The History Channel

The story of the Viking world's most famous warrior, the legend of Beowulf is the ultimate tale of courage. Pit against thirsty invaders, barbaric monsters, and a fire breathing dragon, Beowulf emerges as Norse mythology's greatest hero. But could this mythological warrior have been real? Unearthed burial mounds and ancient carvings suggest the myth of Beowulf could be more than epic legend. TVPG VL | CC

A half-bull, half-man freak of nature, the Minotaur is one of mythology's most terrifying monsters. A bizarre tale of bestiality, human sacrifice, and war, the myth of the Minotaur endures as a symbol of the beast inside all men. But archeological research has uncovered clues suggesting the Minotaur and its terrifying labyrinth were more than just symbols. They may have been inspired by a real place that still exists to this day. TVPG VL | CC

The epic tragedy of Medusa, the most infamous female fiend in Greek mythology, whose look turned every living thing to stone. But what is the true story behind the myth? Find out this evil Gorgon's real world connection to human corpses, and learn what clues the night sky holds about the origins of the tale of Medusa. TVPG VL | CC

There really are ice worlds like Hoth from Star Wars. In this episode, we explore icy planets and moons, discover the role of cold in the Universe, and learn about the importance of ice to the development of habitable worlds. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In this episode, our cast uses awesome analogies to bring the biggest objects, farthest distances and fastest speeds down to earth. To truly understand the scale of the cosmos, we jump behind the wheel of monster trucks, scale the Golden Gate bridge, and race across the desert in a rocket-powered car. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Daniel Browning Smith is in Vegas to meet Brian Jackson who blows up a hot water bottle until it explodes. Daniel takes Brian to a lung specialist to measure the power output and pressure of his lungs. Lu Deyuan's extraordinary, traffic-stopping superhuman ability is eye watering! Daniel meets Lu in a Kuala Lumpur dockyard where he's hanging steel bars from his eyelids. Lu says he feels no pain and doesn't suffer from any injuries. Could Anthony Kelly have the fastest reflexes in the world? Daniel meets him catching tennis balls at 80mph, and use a high speed camera to capture his technique. At a Detroit Dojo, Daniel meets Japanese Nunchuck Master Hiroki deadly in the martial art of nunchaku combat. Cindi Bir and Daniel test his ability by challenging his accuracy with a baseball pitching cannon. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They were the messengers of divine knowledge and seers who shared visions of the future. For thousands of years, human civilization has been guided by the words and deeds of ancient prophets, but just who--or what--were these prophets communicating with? Might the experiences of history's prophets be evidence of communication with a heavenly source--or were seers like Elijah and Joseph Smith actually communicating with extraterrestrial overlords? And if so, are there similar prophets at work today? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Was Albert Einstein a genius? Or was he superhuman? Was his genius "of this world," or was it "otherworldly?" Is it possible, as Ancient Astronaut theorists believe, of an extraterrestrial connection to the scientific genius of famous historical figures such as Albert Einstein, Galileo, Archimedes, and Aristotle? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Zombies rising from their graves... Blood sucking vampires damned for all eternity... and humans trapped in a life and death struggle between heaven and hell. For thousands of years, mankind has told tales of encounters with strange, soulless creatures. Are these beliefs merely manmade fabrications--or could there be extraterrestrial origins in earthly encounters with the undead? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In the late 1500s, years before Jamestown, the English sought to create their first settlement in America at Roanoke. A party of 119 colonists came over and settled but ultimately vanished. The fate of the Lost Colony of Roanoke has eluded archaeologists, historians and North Carolina locals, but as forensic geologist Scott Wolter discovers, a series of 48 stone clues that have been largely ignored and considered frauds may in fact hold the answer to America's oldest cold case. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

There are 800 very old, very mysterious, man-made stone sites in the Northeastern part of the United States. Forensic geologist Scott Wolter heads to rural Pennsylvania to investigate one of them--a meticulously crafted stone chamber buried underground in the woods. When he realizes it may have been a ritual bath chamber for a secret society, he embarks on a quest for answers as to who built, when and why. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

After his famous expedition to map the American West with William Clark, Meriwether Lewis recorded details of the adventure in a journal and intended to publish it. Before he could, he was shot and killed in an inn on the Natchez Trace. His death has been classified as a suicide, but as forensic geologist Scott Wolter discovers, there's reason to think he may not have killed himself. As Wolter investigates the death of America's most famous explorer he uncovers details that suggest President Jefferson himself may have had ulterior motives for the Lewis and Clark expedition that have never made it into the history books and may have led to his violent death. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

From itchy woolen union suits to comfortable briefs and boxers learn how our undergarments have evolved over the last 100 years. A visit to the Jockey factory will show us how men's briefs go from the loom to finished sewn product. Learn how fire retardant underwear can save lives and how some materials actually enhance athletic performance. Did you know that there are socks that can actually banish foot odor? Next, enter the world of the fifteen-billion dollar brassiere industry. Finally see how underwear keeps race car drivers cool in 140 degree temperatures. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They are catastrophic failures with deadly consequences. Caused by a single spark or a massive collapse, these disasters reveal one thing--the danger inherent in our most common industries. From a massive oil spill to refinery blaze to a downed plane, find out what went wrong... and how to prevent the next engineering disaster. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

