The History Channel

It has been said that necessity is the mother of all invention--but that is not always the case. Some strange machines are built for sheer spectacle, some a glimpse into the future or even the past, while others are just plain...Weird. Take a look at machines that specialize in high functionality and low practicality, prompting two very important questions: What is it and...how do I get one? An Alaskan navigates the Juneau waters with his homemade submarine. A California company shocks local beach bums with their fully submersible "shark boats." We'll also meet a bicep-curling robot that's built to save lives; scale a mountain with a 21st century Batman-esque rope ascender; witness an engineered, forty-foot vortex of fire known as the Flame Tornado; and hit the backcountry trails with a snowboard-motorcycle hybrid inspired by a shopping cart.

The US has become the culture of BIG--just look at the importance of size and how it has been infused into the lifestyle we choose to live, whether it's our homes, our appliances such as large screen TVs or even eccentric stretch limos. But big has also affected what we eat. This episode explores America's growing obsession with plus-sized meals and how we cook them! Discover the largest everyday offerings of gargantuan portions--from the biggest stacked burger in the world (at almost 250 pounds), a plus-sized Sicilian pizza that feeds almost 75 people, a 72-ounce steak no real cowboy can resist, and the seven-pound hot dog that's too big for a bun. Top it all off with a giant cupcake, humongous cinnamon roll or a five pound gummy bear... and chase it down with a monster bottle of beer that holds over 101 ounces of brew.

Explore the world of extreme temperatures. See what happens to Pyroman, a life-size mannequin, as he is exposed to over 3,000 degrees F. Visit Underwriters Laboratories and see how common household appliances can go lethal. Follow geologists as they take lava samples from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. Finally, journey into a fusion facility in San Diego, California and watch as scientist's heat plasma to over 200 million degrees F in hopes of someday creating an inexhaustible power source.

This useful metal was once considered more valuable than gold. Watch as aluminum is stretched, pounded, melted and turned into foam. Did you know that aluminum is made out of a powder? Visit the widest rolling mill in the world where skins for the largest jets are made, then it's off to NASA to observe how aluminum is used to make reflective mirrors for telescopes. Discover the process of making aluminum foil and learn why aluminum baseball bats are better than wood.

It's a scenario right out of a science fiction movie. What if in the future the Pentagon -- the world's largest office building -- had to be moved, while operating at full-capacity? That's 3.7 million square feet of office space and nearly a million tons of weight. Could it be done? One Mega Mover theorist lays out his plan for this extraordinary move. Then these same principles are put to the test when two thriving businesses -- a general store and a funeral home -- must be moved with all its contents inside. For the general store, that means moving priceless antiques. For the funeral home, it's keeping caskets and embalming equipment from being destroyed. Will it be celebration or sorrow for the owners?

The Matyiko brothers are a legendary Mega Mover family. Their company Expert House Movers entered the record books when they moved the historic Gem Theatre in Detroit, Schubert Theatre in Minneapolis, and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. In this episode the brothers battle time and the elements. In Massachusetts, the clock is ticking to move a 900-ton brick building to its new location. Any delays will cost the veteran house movers thousands of dollars. And in North Carolina, three vacation houses must make a perilous journey across eight miles of open beach to reach their new home. Will the homes arrive safely? Or, will the treacherous waters of the Outer Banks claim yet another victim?

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.

It's time to slice and dice! Take a cutting-edge look at the most amazing blades in the world, from the legendary sword of the samurai warrior with an edge sharp enough to sever a man's arm in a single swipe, to industrial shredder blades capable of gobbling anything from a sofa to a fridge, to the precision slicing power of lasers and plasma.

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.

From the beginning of time we've worked to protect ourselves against the very element that keeps us alive...Water. We love it and hate it. With water covering 75% of the Earth's surface, it's no wonder we struggle to stay safe and dry. We fight against ferocious weather and floods with state-of-the-art roofing, wraps, tarps, tunnels, clothing, boats, and much more... devising extreme tests to probe the limits of our modern waterproof technology.

Everything around us has a story to tell. Shoes, cans, string, mirrors; everything we see and touch has an epic tale of how it came to be invented or discovered, and the dramatic moments throughout history at which it played an important role. But few of us know these stories. We go through our days blissfully ignorant of the deadly and dangerous road brave men traveled in order to bring coffee to the world, or the pivotal part beer played in the civilizing of mankind. These stories and many more are brought vividly to life in this two-hour special, which follows one man on a journey through the last day of his life, examining and recounting the epic tales of the everyday items he encounters before his ignorance of their stories leads him to his ultimate doom.

After years of perceived disrespect, a gravely offended Persian army sets sail to teach the insolent Athenians a lesson. The massive Persian fleet seems predestined to overpower the small Athenian army, abandoned by their allies the Spartans. But a brilliant defensive strategy, the extreme mettle of Greek troops, and a runner whose route would go down in history, all combine to drive the Persians back across the Aegean defeated, dripping in their own blood. The Battle of Marathon sets up one of the most famous battles between Greece and Persia... the Battle of the 300.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

On June 7, 1944, the troopship USS Susan B. Anthony transported nearly 3,000 Army and Navy men on their way to reinforce paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day. Suddenly, two explosions hit the Susan B. just off the coast of "Bloody Omaha" in an area marked safe for passage. Stephen Ambrose called it "the German Army's greatest success of disrupting the landing of American reinforcements." Our Deep Sea Detectives John Chatterton and Richie Kohler dive this wreck 60 years later in hopes of unlocking the answers to what sank the Susan B. Anthony, and the story behind one of the most daring and amazing rescues at sea.

It's a scenario right out of a science fiction movie. What if in the future the Pentagon -- the world's largest office building -- had to be moved, while operating at full-capacity? That's 3.7 million square feet of office space and nearly a million tons of weight. Could it be done? One Mega Mover theorist lays out his plan for this extraordinary move. Then these same principles are put to the test when two thriving businesses -- a general store and a funeral home -- must be moved with all its contents inside. For the general store, that means moving priceless antiques. For the funeral home, it's keeping caskets and embalming equipment from being destroyed. Will it be celebration or sorrow for the owners?

The Matyiko brothers are a legendary Mega Mover family. Their company Expert House Movers entered the record books when they moved the historic Gem Theatre in Detroit, Schubert Theatre in Minneapolis, and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. In this episode the brothers battle time and the elements. In Massachusetts, the clock is ticking to move a 900-ton brick building to its new location. Any delays will cost the veteran house movers thousands of dollars. And in North Carolina, three vacation houses must make a perilous journey across eight miles of open beach to reach their new home. Will the homes arrive safely? Or, will the treacherous waters of the Outer Banks claim yet another victim?

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.

It's time to slice and dice! Take a cutting-edge look at the most amazing blades in the world, from the legendary sword of the samurai warrior with an edge sharp enough to sever a man's arm in a single swipe, to industrial shredder blades capable of gobbling anything from a sofa to a fridge, to the precision slicing power of lasers and plasma.

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.