The History Channel

JFK brought Camelot to Washington and forever cemented the Kennedy name in the political sphere. But he was also a courier in Nazi Germany, a body builder and was seriously addicted to danger. Maverick historian David Eisenbach will uncovers these and more little-known details about the life of John F. Kennedy.

Benjamin Franklin was a multi-talented American founding father--but he also owned slaves, frequented sex clubs and was a suspected serial killer. In this episode of our new series, maverick historian David Eisenbach uncovers little-known details of Franklin's past, shedding new light on Franklin's eccentric behaviors and how they enabled him to help save the American Revolution.

It's the most popular fish in the American diet. From the school lunch box--to the high end sushi bar--to the outdoor barbecue, tuna crosses all demographic lines. We'll go fishing with the men who risk their lives to bring in a haul, stop in at Bumble Bee, the only major tuna cannery still operating in America, and visit the world's largest fish market in Tokyo, where a single tuna can sell for as much as $100,000. We'll also explore worldwide efforts to save the giant bluefin tuna, which has been over-fished to a point of peril. Then we'll head to sea with scientists who track the tunas' inter-oceanic migrations, and travel to South Australia, where entrepreneurs seek to breed the mighty bluefin in captivity.

It's the only rock we eat, and we need it to live. History has shown that those who have salt rule the world--and today, this versatile substance has 14,000 known uses. Travel to a salt mine 1,800 feet below Lake Erie where workers blast salt from a massive deposit spanning four states, to an evaporation facility near San Francisco where machines harvest salt from the briny ocean. Visit a Florida restaurant that offers 40 different varieties of salt...and journey to New York to explore salt's surprising number one application: de-icing snowy winter roads. See how a high-tech desalination plant removes salt from ocean water, producing 25 million gallons of drinkable water every day. And if it's speed you're after, look no further than a natural drag strip in Utah made of pure salt.

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, the top ten guilty pleasures you just can't resist... America's Favorite Foods.

What secrets are hiding in our map? What's behind the "blank spots" like Area 51? What possessed the citizens of Key West to throw down their margaritas and secede from Florida? And even in the heartland, there are those living on the edge -- in Kansas, old missile bunkers are now five bedroom dream homes. And what about the county in Georgia that was left off the state's quarter?

JFK brought Camelot to Washington and forever cemented the Kennedy name in the political sphere. But he was also a courier in Nazi Germany, a body builder and was seriously addicted to danger. Maverick historian David Eisenbach will uncovers these and more little-known details about the life of John F. Kennedy.

Benjamin Franklin was a multi-talented American founding father--but he also owned slaves, frequented sex clubs and was a suspected serial killer. In this episode of our new series, maverick historian David Eisenbach uncovers little-known details of Franklin's past, shedding new light on Franklin's eccentric behaviors and how they enabled him to help save the American Revolution.

On a pilgrimage of weird worship, hosts Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran begin with America's birth and pious exiles seeking refuge. In California, they meet a man who spent the last 20 years building a shrine to Jesus from car parts, tires, adobe, and more than 100,000 gallons of paint. In Iowa, they visit "The Grotto of the Redemption", a huge monument handmade from rocks and semi-precious stones. In Florida, they stop at one of America's earliest cults--the Koreshan Unity Movement, which maintained life was lived on the inside, not the outside, of planet Earth. Returning to California, they visit the UNARIUS Academy of Science, where it's taught that past-life regression, channeling messages from other worlds, and impending contact with "space brothers" will help us achieve enlightenment.

Most are aware of the historical significance and grave costs of rebellion in America that made our country what it is for better and worse. But US history is also full of lesser-known plots to rebel, revolt, and subvert the government, and they're kind of weird as hosts Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran learn. They uncover the story of US history's one and only emperor; wade through cutlasses, treasure, and talking severed heads on the trail of one of America's original rebels, the pirate Blackbeard; and visit a fledgling nation--complete with its own passports and government. Our two Marks trek the country in search of bizarre, unexplained, or just plain zany stories that somehow flew under the radar screen of American History.

If you thought our borders were set in stone, you'd be wrong. Who stole a corner of Washington, DC? Is Ohio actually a state? And why isn't St. Louis our nation's capital? One thing's for sure -- our map could look very different. How did we create order out of so much chaos? With the vote.

Ever since the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower, what we believe and how we believe has shaped the American map. Could Utah have been bigger than Texas? How did religion shatter New England into such odd little shapes? And did the Civil War actually begin... in Kansas?

Rubber, Plastic, Nylon, Aerosols, Resins, Solvents, and Lubricants--none can exist without oil. If we stopped driving our cars tomorrow, America would still need five million barrels of oil a day. Visit Vulcan Materials, where oil tanks are emptied into massive double-barrel mixers to make asphalt and then continue to the Rolls Royce Aerospace Facility where complex jet fuels are blended. Travel back to the 1870's to see how an unemployed whale oil salesman turned a greasy oil-drilling by-product into a household staple: Vaseline. Finally discover how cutting-edge recycling techniques can breathe new life into used motor oil, and where a number of renewable fuels and technologies take aim at oil sovereignty.

It's full steam ahead when we drop in at Jay Leno's garage as Jay fires up two of his classic steam cars and takes viewers for a couple of rides. Jay also shows off his 11-ton steam engine built in 1860, back when pigs had to be slaughtered to keep it lubricated. In northern Nevada, fire up a coal burning boiler and get a 100-year-old steam locomotive chugging across the rugged landscape. In New Orleans, board an authentic paddlewheel steamboat. Trek to the Southern California desert where geothermal steam rushes up from the ground and drives electricity producing turbines, powering over 300,000 homes. In New York City, find out why manmade steam surges into some of the world's most famous skyscrapers. Steam clean some very dirty machines, and do a little laundry, too. And ride a steam-driven carousel and play with some strange, steam-powered robots that are part of a movement called--what else--"steampunk."

Celebrate the animal that helped man change the world--the horse. Take a look behind-the-scenes at the thoroughbred racing industry in Lexington, Kentucky. Visit state-of-the-art veterinary clinics and breeding farms that provide everything from arthroscopic surgery to "bachelor-padded" breeding sheds. See how a Colorado prison proves that both wild horses and inmates change for the better when paired up as part of a Mustang protection program. Learn the different ways that cultures have used horses throughout the ages and finally, see why French Canadian connoisseurs think horse tenderloin means fine dining.

Man's best friend--fearless, faithful, determined and swift. They're our sharpest eyes, noses and ears--and among the bravest hunters, soldiers, rescuers, and protectors. From natural instincts to complex training, see what makes dogs a perfectly engineered Modern Marvel.

Gunny pulls the trigger on pistols--and takes aim at handgun history with vintage flintlock dueling pistols to modern day, rapid firing machine pistols. Amazing high-speed photography captures multiple ballistics tests designed to observe the course of a bullet's flight and its impact.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Gunny explores the history of armored vehicles--the steel plated, multi tasking vehicles designed to do everything from carry troops to field reconnaissance to bringing their own brand of firepower to the battlefield. Featured armored vehicles include: The M8 Greyhound; the German 251 Halftrack; the Bradley Fighting Vehicle; and the high-tech MRAPS, designed to protect our troops from IED's and roadside bombs.

If you thought our borders were set in stone, you'd be wrong. Who stole a corner of Washington, DC? Is Ohio actually a state? And why isn't St. Louis our nation's capital? One thing's for sure -- our map could look very different. How did we create order out of so much chaos? With the vote.