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. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In Anacortes, Washington, a stronghold of Scandinavian-American heritage, we put together a replica of an 1,100-year-old Viking longship--a vessel unearthed in Gokstad, Norway at the end of the 19th century and first built in the 9th century AD. Contractor-host Nick Mystrom assembles a team of specialists, headed by Norwegian-American boatwright Jay Smith, who oversees building our replica using authentic Viking tools and techniques. We make our own rope out of twigs and vine, forge our own nails and tools from a local blacksmith, and stitch together an authentic 10th-century Viking sail. We also weave in the incredible history of Viking adventure and conquest. At show's end, we put our longship in the water, unfurl the sail, and let it plow the waves, conjuring up Viking times. And then--we give it away to a stunned Kelly Robinson, dressed up in full Viking garb, who's ready and eager to make his first Viking raid! TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Speed is the key word for this down and dirty build--Lewis and Clark, racing Oregon winter chill, built the 50 foot by 50 foot Fort Clatsop, a double-structure shelter with seven rooms, a sentry box, and parade ground, in just 15 days. We'll build a scaled down, 2-cabin, 4-room version, showcasing the tools and technology of the frontier in 1805. We're building our fort in a dense patch of forestland 30 miles outside of Manhattan, Kansas, on land owned by Kris and Al Johnson. Our builder is John McPherson, a specialist in log structures and a master in frontier and wilderness survival. In addition to the fascinating process involved in building a frontier fort with minimal tools under harsh conditions--open fire pits, rawhide windows and doors, sloppy fits chinked and daubed with stones and mud, rough-planked ceilings, dirt floors, very few nails--host Nick Mystrom takes viewers through the most compelling aspects of the incredible Lewis and Clark saga. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

PSSST! Know the password? If so, you can join our host, contractor Nick Mystrom, as we build a hidden room in a home in the Second City. In the 1920s to "speak easy" meant to whisper and we'll build a speakeasy in the basement of a suburban Chicago home. But we'll have to build quietly so as to not alert neighbors and especially not the police, but that will be a little harder--since two of them live right upstairs! Nick is in good hands with master builder Frank Sullivan, a Chicago native who knows millwork from floorboards to rafters. Together with a team of specialists, this room will become a highly secure 1920s-style speakeasy. Nick and team have two weeks to create this woodworking masterpiece in time to surprise recipient Joe Smith, who spent 32 years as a Chicago police officer, and his wife Daina, also a Chicago cop--both of whom love the 1920s era. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Ever since the sailors ventured into open waters, mariners have needed lighted signals to guide them safely through the night. What started out as simple signal fires led the way to elaborate structures that soared high in the sky projecting light for miles to warn sailors of danger and guide them home. One talented builder and his team will work with our host, contractor Nick Mystrom, to reconstruct the historic Brant Point Lighthouse. Our lucky recipients are John and Jean Hatfield of Oregon, Ohio on Lake Erie--a couple whose love for lighthouses is second only to their love for family. When they were shaken by Jean's recent health scare, their large and loving brood was inspired to conspire with us to surprise them with this gift that will shine through the years! TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

The Battle of the Nile--August 1, 1798. A mighty French fleet under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte is anchored in Aboukir Bay, Egypt. Just hours before sunset, an outnumbered British fleet, commanded by the famous Admiral Horatio Nelson, discovers the French and battle ensues. In the dark of night, the French flagship, L'Orient, one of the most powerful warships in the world, suddenly explodes. She sinks quickly, taking an estimated $20 million in gold and silver to the bottom. How did the mighty battleship sink so quickly that night? And what happened to the lost fortune in gold and silver? Veteran divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler plunge into Aboukir Bay--and discover that history's telling of the L'Orient's demise is wrong. Did Admiral Nelson'spin the events of that day? TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

In 1718, the infamous pirate Blackbeard and his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, wreaked havoc raiding British supply routes to and from their American colonies. Then, the British offered a pardon to all pirates who would give up their dastardly ways. Blackbeard decided to accept, but as he moved toward the coast of North Carolina, his flagship ran aground in what is now known as Beaufort Inlet. Eventually Blackbeard abandoned the Queen Anne's Revenge, leaving her to succumb to the elements...or so the story goes. In 2001, underwater archaeologists found the remains of a ship in the inlet. Join our veteran divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler as they embark on a journey to solve the mystery of the ship's identity. Could this be the final resting place of Blackbeard's ship? And did the famed master seaman really run aground, or was that all part of another notorious Blackbeard scheme? TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

October, 1962: For thirteen days a desperate showdown puts the world on the brink of nuclear war. One man hopes to end this high-stakes gamble, but President John F. Kennedy can't afford to make any mistakes. Only one machine can make this happen, the RF-8 Crusader, capable of the low-level reconnaissance photography needed to prove what the Soviet Union is up to on Castro's Cuba. Failure is unthinkable. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

Informational programming. TVPG VL | CC

The average American throws out more than four pounds of trash a day, nearly 300 million tons annually. An army of technologically advanced machines processes garbage, from the local collection trucks to the landfill compactors. In facilities called "Murfs," millions of tons of resources are given a second life. The water bottles you tossed in your recycling bin might become your new blanket. Electricity may be generated from the garbage you set out at your curb. Discover their unusual after-life as new products are created from garbage. TVPG VL | CC

