale potato producers in Idaho and Pennsylvania slice, dice, freeze, and dehydrate millions of pounds of spuds annually. We'll learn how to mass produce Tater tots and Kettle Potato Chips. Potato Vodka now scores near perfection in international tasting competitions–and we'll visit a Maine distillery at the top of their game. Finally, we'll pay tribute to the iconic Mr. Potato Head, now celebrating its 50th Anniversary, then round out the show with an explosive visit to the makers of some of the world's most sophisticated Spud Guns.

The colossal cornerstones of commerce. Oversized outfitters. Merchandise Moguls. Mega Stores are giant facilities engineered to keep up with America's supersized habits. They are the largest, busiest places in the country. Their greatest challenge: keeping up with demand on a massive scale, and to do it, they have everything from scuba divers to sandblasters. It's not what's on the shelves–it's what happens behind the scenes.

The US has become the culture of BIG–just look at the importance of size and how it has been infused into the lifestyle we choose to live, whether it's our homes, our appliances such as large screen TVs or even eccentric stretch limos. But big has also affected what we eat. This episode explores America's growing obsession with plus-sized meals and how we cook them! Discover the largest everyday offerings of gargantuan portions–from the biggest stacked burger in the world (at almost 250 pounds), a plus-sized Sicilian pizza that feeds almost 75 people, a 72-ounce steak no real cowboy can resist, and the seven-pound hot dog that's too big for a bun. Top it all off with a giant cupcake, humongous cinnamon roll or a five pound gummy bear… and chase it down with a monster bottle of beer that holds over 101 ounces of brew.

Tens of millions of them all over the world–soda and snack machines, parking meters and payphones, video games and vending machines… and they all use coins–but for how long? Examine the historic one-armed bandits and the 21st century, cutting edge, computerized slot machines that occupy Vegas casinos and get an exclusive look at their inner workings in a never-before-seen factory in Reno, Nevada. Search out some of the wackiest, strangest vending machines on the planet that sell everything from bottles of wine to dog washes. Get a close-up look at the famous binoculars located at popular tourist sites around the world, as well as a unique company that collects and cleans the coins thrown into fountains for good luck. But it all starts and ends in the historic halls of the U.S. Mint, where coins are made and destroyed. Will coins one day become obsolete?

Don't look now–but there's a lot more to your walls than you'd ever imagine. Take a penetrating look inside something we consider utterly mundane, and uncover a surprising and sometimes shocking world. A computer-managed home in Colorado showcases the high tech gadgetry destined to inhabit every wall in the future. At the headquarters of Orkin in Atlanta, a network of walls with cutouts and Plexiglas windows reveal how pests and creepy crawlies of all kinds can congregate in huge numbers inside our homes. In Washington, scientists at Underwriters Labs play with fire in the name of research, investigating how our walls can keep us safe–or expose us to a fiery death. And in Los Angeles, a security company demonstrates innovative new technology that can "see" through walls–detecting motion, heat, breathing, even heartbeats.

We live in a highly mechanized world in which billions of products are made by machines–but there are some things that can be built only by using an even more sophisticated tool–the human hand. In New Mexico, a pilot who builds his own jet-powered glider takes to the skies–his very life depending on his handiwork. Canoe makers in Montana, and a knife maker in Washington, handcraft items so unique that customers are willing to pay significantly higher prices than if they were machine made. In the farmlands of Central California, craftsmen keep alive the ancient art of weapon making–see their gleaming suits of armor in action, as weekend warriors do battle. Ever wonder how those impressive animal skeletons in museums are constructed? The artists of Skulls International in Oklahoma City share their secrets. And in Hollywood, the Chiodo brothers reveal how handmade special effects have a charm and character that today's computer animators can't duplicate.

It's a great American wilderness–millions of acres of wild, primeval land with its own people, its own technology…and its own rules. Survival there depends on smarts and science, guts and grueling work…and a unique approach to one of the world's most uncompromising environments–swamps. Watch an assembly of the distinctive airboat, then hop on board for a breathtaking journey and discover the surprising history behind this swamp staple of transportation. Take a wild ride on a big-tired swamp buggy, and taste test some local delicacies that bring new meaning to "acquired taste." Witness a massive engineering project to divert the mighty Mississippi River, and meet the machines that make that job possible. Plus come face to face, literally, with enormous pythons and menacing alligators.

Modern Marvels is going big, and counting down. We take the "best of" Modern Marvels and give you the MEGA Top 10 countdown. On this edition: Speed. It's a pure adrenaline rush as we race the top 10 fastest marvels we've featured down to the speediest of all.

Modern Marvels is going big, and counting down. We take the "best of" Modern Marvels and give you the MEGA Top 10 countdown. On this edition: Awe-Inspiring Machines–featuring the top ten mightiest, strangest, and most unique innovations from our archives.

Modern Marvels is going big, and counting down. We take the "best of" Modern Marvels and give you the MEGA Top 10 countdown. On this edition: Amazing Weapons. They're every arsenal's best asset and every enemy's worst nightmare and we're counting them down to the most amazing weapon of all.

Adam Richman visits baking behemoth Entenmann’s to see how they keep up with America’s insatiable demand for delicious and dunkable chocolate chip cookies. Then, find out how Otis Spunkmeyer creates the cookies you find at some of the biggest restaurant chains in America! From Fortune Cookies to your favorite childhood treats, Adam becomes a cookie connoisseur in this episode for all things cookies.

Things get cheesy when Adam Richman visits a central Pennsylvanian cheese maker with an award-winning mozzarella they insist on making the authentic Italian way. And you don’t have to tell grocery giant Kroger that cheese is big business–we see how they slice, shred and package over 2.5-million lbs. of cheese per week. Adam learns all the history, incredible facts, and amazing processes behind one of America’s most beloved foods!

We all scream for ice cream when Adam Richman visits the legendary Turkey Hill Dairy to see how they make their famous frosty treat for the masses! Then, sneak a peek into Dreyers’s flavor development process. And the last bite is the best when we find out how Joy Cone bakes over 2-billion ice cream cones per year. From the cow to Carvel, from soft serve to sprinkles, discover how your favorite sweet treat comes to be, and the epic history behind it!