The History Channel

Gravity is the most powerful and exacting force in the universe. It is pervasive and penetrating. Gravity binds us together, its reach hangs stars in the sky and its grip crushes light. Gravity holds planets together, and leashes them to their suns. Without gravity, stars, comets, moons, nebulae, and even the Earth itself would not exist. Explore how science and humanity discovered, overcame and utilized gravity. Learn what it takes to propel objects into the heavens, to ride a wave or to ski down a slope. Take a front row seat as an astronaut subjects himself to the weightless wonders of the specially modified aircraft used to train astronauts known as the "Vomit Comet."

Asteroids, comets, gamma ray bursts and the sun all combine to make the Earth a dangerous place to live. NASA's top brass and other scientists are arming themselves with the latest technology to pre-empt an apocalyptic attack. Watch and investigate bizarre, and terrifying apocalyptic scenarios and the ways that scientists are racing against the clock to develop technology to defend our planet.

Join us for the amazing story of one of nature's most terrifying forces. With striking visuals from ships in storm-tossed seas, the special presents dramatic tales of rogue wave disasters throughout history, and explores the astonishing scientific discoveries surrounding this deadly phenomenon. Aided by mind-blowing CGI footage from the motion picture Poseidon by Wolfgang Petersen, director of The Perfect Storm, we reveal the awesome power of this ocean menace as it really is--a monster rising from the deep!

Tunneled into the bowels of ancient Rome is a dank labyrinth of beautifully decorated burial chambers and vaults where religious outcasts--pagans, Jews, and Christians--secretly preserved forbidden rituals for fear of persecution. Delve beneath Rome's heights to uncover the secrets of her catacombs and eternal residents.

Mormons massacre a wagon train filled with overland settlers. Horse thieves decimate a camp of Chinese prospectors. Yavapai Indians slay a stagecoach full of passengers. No stranger to the Old West, technology often lent a helping hand to atrocity. From the swivel gun of the 1830s to a makeshift armored car in 1914, host David Carradine looks at the role technology played in some of the most heinous crimes in Wild West history.

In 1994 a secret manuscript hidden in the Vatican Library revealed a previously unknown apocalyptic prophesy credited to history's most notorious seer, Michel de Nostradamus. Where did this "Lost Book" come from and who was its author? The answers to these questions might help establish whether the horrible illustrations in the book point to mankind's violent end. Although the book's cover displays the name Michel Nostradamus, some believe the true author is his eldest son, Cesar. Was Cesar Nostradamus also a prophet? One who struggled with his own visions? Did he, like his father, operate in the shadow of a powerful and unforgiving Church? And was he, too, cursed with the ability to see mankind's doomed future in order to warn future generations?

During WWI, trenches and barbed wire ran across Europe from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. On July 1, 1916 at 7:30 a.m., after a week of artillery bombardment designed to destroy German barbed wire and concrete bunkers, 27 British divisions advanced on 16 German divisions. Expecting minor resistance, as they picked their way across no man's land, guns opened fire, shells burst overhead, and waves of men were gunned down. Almost 60,000 British were killed or wounded--a military catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. Filmed at the battlefield, in laboratories, and on firing ranges--archaeologists, military historians, and other experts, including metallurgists and geologists, conduct tests to replicate and understand the factors that turned one terrible day into the British Army's bloodiest.

At 7:15AM on June 30, 1908, a giant fireball, as bright the Sun, explodes in the Siberian sky with a force a thousand times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. It decimates 1,000 square miles of forest--over half the size of Rhode Island, and was the biggest cosmic disaster in the history of civilization. What caused the apocalyptic fire in the sky? Over a hundred theories surround what is called the Tunguska event, varying from asteroids and comets to black holes and alien spaceships. Most scientists agree the Tunguska event will happen again, and next time, the human toll could be unimaginable. Now, NASA and other organizations race against time to stop the next planet killer before it ignites Armageddon.

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 long-established barbecue restaurants like Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, where the huge grills and taste thrills of true barbecue are more popular than ever. At home, three out of four US households own a grill. After WWII's end, the phenomenon of backyard barbecuing swept the nation, thanks to inexpensive and mass-produced grills, including the kettle-shaped Weber. Our tour of Weber's modern factories shows how they keep pace with demand by manufacturing more choices than ever, including portable mini-grills. We also examine the variety of fuels available for the savory selection of spicy sauces and rubs. Join us as we devour the mouthwatering flavors of BBQ in this episode.

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.

From playgrounds to office cubicles, we love chowing down a meal from the lunch box. Ever wonder why a peanut butter sandwich sticks to the roof of your mouth? Did you know baby carrots might all be purple if it weren't for the Dutch? What mysterious filling other than vanilla creme used to be inside a Twinkie? Host Bobby Bognar seeks out the answers to these and other intriguing questions as he travels across America uncovering the secrets of our favorite lunch box treats. Along the way, he discovers everything from how the juice starts flowing into a juice box before it has a bottom to hold it...to the surprise that awaits us if we look inside a Goldfish cracker after we bite it.

The whaler Essex sailed from Nantucket in 1819 and met its doom in the middle of the Pacific in 1820, when a sperm whale attacked, causing the ship to sink. Adrift in small whaleboats, the crew faced storms, thirst, illness, and starvation. Reduced to cannibalism, but succeeding in one of history's great open-boat journeys, the few survivors were picked up off South America. Here is the true story of the adventures of the Essex, which provided inspiration for Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick, or the Whale.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Saga of the Viking thought to be the first European to land in America. The son of the explorer Eric the Red, Leif brought Christianity to Greenland and sailed to a place he called "Vinland", which most scholars believe to be in modern New England.

Tunneled into the bowels of ancient Rome is a dank labyrinth of beautifully decorated burial chambers and vaults where religious outcasts--pagans, Jews, and Christians--secretly preserved forbidden rituals for fear of persecution. Delve beneath Rome's heights to uncover the secrets of her catacombs and eternal residents.

Mormons massacre a wagon train filled with overland settlers. Horse thieves decimate a camp of Chinese prospectors. Yavapai Indians slay a stagecoach full of passengers. No stranger to the Old West, technology often lent a helping hand to atrocity. From the swivel gun of the 1830s to a makeshift armored car in 1914, host David Carradine looks at the role technology played in some of the most heinous crimes in Wild West history.

In 1994 a secret manuscript hidden in the Vatican Library revealed a previously unknown apocalyptic prophesy credited to history's most notorious seer, Michel de Nostradamus. Where did this "Lost Book" come from and who was its author? The answers to these questions might help establish whether the horrible illustrations in the book point to mankind's violent end. Although the book's cover displays the name Michel Nostradamus, some believe the true author is his eldest son, Cesar. Was Cesar Nostradamus also a prophet? One who struggled with his own visions? Did he, like his father, operate in the shadow of a powerful and unforgiving Church? And was he, too, cursed with the ability to see mankind's doomed future in order to warn future generations?

During WWI, trenches and barbed wire ran across Europe from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. On July 1, 1916 at 7:30 a.m., after a week of artillery bombardment designed to destroy German barbed wire and concrete bunkers, 27 British divisions advanced on 16 German divisions. Expecting minor resistance, as they picked their way across no man's land, guns opened fire, shells burst overhead, and waves of men were gunned down. Almost 60,000 British were killed or wounded--a military catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. Filmed at the battlefield, in laboratories, and on firing ranges--archaeologists, military historians, and other experts, including metallurgists and geologists, conduct tests to replicate and understand the factors that turned one terrible day into the British Army's bloodiest.