Electronic devices of the past, once worn and obsolete were tossed aside. Today, many of them are being recycled for the precious metals they contain, reborn in new forms--and even re-electrified with new life! Reaching the end of their useful life is just the beginning of a fascinating visual journey. See where it all takes place. TVPG VL | CC

It doesn't just take willpower to survive. It takes guts--in the form of a digestive system that turns food into fuel. Look closely at the role guts have played in shaping some of Earth's most successful animals: tyrannosaurs, snakes, cows, humans and others. Take a 575-million year journey that begins with the planet's first multi-cellular organisms and ends at our dinner tables. Watch as live-action natural history sequences, CGI, epic docudrama, and experimental science help to illustrate our and our fellow species' eternal struggle for survival on earth. TVPG VL | CC

A routine expedition on a hillside in the badlands of South Dakota, lead a paleontologist to an amazing discovery. The mummified tail of Edmontosaurus, a duckbilled dinosaur is uncovered with evidence of a vicious attack--tiny serrated teeth are found and linked to Dromaeosaurus; members of the raptor family. However, the bones also reveal evidence of a second attacker--Tyrannosaurus Rex. Watch as experts recreate the events leading up to the slaughter of Edmontosaurus, revealing a predatory world far more calculated--and complex--than we originally thought. TVPG VL | CC

The remains of two of the largest predatory mammals of North America are discovered in a cave in Wyoming. The first is a 750-pound Mega-Lion and the second is an eleven foot tall bear equipped with huge claws and muscles. How could an ecosystem support two predators of such size and raw power? Using evidence collected in the cave and studying the skeletal design of each combatant, experts are able to recreate a blow by blow account of how these two ice aged monsters fought to the death. TVPG VL | CC

In a life after people, invasive animals and vines spread: pythons battle alligators, plants strip oxygen from lakes, and sandstorms invade Phoenix. Also, Shanghai sinks and Miami is submerged. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

If ancient aliens visited Earth, what was their legacy, and did they leave behind clues that exist in plain sight such as sophisticated aircraft, complex electrical grids, and intricate construction machinery? Indian Sanskrit texts, dating back to 6000 B.C., describe in varying but vivid detail flying machines called Vimanas. Megalithic stone structures in Egypt reveal evidence of precision saw work. Interpretations of the Jewish Zohar writings offer depictions of a life-sustaining manna machine, eerily similar to chlorella algae processing systems today. Are these examples of modern technology, or is there evidence that these incredible mechanisms existed on Earth thousands of years ago? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Could gold be the ultimate link between humans and aliens? A church in southern France is said to hold the key to alchemy--and a gateway to another part of the universe. Locals in Cusco, Peru believe UFO sightings are connected to lost gold at the bottom of Lake Puray. And some believe underneath the Great Sphinx of Giza lies an entire library left behind by extraterrestrials--a library stored on gold. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It is 113 BC. Rome is a republic, a small empire clinging to the rim of the Mediterranean. Though it is a democracy in name and spirit, a man there still must be rich and from the noble class to hold the highest offices, both political and military. The system has worked well for three centuries. But now a barbarian horde known as the Cimbri smashes through the northern imperial border. One humiliating defeat follows another, with losses of hundreds of thousands of Roman legionaries. Terror grips Rome and drives her into the arms of General Marius. Though a commoner, Marius has a brilliant military mind. To defeat the Cimbri, he will transform the Roman army and shake the Republic's political foundations to the core. It is a turning point for the Republic. Faced with the savage Cimbri, Rome must decide between dictatorship and annihilation. TVPG VL | CC

When Roman generals Pompey and Crassus, lead their mighty legions of soldiers and mercenaries into the lands surrounding Italy, neither could anticipate the turmoil caused by one bold mercenary: a Thracian warrior named Spartacus. Spartacus deserts the Roman army, but is captured and enslaved, forced to fight as a gladiator. Then in 73 BC, the untamable barbarian leads a slave revolt of 70,000 gladiators against the Roman Republic. Though the brutal and conniving Roman General Crassus is finally able to suppress the revolt, his rival, the more popular Pompey, takes all the credit, sparking a division within the Republic itself that will ultimately spell its demise. TVPG VL | CC

It is 60 BC. Over-powerful generals and money corrupt the Roman Republic. The empire churns with civil war, and violence and murder run rampant. Julius Caesar, desperate for fame and honor, embarks on a brutal decade-long campaign to annex Gaul and build his own reputation. His aristocratic rivals try to stop him, but he is an expert manipulator. His propaganda and extravagant victories against bloodthirsty barbarians thrill the public. In 49 BC, he crosses the Rubicon intending to claim his rightful place as the chief man of Rome. It sparks a new civil war that pits him against Pompey the Great and sounds the final death knell for the Republic. TVPG VL | CC

King David's reign of conquest begins in 1,000 BC when King Saul dies after having never succeeded in uniting the tribes of Israel. King David, the slayer of Goliath of Gath, fights his way to the top besting all contenders to the throne of Israel. In rapid succession, King David defeats the Philistines, the Moabites, the Aramaeans, the Edomites, and finally the Ammonites, establishing Israel as an independent national state and greatly extending its territories. In 995 BC, King David succeeds in capturing the Jebusite city of Jerusalem, making this the capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. David maintains his hold on power in the same manner he attained it--by removing anyone who gets in his way. TVPG VL | CC

