The History Channel

At 4 State Trucks in Missouri, the Chrome Shop Mafia adds some truckers' "bling" to a big rig as viewers tour its 35,000 square-foot treasure trove of chrome. In Illinois, learn just how automotive parts get their luster in a complex electroplating process. And out on the road with some bikers, take a look at how Harley Davidson puts chrome to work both as a decorative surface and a protective covering on engine parts. At a classic car gathering, collectors show off their sparkling tailfins and grilles--and in Michigan, peruse a unique collection of more than 3,000 chrome hood ornaments. See how workers chrome-plate plastic, and learn how chrome puts the "stainless" in stainless steel. Find out how stainless steel flatware is manufactured and explore the iconic, shimmering art deco dome of the Chrysler Building. Finally, a Colorado artist will show viewers how he rescues old chrome car bumpers from the scrap yard and transforms them.

Get behind the wheel and take control of the some of the largest, fastest, most powerful machines on the planet. These aren't your average vehicles--and handling one of these rides is unlike anything else. But you need more than just a learner's permit to take control of these vehicles...you need training, experience, and above all, guts--if you plan to sit in the Driver's Seat.

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 in case of all-out war. We plan a riveting visit. Some of the vital heavy metals that we survey include copper, uranium, lead, zinc, and nickel. We also take a look at superalloys--consisting of steel combined with chromium, cobalt, and dozens of other heavy metals--that resist corrosion and perform increasingly elaborate functions. From Earth to space, from cosmetics to vitamins, in a million different ways, heavy metals are here to stay!

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 for the steam engine in the early 1800s and meet the horsepower police--the Society of Automotive Engineers who test today's most powerful car engines. Feel the amazing power of Unlimited Hydroplane racing as 3-ton boat-beasts careen across water at speeds of over 200 miles per hour. Journey to the bowels of an enormous container ship where the world's most powerful diesel engine provides over 100,000 horsepower. At the Hoover Dam, watch as it harnesses the enormous power of water. Explore the 80,000 horsepower pumping units at the Edmonston Pumping Plant that delivers 2-billion gallons of water a day to thirsty Californians. And sit behind the steering wheel of a new generation of hybrid cars that boast 400-horsepower yet get 42 miles per gallon of gas.

Take a journey into the world of super sized, super strong, super unique ships. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography takes viewers out to sea to see how their FLIP research vessel flips a full 90 degrees, sinking over three quarters of its 355-foot length. In Miami, go behind the scenes of one of the largest cruise ships in the world. In California, step onboard the Navy's newest, most advanced transport ship and take a spin in one of America's strongest and greenest tugboats. In Boston, venture into the frigid world of an LNG carrier, transporting enough natural gas to power a million homes for an entire week. In Maine, hop on "the Cat," the fastest car ferry in North America--it's a huge twin-hulled catamaran. Finally, learn how a ship that looks like an enormous spider on water may someday save lives.

Did Titanic have a fatal design flaw? In August of 2005 John Chatterton and Richie Kohler (of "Deep Sea Detectives") led an expedition to Titanic, where they discovered two huge intact sections of the ship's bottom, the red paint still on. Naval architect Roger Long, along with a panel of experts concluded that Titanic broke apart earlier in its sinking than has been believed, due to a previously unknown design flaw. Chatterton and Kohler return to the wreck in 2006 searching for evidence to support this theory, but when their research vessel is recalled by the Russian government they head to Greece to dive Titanic's lost sister ship Britannic. Was Britannic quietly modified to correct the problem?

Southerners have a certain style, language and way of life. But what many people don't know is that America itself was made in the South. This two-hour special journeys to the real South for an informative and sometimes lighthearted look at its distinctive cultures, characteristics and influences on our country's history. Narrated by Charlie Daniels, well-known Southerners--Jeff Foxworthy, Trace Adkins, Ty Pennington, James Carville, Ricky Scaggs, Michael Waltrip, Bobby Bowden, Lyrnyrd Skynryd, Herschel Walker, Al Bell, and others--weigh in on cornerstones of Southern life: barbecue and moonshine, hunting and fishing, college football and the Grand Ol' Opry. We'll unearth surprises and misconceptions dating back to the earliest days of American history.

