The History Channel

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.

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.

160 million Americans visit a convenience store every day. Why? Because it's fast. But what you probably didn't know is how every detail of its design has been engineered to work that way. Step inside one of the busiest 7-11's in America and find out what makes it tick. And go behind the scenes to see how favorite innovations--like slurpees, turbo ovens, and beef jerky--are made. The science of convenience will amaze you!

Two underdogs of American culture go head to head to prove how hillbillies and rednecks have shaped our states.

America's most iconic rivalry was more than just a feud between families. The fight between the Hatfields and McCoys nearly launched a war between two states.

Candy is America's sweetest guilty pleasure--so appealing that we spend $25 billion annually to experience it. Our cameras venture from Chicago to Santa Cruz, California to show you that behind every delicious bite is a fascinating story of imagination and innovation. Fourth-generation candy makers Nick and Gino Marini reveal how they're redefining the limits of confectioneering with their latest sensation...chocolate-covered bacon. The crew that makes the iconic red and white Starlight Mints demonstrates how they give each piece its trademark color pattern. As your mouth waters throughout the hour, you'll also discover they key ingredient that gives Lemonheads their sour punch...and the surprising substance that puts the polish on Mike and Ikes. And you'll be shocked to learn how little sugar is in cotton candy.

Ride along as we relate the racy history of the cars that were run for bragging rights on Sunday afternoons...and the men who trusted those same cars with their lives come Sunday night. It's a story about searching for any edge...boring a block, milling a head, boosting the springs--anything to gain an advantage over the hated federal revenuers. We'll learn tricks of the trade--such as the "bootlegger turn"--and see how model after model of Detroit's finest were made better by back-road innovation. We'll see how moving "shine" created a whole new breed of automobile that ushered in stockcar racing and led to the birth of today's NASCAR.

They are the cars that appeal to a certain kind of "businessman"--the kind that has a lot of enemies. Smooth, sleek, and glamorous, they've helped make outlaws like John Dillinger, Al Capone, and John Gotti look like gentlemen instead of killers. Some did zero to 60 faster than any police car could and others were bulletproof. Today, science enables these cars to withstand a bomb blast or the punch from a 9-millimeter automatic. Ride along as we explore Gangster Cars--built to keep their owners from getting clipped!

Explore the hottest trends in gadgets, how they've evolved and where they're going. See how the latest miniaturized, mobile gadgetry can fit all the technology that once filled an entire office into a single briefcase. Visit Brookstone, the ultimate gadget store. We'll meet a gadget collector who's turned his home into a gadget museum. And we'll visit basement inventors who have developed everything from an iron you slip over your hand to smart appliances that talk back. Revisit some of the original gadgets like the corkscrew and zipper and see how some gadgets evolve into new forms. Discover which gadget inventors may hold tomorrow's hottest new trends and learn why some gadgets succeed while others crash and burn.

A versatile yet toxic metal, lead has served mankind for 6,000 years. Explore the vast mines where heavy machinery extracts and refines lead. Visit a car battery factory that makes a superior battery from pure lead. See how a team of experts safely remove harmful lead products from homes and businesses. How can a metal as dark as lead make lead crystal not only sparkle, but manage to stay transparent?

Extruders, molds, in-line conveyor belts. Are these machines manufacturing adhesives, plastics, or parts for your car? No, they're making treats for your mouth--and you will see them doing their seductively tasty work in this scrumptious episode. First, we visit Utz Quality Foods in Hanover, Pennsylvania, that produces more than one million pounds of chips per week, and Snyder's of Hanover, the leading US pretzel manufacturer. Next, we focus on the world's largest candy manufacturer, Masterfoods USA, which makes Milky Way, Snickers, Mars, and M&Ms, and take a lick at the world's largest lollipop producer, Tootsie Roll Industries. And at Flower Foods' Crossville, Tennessee plant, an army of cupcakes rolls down a conveyer belt. The final stop is Dreyer's Bakersfield, California plant, where 20,000 ice cream bars and 9,600 drumsticks roll off the line in an hour.

Scientists offer insight into how and where a 10.0 megaquake could strike. This two-hour History special explores one of the most deadly and perplexing mysteries that surrounds planet earth: huge megaquakes. The largest quake ever recorded was a 9.5 earthquake off of Chile in 1960, but new research shows how even larger quakes close to 10.0 just might be possible. Through interviews with top earthquake experts and cutting edge scientific experiments, the special reveals that over 3 billion people on earth are in immediate danger from the next big one and how a real 10.0 might actually happen on US soil--in places you might not expect.

Mother Nature unleashes a swarm of tornados on a group of storm chasers. A delivery driver in Japan gets swallowed by the deadliest tsunami in Japan's history. And finally, a massive avalanche barrels into a small town in Norway.

The engineering marvel Machu Picchu sits perched on a ridge in the Peruvian Andes. Originally built by the Incas, this magnificent structure remains a mystery. Was it an observatory? Pleasure retreat? Fortress? This program presents the most current theories.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

They can crawl up walls, swim underwater and investigate bomb threats. Robots are making the coffee in your kitchen and keeping your office parking lot secure at night. Join host Daniel H. Wilson as he reveals artificial intelligence which can create smart houses that anticipate our desires and automate the functions of our-day to-day life.

Ride along as we relate the racy history of the cars that were run for bragging rights on Sunday afternoons...and the men who trusted those same cars with their lives come Sunday night. It's a story about searching for any edge...boring a block, milling a head, boosting the springs--anything to gain an advantage over the hated federal revenuers. We'll learn tricks of the trade--such as the "bootlegger turn"--and see how model after model of Detroit's finest were made better by back-road innovation. We'll see how moving "shine" created a whole new breed of automobile that ushered in stockcar racing and led to the birth of today's NASCAR.

They are the cars that appeal to a certain kind of "businessman"--the kind that has a lot of enemies. Smooth, sleek, and glamorous, they've helped make outlaws like John Dillinger, Al Capone, and John Gotti look like gentlemen instead of killers. Some did zero to 60 faster than any police car could and others were bulletproof. Today, science enables these cars to withstand a bomb blast or the punch from a 9-millimeter automatic. Ride along as we explore Gangster Cars--built to keep their owners from getting clipped!

Explore the hottest trends in gadgets, how they've evolved and where they're going. See how the latest miniaturized, mobile gadgetry can fit all the technology that once filled an entire office into a single briefcase. Visit Brookstone, the ultimate gadget store. We'll meet a gadget collector who's turned his home into a gadget museum. And we'll visit basement inventors who have developed everything from an iron you slip over your hand to smart appliances that talk back. Revisit some of the original gadgets like the corkscrew and zipper and see how some gadgets evolve into new forms. Discover which gadget inventors may hold tomorrow's hottest new trends and learn why some gadgets succeed while others crash and burn.

A versatile yet toxic metal, lead has served mankind for 6,000 years. Explore the vast mines where heavy machinery extracts and refines lead. Visit a car battery factory that makes a superior battery from pure lead. See how a team of experts safely remove harmful lead products from homes and businesses. How can a metal as dark as lead make lead crystal not only sparkle, but manage to stay transparent?