His name is, without question, synonymous with that of "Conqueror", though he never considered himself as such. He said he was a liberator, bringing enlightenment to the people of Western Europe. Yet his actions and prowess as a military commander rank him among the greatest conquerors of all time. From his ascension to power in France, to campaigns in Italy, Egypt, Austria, and Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte rose from commoner to general to king to emperor. At the height of his power, he ruled most of Western Europe. In this episode, we consider his stunning victory at Austerlitz. TVPG VL | CC

Chemistry has changed our way of life. From the gasoline in our cars, to the quality of water we drink, to the furniture we sit on. But with modern industry come hazards and risk, including potentially the explosive release of a dangerous chemical. Today, there are numerous facilities where there is the potential for the release of a toxic cloud that could stretch for miles. In Texas City, an average of 22 vessels a day move 60 million tons of cargo through the port and about 97 percent of which are petroleum and chemicals for the refineries. Another chemical of high concern is chlorine. Chlorine is used in wastewater treatment plants to purify sewage. Industry-wide efforts are underway across the country to find alternatives to these dangerous chemicals, but can safer chemicals be introduced in time to prevent a disaster? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In 6,000 B.C., 8,000 years before the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, waves taller than the Statue of Liberty ravaged the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, devastating ancient villages and killing untold numbers. Watch as a team of scientist's piece together evidence of this mega storm and reveal the face of this ancient tsunami for the first time. 3-D computer generated animation recreates the massive waves that may have changed the course of history. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They are the life blood of the American Economy, transporting 1.8 billion tons of freight each year, carrying everything from crops, to consumer electronics, cars to chemicals, not to mention coal and just about any other item that you can think of. This program will take you to what is considered the greatest freight transportation system in the world, the Union Pacific's Bailey yard--a pit stop for much of the nation's freight on its journey across the continent. We'll also explore the history of freight transportation from its humble beginnings as tramways in mines to complex system of rails that stretches to every corner of the nation. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

A couple out on a lake in Austin, Texas get too close to the dam and their boat is sucked in and swallowed under. With 16 Navy Seals on board, a marine helicopter catches its rear wheel in the steel netting on the edge of an aircraft carrier and crashes into the sea. Just weeks before 911, a parachutist's canopy becomes tangled on the torch of the Statue of Liberty and leaves him dangling hundreds of feet in the air. A man turns a Lincoln Continental into a rocket car and tries to jump over the St. Lawrence Seaway. Lastly, a professional surf photographer is caught in a killer wave, and captures a lot of underwater footage. TVPG VL | CC

Watch as a plane that is out of fuel attempts to land but one of the wheels on its landing gear is stuck--a ground crew worker attempts to pull the wheel down manually. Terrified crowds run for cover when a rampaging circus elephant tramples his trainer and tears onto the streets of Honolulu. Then, a world renowned helicopter pilot takes a deadly plunge while performing at a Utah air-park. Next, a crane topples into a river while it is attempting to recover a bus that had gone over the side of a bridge--the bus is loaded with passengers. Finally, watch as a boat at the British Grand Prix flips and explodes with a camera in the cockpit filming it all. TVPG VL | CC

On April 19, 1897, the Dallas Morning News reported a mysterious airship had crashed into a windmill in the nearby town of Aurora, Texas. Townspeople were said to have found an alien body and buried it in the local graveyard; the crash debris was dumped into a local well. More than 40 years later, the ranch owners were reporting skin lesions and crippling rheumatoid arthritis, which they attributed to tainted well water. The well was sealed over and forgotten. Now, more than a century after the event, the team will reopen the well, and search for the legendary grave, as they attempt to solve one of the earliest UFO cases ever recorded. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In August 2005, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, hosts of Deep Sea Detectives, led an expedition to the wreck of RMS Titanic. Diving 2 miles down in Russian submersibles, they searched outside the known debris field for new evidence. On their final dive they made an extraordinary find: two large intact sections of the bottom hull of the Titanic in pristine condition with the red bottom paint still on them. For four months, a team of historians, marine architects, and engineers has been conducting a forensic analysis of this find. All agree that it's the most significant new discovery since the wreck was located in 1985. Analysis is ongoing, but preliminary indications are that these bottom sections will change our understanding of how the ship broke apart, and rewrite the story of the final moments of the Titanic. TVPG VL | CC

The average American throws out more than four pounds of trash a day, nearly 300 million tons annually. An army of technologically advanced machines processes garbage, from the local collection trucks to the landfill compactors. In facilities called "Murfs," millions of tons of resources are given a second life. The water bottles you tossed in your recycling bin might become your new blanket. Electricity may be generated from the garbage you set out at your curb. Discover their unusual after-life as new products are created from garbage. TVPG VL | CC

The Underwater Universe generates three types of deadly waves, each bigger and more destructive than the last: Rogue, Monster and Tsunami. This episode will progress from bigger to bigger waves and explore how these killers are born and what makes each unique. We end the hour with the biggest recorded impact wave in Earth's history: a mega Tsunami over a hundred feet high destroying everything in its path. How did it happen? How did the planet survive? And could we be hit by a wave that big again? TVPG VL | CC

The predators of the Underwater Universe have evolved to become our planet's most efficient killing machines. This episode explores the top five deadliest animals that no thinking human wants to tangle with, each more deadly than the next. But there is an unexpected twist, the #1 predator might soon be replaced by another, far more menacing killer as ocean conditions change and traditional apex predators die out. TVPG VL | CC

