The History Channel

The axe is one of the world's oldest, most dangerous and efficient cutting tools. Watch as competitive lumberjacks and Jills chop through 12-inch logs in a matter of seconds. Visit one of the nation's largest axe manufacturers to see hot metal forged into a modern axe. Take a swing with a Vikings' battleaxe and then see which knight would win in a fight of sword versus axe. Learn why the Native American tomahawk is making a comeback as a modern tactical weapon. Finally, see how the classic fireman's axe has evolved into a trailer full of high tech rescue tools.

Shoes have come a long way from their humble beginnings as simple leather moccasins. Today footwear is built to withstand any extreme environment where a foot can tread -- from the heart of a burning building to the track of an Olympic stadium. From high-tech soles to shoelaces, cowboy boots to sneaker design -- step behind the scenes with the products that keep your feet covered.

Every aspect of our lives involves pressure. It's what puts the bubbles in soft drinks, propels shaving cream from its can, cools the contents of your refrigerator, and causes volcanoes to erupt. But when pressure suddenly changes, you better look out! Rapid pressure changes can be as violent as explosions. And variable atmospheric pressure? We call that the weather.

It's a rivalry that tears us apart every four years, but how did our nation divide into red states vs. blue states, and what happens to the states caught in the middle?

Deep in the Rust Belt the white collar and blue collar divide has shaped our cities and our states. How did this rivalry change the way we all bring home the bacon?

It was the largest manhunt in history--ten thousand federal troops, detectives and police hunted those responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The conspiracy was vast--an effort to decapitate the United States government at the end of the Civil War. The manhunt was intense--ending 12 days later in a fiery showdown with the man who pulled the trigger--John Wilkes Booth.

John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde are some of the most notorious criminals of the last century. Technological advances like the Tommy Gun, V-8 engines with electric starters, and bulletproof vests often gave the robbers the advantage over the police. A spree of robberies, killings and kidnappings during an 18-month period from 1933 to 1934 shook the nation to its core. The government responded with a war on crime that began with America's first national police force and the rise of the FBI. HD location photography, archival footage and evocative recreations are used to transport the viewer back to this era and to capture the hectic pace of this crime wave.

Every 15 minutes, Americans insert over 3.5 million coins into vending machines. We'll visit a sprawling factory that mass produces the latest in high-tech vending machines, and a small company that makes a giant gumball machine that holds 40,000 gumballs. Then, there's the dreaded parking meter, including new ones that can take credit cards and text message for help when they are being robbed or vandalized. We'll visit America's last pinball factory, and see what strange coin operated fare kept people amused 100 years ago. Is coin counting Coinstar the ultimate coin operated machine? We'll follow their coins all the way to a Brinks warehouse. Our last stop is Marvin's Marvelous Mechanized Museum, housing some of the weirdest coin-op machines ever invented. If seeing a life-sized, robotic old man vomit is your idea of entertainment, drop a couple of quarters into "Dr. Ralph Bingenpurge". Now, that's money well spent.

Teddy Roosevelt carried a revolver. The night they each died, Abraham Lincoln carried a $5 Confederate note and nine newspaper clippings, while John Wilkes Booth carried a candle and pictures of five women, including his fianc e. Why? Most people don't even think about it anymore. We simply put what we were carrying yesterday, and the day before that, back into our pockets. Do we really need everything we carry with us? In this hour we will take a look at the items we found in peoples' pockets all across America. Not cell phones, which everybody has, but more intimate items. Personal things...both valuable and cheap. Work aids...both simple and high-tech. Even food! And we'll not only see what they must have in their possession, but how some of it is made. Why does a search and rescue fireman carry a hockey puck? We'll also discover how they make and carry a "personal escape" bailout system.

It's America's original rivalry, a divide that was so wide it took a war to close the gap. But have we really reunited, or are we still fighting a culture war?

America is a nation under siege by unexplained phenomena. Whether you're afraid of Bigfoot or alien invasion might depend on what state you call home.

The fabled Wyatt Earp, credited with spreading law and order in the Wild West, was in reality a complex character who straddled both sides of the law. Throughout most of his career he rarely used a pistol to kill a man, but when his little brother is shot, he snaps and embarks on a bloody vendetta. This action seals his place in history... but obscures the real man behind the myth.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

The final hour of the series brings us to precipice of the 2005 inauguration. This is an era marked by a new world order, defined by the fall of the Berlin Wall, then shattered by the specter of global terrorism. Defining moments include Jimmy Carter's economic malaise and the Iran Hostage Crisis; the election of actor Ronald Reagan, bringing another assassination attempt, Iran-Contra, and the Strategic Defense Initiative; George H.W. Bush's Gulf War; Bill Clinton's booming economy, sex scandals, and impeachment; and the terror strikes on America on 9/11, George W. Bush's handling of the crisis, the War on Terror, doctrine of preemptive strikes, and invasion of Iraq. We also look at the contentious 2004 reelection of Bush over John Kerry.

It was the largest manhunt in history--ten thousand federal troops, detectives and police hunted those responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The conspiracy was vast--an effort to decapitate the United States government at the end of the Civil War. The manhunt was intense--ending 12 days later in a fiery showdown with the man who pulled the trigger--John Wilkes Booth.

John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde are some of the most notorious criminals of the last century. Technological advances like the Tommy Gun, V-8 engines with electric starters, and bulletproof vests often gave the robbers the advantage over the police. A spree of robberies, killings and kidnappings during an 18-month period from 1933 to 1934 shook the nation to its core. The government responded with a war on crime that began with America's first national police force and the rise of the FBI. HD location photography, archival footage and evocative recreations are used to transport the viewer back to this era and to capture the hectic pace of this crime wave.