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 in case of all-out war. We plan a riveting visit. Some of the vital heavy metals that we survey include copper, uranium, lead, zinc, and nickel. We also take a look at superalloys--consisting of steel combined with chromium, cobalt, and dozens of other heavy metals--that resist corrosion and perform increasingly elaborate functions. From Earth to space, from cosmetics to vitamins, in a million different ways, heavy metals are here to stay!

Perhaps no field has experienced the revolution in velocity more acutely than transportation. We look at five blazingly fast technological marvels that have pushed the speed limits to the very edge, each with its own unique and dramatic history: the world's fastest production car (Sweden's Koenigsegg CCR); the world's fastest train (the Maglev in Shanghai); the world's fastest boat (The Spirit of Australia); the world's fastest roller coaster (the Kingda Ka) and the fastest thing on earth (the Holloman High Speed Test Track), used to test highly sensitive equipment for many branches of the government and commercial clients.

As the Cold War reached its boiling point the US began to make plans to protect the country and the president. Elaborate defense preparations were made in the event of nuclear war. Highly secret bunkers were constructed and a covert shadow government program was born. Now these newly opened bunkers are brought into view... in some of the most unexpected places imaginable.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

One of the most frightening horror stories ever written was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Was this story, however, Robert Louis Stevenson's disturbing fantasy or was it based on a series of blood-curdling episodes that took place in the town of Edinburgh? Follow a team of historical detectives who use evidence from recent excavations and historical documents to look under the grand fa ade of Edinburgh. Watch as an underworld of streets and houses with a blood-soaked history of grave robbers, body-snatchers and unspeakable crimes is uncovered. Computer graphics allows the viewer to fly over, enter the streets, walk through the halls and peer into the Edinburgh of long ago.

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.

Take a journey into the world of super sized, super strong, super unique ships. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography takes viewers out to sea to see how their FLIP research vessel flips a full 90 degrees, sinking over three quarters of its 355-foot length. In Miami, go behind the scenes of one of the largest cruise ships in the world. In California, step onboard the Navy's newest, most advanced transport ship and take a spin in one of America's strongest and greenest tugboats. In Boston, venture into the frigid world of an LNG carrier, transporting enough natural gas to power a million homes for an entire week. In Maine, hop on "the Cat," the fastest car ferry in North America--it's a huge twin-hulled catamaran. Finally, learn how a ship that looks like an enormous spider on water may someday save lives.

Did Titanic have a fatal design flaw? In August of 2005 John Chatterton and Richie Kohler (of "Deep Sea Detectives") led an expedition to Titanic, where they discovered two huge intact sections of the ship's bottom, the red paint still on. Naval architect Roger Long, along with a panel of experts concluded that Titanic broke apart earlier in its sinking than has been believed, due to a previously unknown design flaw. Chatterton and Kohler return to the wreck in 2006 searching for evidence to support this theory, but when their research vessel is recalled by the Russian government they head to Greece to dive Titanic's lost sister ship Britannic. Was Britannic quietly modified to correct the problem?

Southerners have a certain style, language and way of life. But what many people don't know is that America itself was made in the South. This two-hour special journeys to the real South for an informative and sometimes lighthearted look at its distinctive cultures, characteristics and influences on our country's history. Narrated by Charlie Daniels, well-known Southerners--Jeff Foxworthy, Trace Adkins, Ty Pennington, James Carville, Ricky Scaggs, Michael Waltrip, Bobby Bowden, Lyrnyrd Skynryd, Herschel Walker, Al Bell, and others--weigh in on cornerstones of Southern life: barbecue and moonshine, hunting and fishing, college football and the Grand Ol' Opry. We'll unearth surprises and misconceptions dating back to the earliest days of American history.