A routine expedition on a hillside in the badlands of South Dakota, lead a paleontologist to an amazing discovery. The mummified tail of Edmontosaurus, a duckbilled dinosaur is uncovered with evidence of a vicious attack--tiny serrated teeth are found and linked to Dromaeosaurus; members of the raptor family. However, the bones also reveal evidence of a second attacker--Tyrannosaurus Rex. Watch as experts recreate the events leading up to the slaughter of Edmontosaurus, revealing a predatory world far more calculated--and complex--than we originally thought. TVPG VL | CC

Myths and legends have long been regarded as fantastic stories that describe powerful gods, mutant giants and fearsome monsters. But why do so many different cultures, separated by vast distances, tell the same stories? Is it possible that myths and legends were really eyewitness accounts of ancient astronauts descending to Earth? Ancient texts are filled with stories of gods interacting with humans, offering wisdom, technology, and even impregnating women. Could the demigods of mythology have been the offspring of alien and human unions? If so, could aliens have supplied the Missing Link that accelerated human evolution, advancing our civilization and making us who we are today? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

If ancient aliens visited Earth, were they responsible for catastrophes, wars and other deadly disasters to control the fate of the human race? The story of the Great Flood sent by deities to destroy civilizations exists in many prehistoric cultures. There are ancient descriptions of extraterrestrial battles that caused wide-scale destruction, and even reports of UFOs lurking in the shadows of recent natural disasters. The Book of Revelations and the Dead Sea Scrolls describe a future apocalyptic battle between good and evil that will destroy our world. Are these ancient texts proof that aliens are hostile and planning a violent return? Or might they be our saviors, ensuring our survival as a species during times of devastation? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Brave deadly radiation and nuclear warheads as you dive into the abyss with the crew to raise sunken submarines. Discover the untold story behind the doomed Russian sub Kursk and witness remarkable feats of engineering as the team struggles to raise the Civil War sub, the H.L. Hunley. Watch as the team rescues survivors trapped inside a submarine 243 feet down on the seabed. Finally learn about one of history's most famous subs--the HMS Holland One. TVPG VL | CC

The Denver International Airport is the largest airport in America. Its famous white peaked fabric roof spans a million-and-a-half square feet. Moving it would seem impossible--but not for this crew! Next the TWA terminal at JFK International Airport has to be moved nearly a quarter-mile. Walls of glass on this 800-ton building could topple like a house of cards. Watch the crew use an array of new technology and the most heavy-lift equipment ever amassed for a move. TVPG VL | CC

Travel to Egypt and join a team of archaeologists who have uncovered what evidence reveals is the lost fourth pyramid of Giza. Radjedef, son of the great Khufu, would stamp his supremacy by erecting the highest pyramid ever built, towering some 60 feet above Khufu's Great Pyramid of Giza. However, Radjedef's pyramid was forgotten and almost buried beneath the encroaching desert sands and its significance to the three great pyramids was lost. State-of-the-art CGI demonstrates how all four pyramids were connected. Interwoven through the exciting finds of this new excavation is the story of the most powerful, prolific, and arguably, the most cruel and debauched of all Egypt's dynasties. TVPG VL | CC

The Book of Revelation, the most terrifying and controversial book of the Bible, was written by an exiled prophet almost two thousand years ago. The final chapters of the New Testament describe mankind's violent end of days--a seven-year period of unparalleled death and destruction. Jesus breaks seven seals that unleash three waves of devastation--natural and man-made, from the sky and from deep within the earth. The Antichrist will rise. Pestilence, famine, war, and natural disasters will purge humanity before Jesus returns for the final battle between good and evil. But who is the Antichrist? Who will survive God's wrath? And when will this apocalypse happen? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It's the unsung essential of modern life. Canning is the method of a preserving and packaging food, without which civilization would never have ventured beyond the local food supply. It changed the way the world eats and revolutionized the food industry. There are self heating and self cooling cans, microwaveable cans, ozone safe aerosol cans and cans that store nuclear waste. We will explore where canning has been, where it is now and where it is going in the future. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

We live in a highly mechanized world in which billions of products are made by machines--but there are some things that can be built only by using an even more sophisticated tool--the human hand. In New Mexico, a pilot who builds his own jet-powered glider takes to the skies--his very life depending on his handiwork. Canoe makers in Montana, and a knife maker in Washington, handcraft items so unique that customers are willing to pay significantly higher prices than if they were machine made. In the farmlands of Central California, craftsmen keep alive the ancient art of weapon making--see their gleaming suits of armor in action, as weekend warriors do battle. Ever wonder how those impressive animal skeletons in museums are constructed? The artists of Skulls International in Oklahoma City share their secrets. And in Hollywood, the Chiodo brothers reveal how handmade special effects have a charm and character that today's computer animators can't duplicate. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Chemistry has changed our way of life. From the gasoline in our cars, to the quality of water we drink, to the furniture we sit on. But with modern industry come hazards and risk, including potentially the explosive release of a dangerous chemical. Today, there are numerous facilities where there is the potential for the release of a toxic cloud that could stretch for miles. In Texas City, an average of 22 vessels a day move 60 million tons of cargo through the port and about 97 percent of which are petroleum and chemicals for the refineries. Another chemical of high concern is chlorine. Chlorine is used in wastewater treatment plants to purify sewage. Industry-wide efforts are underway across the country to find alternatives to these dangerous chemicals, but can safer chemicals be introduced in time to prevent a disaster? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They soar through the heavens, fly through the oceans and glide along land. But these are not creatures found on a wildlife safari. These are life forms from another planet. Armed with scientific fact and a little imagination, experts come together to take you on an unprecedented journey to the edges of our imagination. Scientists, astrobiologists and astronomers create five lines of extraterrestrial evolution, and explain how creatures on the surface of Earth offer a helping hand to understanding life in The Universe. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

From stars, galaxies and moons to subatomic particles, black holes and invisible phenomena, discover the most bizarre, mysterious and exotic things in our universe. Learn about actual alcohol clouds floating in space that are filled with organic molecules which produce complex compounds like ethyl alcohol, the stuff we drink. Is there a hypothetical planet that exists beyond Neptune and what are pulsar planets? Mini Black Holes are a theoretical idea, but if they were to exist, some theorists speculate that they might have been produced shortly after the "Big Bang." Finally, delve into dark matter, a hypothetical form of matter that is invisible yet it exists everywhere. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

A couple out on a lake in Austin, Texas get too close to the dam and their boat is sucked in and swallowed under. With 16 Navy Seals on board, a marine helicopter catches its rear wheel in the steel netting on the edge of an aircraft carrier and crashes into the sea. Just weeks before 911, a parachutist's canopy becomes tangled on the torch of the Statue of Liberty and leaves him dangling hundreds of feet in the air. A man turns a Lincoln Continental into a rocket car and tries to jump over the St. Lawrence Seaway. Lastly, a professional surf photographer is caught in a killer wave, and captures a lot of underwater footage. TVPG VL | CC

It doesn't just take willpower to survive. It takes guts--in the form of a digestive system that turns food into fuel. Look closely at the role guts have played in shaping some of Earth's most successful animals: tyrannosaurs, snakes, cows, humans and others. Take a 575-million year journey that begins with the planet's first multi-cellular organisms and ends at our dinner tables. Watch as live-action natural history sequences, CGI, epic docudrama, and experimental science help to illustrate our and our fellow species' eternal struggle for survival on earth. TVPG VL | CC

It makes up 16% of your body weight, is the largest organ in the human body, allows birds to fly, mammals to nurse their young, and provides a lifelong defense against predators and parasites alike. What is it? Skin. From the delicate membranes that encased the earliest animals to the leathery hides that protected the dinosaurs, this episode looks at how skin has changed and adapted to virtually any challenge it has faced throughout history. TVPG VL | CC

In a life after people, invasive animals and vines spread: pythons battle alligators, plants strip oxygen from lakes, and sandstorms invade Phoenix. Also, Shanghai sinks and Miami is submerged. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Nature attacks Washington DC and Los Angeles. The fate of the Constitution and other monuments. Wilted palm trees help spread a massive inferno, while another capital emerges in the Pacific Ocean. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

The Underwater Universe generates three types of deadly waves, each bigger and more destructive than the last: Rogue, Monster and Tsunami. This episode will progress from bigger to bigger waves and explore how these killers are born and what makes each unique. We end the hour with the biggest recorded impact wave in Earth's history: a mega Tsunami over a hundred feet high destroying everything in its path. How did it happen? How did the planet survive? And could we be hit by a wave that big again? TVPG VL | CC

Could gold be the ultimate link between humans and aliens? A church in southern France is said to hold the key to alchemy--and a gateway to another part of the universe. Locals in Cusco, Peru believe UFO sightings are connected to lost gold at the bottom of Lake Puray. And some believe underneath the Great Sphinx of Giza lies an entire library left behind by extraterrestrials--a library stored on gold. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Ancient Astronaut theorists believe aliens have been visiting earth for thousands of years. If so, might we find evidence of this even in the stories of America's Old West? In Aurora, Texas, the local cemetery claims to hold the body of an alien whose ship crashed there in 1897. In Utah, petroglyphs depict strange beings wearing what look like space suits. In southern California, 19th century ranchers reported seeing an otherworldly creature emerge from Elizabeth Lake. And even in Tombstone, Arizona, the home of Wyatt Earp and the site of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, cowboys claimed to have shot at a giant, metallic bird Are these simply campfire tales, or did the cowboys and native people of America's Wild West actually come in contact with alien beings from another--much more distant--frontier? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Myths and legends have long been regarded as fantastic stories that describe powerful gods, mutant giants and fearsome monsters. But why do so many different cultures, separated by vast distances, tell the same stories? Is it possible that myths and legends were really eyewitness accounts of ancient astronauts descending to Earth? Ancient texts are filled with stories of gods interacting with humans, offering wisdom, technology, and even impregnating women. Could the demigods of mythology have been the offspring of alien and human unions? If so, could aliens have supplied the Missing Link that accelerated human evolution, advancing our civilization and making us who we are today? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Not so long ago, civilization learned that it was no match for just a few degrees drop in temperature. Scientists call it the Little Ice Age--but its impact was anything but small. From 1300 to 1850, a period of cataclysmic cold caused havoc. It froze Viking colonists in Greenland, accelerated the Black Death in Europe, decimated the Spanish Armada, and helped trigger the French Revolution. The Little Ice Age reshaped the world in ways that now seem the stuff of fantasy--New York Harbor froze and people walked from Manhattan to Staten Island, Eskimos sailed kayaks as far south as Scotland, and two feet of snow fell on New England in June and July during "the Year Without a Summer". Could another catastrophic cold snap strike in the 21st century? Leading climatologists offer the latest theories, and scholars and historians recreate the history that could be a glimpse of things to come. Face the cold, hard truth of the past--an era that may be a window to our future. TVPG VL | CC

Does Mount Rushmore, one of America's greatest icons of Democracy have a more sinister meaning? Buddy, Mac and Scott travel to Big Sky country to decode the intended message possibly hidden within this great American symbol. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

What if I told you there's a place in Alaska that claims more bodies than the Bermuda Triangle? The Alaska Triangle--the region between Anchorage, Juneau and Barrows--has a disappearance rate sixteen times the national average, and scientists are entirely incapable of explaining why. Is it Alaska's extreme geological activity that creates magnetic anomalies causing instruments--and humans--to act crazy? Or is it vortexes--swirling, turbulent flows of energy--that are causing entire ships, planes and people to disappear without a trace? Local tribesmen, Search and Rescue workers, and the families of the missing all have their theories as to what is causing people in Alaska to vanish off the face of the earth. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

When Scott Wolter began investigating mysterious artifacts, he started to notice one unique symbol appeared on many of them. The symbol, now known as the "Hooked X", baffled researchers who couldn't make sense of it. As Scott's investigation into the origins of the symbol unfolds, he realizes its use is unique to just two notoriously secret groups--the Knights Templar and their modern day brethren, the Freemasons. Used in secret codes, cryptic ciphers and even the alleged tomb of Jesus himself, the symbol could be the key to understanding two of the biggest mysteries of all time--exactly what the Holy Grail is, and where it's hidden today. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They are the life blood of the American Economy, transporting 1.8 billion tons of freight each year, carrying everything from crops, to consumer electronics, cars to chemicals, not to mention coal and just about any other item that you can think of. This program will take you to what is considered the greatest freight transportation system in the world, the Union Pacific's Bailey yard--a pit stop for much of the nation's freight on its journey across the continent. We'll also explore the history of freight transportation from its humble beginnings as tramways in mines to complex system of rails that stretches to every corner of the nation. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

From a prehistoric sharpened digging stick to today's $15-million monster machines, our journey for the ultimate shovel begins in California's borax mines, where the P&H 4100 uses advanced electronics, brute strength, and savvy operators to excavate 170-ton chunks in a single scoop. We travel back to 1835, when William Otis set off an American digging frenzy with his patented steam shovel. And at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, we kick the legs of NASA's latest Mars Lander: Phoenix. This stationary probe has a robotic arm with a shovel scoop designed to dig into the soil, locate ice, and analyze its properties. Back on Earth, the Hitachi Corporation's 200-ton hydraulic humanitarian shovel is designed to locate and explode landmines in Third-World countries. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

It's the unsung essential of modern life. Canning is the method of a preserving and packaging food, without which civilization would never have ventured beyond the local food supply. It changed the way the world eats and revolutionized the food industry. There are self heating and self cooling cans, microwaveable cans, ozone safe aerosol cans and cans that store nuclear waste. We will explore where canning has been, where it is now and where it is going in the future. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

On April 19, 1897, the Dallas Morning News reported a mysterious airship had crashed into a windmill in the nearby town of Aurora, Texas. Townspeople were said to have found an alien body and buried it in the local graveyard; the crash debris was dumped into a local well. More than 40 years later, the ranch owners were reporting skin lesions and crippling rheumatoid arthritis, which they attributed to tainted well water. The well was sealed over and forgotten. Now, more than a century after the event, the team will reopen the well, and search for the legendary grave, as they attempt to solve one of the earliest UFO cases ever recorded. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

What secrets lay buried in the never-before-seen files of a famous UFO investigator? In the early 1950s, James McDonald, a senior physicist at the University of Arizona, changed the entire course of UFO research. For nearly 20 years he examined UFO reports in great detail--interviewing over 500 witnesses, uncovering important government documents, and testifying before Congress in 1968. He challenged skeptics, performed scientific analysis, and led the charge for UFOs to be properly studied. After his tragic death in 1971, his investigations and files were sent to the University archives, where they lay dormant...until now. The team brings these lost UFO files back into the public eye for the first time on television, and looks at evidence long thought lost to history. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They soar through the heavens, fly through the oceans and glide along land. But these are not creatures found on a wildlife safari. These are life forms from another planet. Armed with scientific fact and a little imagination, experts come together to take you on an unprecedented journey to the edges of our imagination. Scientists, astrobiologists and astronomers create five lines of extraterrestrial evolution, and explain how creatures on the surface of Earth offer a helping hand to understanding life in The Universe. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

There really are ice worlds like Hoth from Star Wars. In this episode, we explore icy planets and moons, discover the role of cold in the Universe, and learn about the importance of ice to the development of habitable worlds. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In this episode, our cast uses awesome analogies to bring the biggest objects, farthest distances and fastest speeds down to earth. To truly understand the scale of the cosmos, we jump behind the wheel of monster trucks, scale the Golden Gate bridge, and race across the desert in a rocket-powered car. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Daniel Browning Smith is in Vegas to meet Brian Jackson who blows up a hot water bottle until it explodes. Daniel takes Brian to a lung specialist to measure the power output and pressure of his lungs. Lu Deyuan's extraordinary, traffic-stopping superhuman ability is eye watering! Daniel meets Lu in a Kuala Lumpur dockyard where he's hanging steel bars from his eyelids. Lu says he feels no pain and doesn't suffer from any injuries. Could Anthony Kelly have the fastest reflexes in the world? Daniel meets him catching tennis balls at 80mph, and use a high speed camera to capture his technique. At a Detroit Dojo, Daniel meets Japanese Nunchuck Master Hiroki deadly in the martial art of nunchaku combat. Cindi Bir and Daniel test his ability by challenging his accuracy with a baseball pitching cannon. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They were the messengers of divine knowledge and seers who shared visions of the future. For thousands of years, human civilization has been guided by the words and deeds of ancient prophets, but just who--or what--were these prophets communicating with? Might the experiences of history's prophets be evidence of communication with a heavenly source--or were seers like Elijah and Joseph Smith actually communicating with extraterrestrial overlords? And if so, are there similar prophets at work today? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Was Albert Einstein a genius? Or was he superhuman? Was his genius "of this world," or was it "otherworldly?" Is it possible, as Ancient Astronaut theorists believe, of an extraterrestrial connection to the scientific genius of famous historical figures such as Albert Einstein, Galileo, Archimedes, and Aristotle? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Zombies rising from their graves... Blood sucking vampires damned for all eternity... and humans trapped in a life and death struggle between heaven and hell. For thousands of years, mankind has told tales of encounters with strange, soulless creatures. Are these beliefs merely manmade fabrications--or could there be extraterrestrial origins in earthly encounters with the undead? TVPG VL | CC Show Site

In the late 1500s, years before Jamestown, the English sought to create their first settlement in America at Roanoke. A party of 119 colonists came over and settled but ultimately vanished. The fate of the Lost Colony of Roanoke has eluded archaeologists, historians and North Carolina locals, but as forensic geologist Scott Wolter discovers, a series of 48 stone clues that have been largely ignored and considered frauds may in fact hold the answer to America's oldest cold case. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

There are 800 very old, very mysterious, man-made stone sites in the Northeastern part of the United States. Forensic geologist Scott Wolter heads to rural Pennsylvania to investigate one of them--a meticulously crafted stone chamber buried underground in the woods. When he realizes it may have been a ritual bath chamber for a secret society, he embarks on a quest for answers as to who built, when and why. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

After his famous expedition to map the American West with William Clark, Meriwether Lewis recorded details of the adventure in a journal and intended to publish it. Before he could, he was shot and killed in an inn on the Natchez Trace. His death has been classified as a suicide, but as forensic geologist Scott Wolter discovers, there's reason to think he may not have killed himself. As Wolter investigates the death of America's most famous explorer he uncovers details that suggest President Jefferson himself may have had ulterior motives for the Lewis and Clark expedition that have never made it into the history books and may have led to his violent death. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

From itchy woolen union suits to comfortable briefs and boxers learn how our undergarments have evolved over the last 100 years. A visit to the Jockey factory will show us how men's briefs go from the loom to finished sewn product. Learn how fire retardant underwear can save lives and how some materials actually enhance athletic performance. Did you know that there are socks that can actually banish foot odor? Next, enter the world of the fifteen-billion dollar brassiere industry. Finally see how underwear keeps race car drivers cool in 140 degree temperatures. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They are catastrophic failures with deadly consequences. Caused by a single spark or a massive collapse, these disasters reveal one thing--the danger inherent in our most common industries. From a massive oil spill to refinery blaze to a downed plane, find out what went wrong... and how to prevent the next engineering disaster. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

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. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

What does the Universe sound like? From the sweep of a pulsar, to the deafening roar of our boiling sun this episode explores the undiscovered soundscapes of the solar system, the galaxy, and the entire cosmos. And, is it true that in space nobody can hear you scream?!? Our scientists reveal that there are places in the Universe that prove this sci-fi statement wrong. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

They sort of sound like the same phenomenon, but Pulsars and Quasars are very different. Pulsars are tiny--only a few miles across--but they spin as fast as a kitchen blender and sweep the sky with beacons of radiation that make them appear to flash on and off. They have unbelievably strong magnetic fields, are more accurate than atomic clocks...and they can even tell aliens just where to find the Earth! Quasars are at the other end of the spectrum. Quasars are huge cores of galaxies with black holes that are called "monsters" and which spit lobes of radiating gas called "DRAGNs." Quasars are so far away, we see them as they were only in the distant past--meaning they existed only in the early universe, when they may have played a major role in the creation of the galaxies themselves. TVPG VL | CC Show Site

Earth may seem like the most hospitable planet in the solar system. But look again. Startling new discoveries reveal the blue planet has been plagued by more chaos and destruction than scientists once imagined. Stand on the Earth billions of years ago as a primitive planet slams into it. Shiver as our entire globe is frozen over like a gigantic snowball. Feel the heat as mammoth volcanoes scorch the landscape and darken the sky. From a cosmic gamma ray burst frying away the ozone layer to an Everest-size asteroid slamming into the ocean, we'll reveal new information about how these unparalleled events drove life to the brink of total extinction. Out of this continuous devastation, how has our planet--and life--got to where it is today? Are the worst days behind us--or lurking in the distant future? TVPG VL | CC Show Site