Modern Marvels New Episodes Mondays at 10/9c

Episode Guide

Shoes

Premiere Date: 02/06/2012

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.

Under Pressure

Premiere Date: 01/30/2012

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.

Tiny Weapons

Premiere Date: 01/16/2012

"Tiny" weapons may not sound impressive...but small can kill, and it can also be easily concealed. From a pocket pistol used by the police...to a submachine gun wielded by a bodyguard...to a carbine in the hands of an Army Ranger, many of today's most effective weapons are smaller than ever. They can fit in your pocket, fly through the air, even break through walls--tiny weapons are an essential part of battle, self-defense, and spreading terror.

Convenience Stores

Premiere Date: 12/26/2011

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!

Wood

Premiere Date: 12/19/2011

Hundreds of years before steel and plastic, wood was the building block of America. But even today, it touches every aspect of our lives. It's underneath our feet and flying through the sky, propping up skyscrapers and making burgers fry -- from the historical, to the modern, to the timeless, we explore the surprising ways we cannot live without WOOD.

Waterproof

Premiere Date: 12/16/2011

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.

Stink

Premiere Date: 12/08/2011

Just the whiff of a foul odor can make your head spin, your eyes water, your stomach turn--it can even send you hurling. From cesspools, military stink bombs, and rancid rotting meat... to cow farms and landfills... to bad breath, B.O and beyond, the world is full of stink--and we've spent centuries battling the funk. So how do we deal with these horrific odors? Hold your breath `cause these sensational stories are gonna STINK!

Battle Ready

Premiere Date: 12/07/2011

U.S. soldiers today face enormous challenges, often stationed in desolate locations behind enemy lines. Keeping them protected is priority number one--and the military is making enormous leaps in devising a wide array of high-tech equipment to protect today's soldier. From elaborate elite training facilities, to GPS-guided air drops, to revolutionary high-tech tents and fire-retardant uniforms, we explore the science and technology of building, operating and protecting a base in a warzone.

More Candy

Premiere Date: 12/05/2011

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.

Weird Machines

Premiere Date: 11/28/2011

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.

Weird Machines

Premiere Date: 11/28/2011

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.

Food Trucks

Premiere Date: 11/14/2011

Food Trucks are hitting the big time--across much of America, they're changing the way we eat. From humble beginnings as chuck wagons and hot dog carts, they've taken off as ethnic eateries, gourmet specialists, and even high-tech mega trucks that serve thousands at disaster scenes. Not surprisingly, it takes some pretty sophisticated engineering to make it all work--and turn a truck into a kitchen on wheels.

Pocket Tools

Premiere Date: 11/07/2011

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.

Swamp Tech

Premiere Date: 10/24/2011

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.

Built by Hand

Premiere Date: 10/10/2011

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.

Inside Your Walls

Don't look now--but there's a lot more to your walls than you'd ever imagine. Take a penetrating look inside something we consider utterly mundane, and uncover a surprising and sometimes shocking world. A computer-managed home in Colorado showcases the high tech gadgetry destined to inhabit every wall in the future. At the headquarters of Orkin in Atlanta, a network of walls with cutouts and Plexiglas windows reveal how pests and creepy crawlies of all kinds can congregate in huge numbers inside our homes. In Washington, scientists at Underwriters Labs play with fire in the name of research, investigating how our walls can keep us safe--or expose us to a fiery death. And in Los Angeles, a security company demonstrates innovative new technology that can "see" through walls--detecting motion, heat, breathing, even heartbeats.

American Trucking

Premiere Date: 02/04/2011

America would come to a standstill without trucks. Trucks transport a staggering 70 percent of all the nation's goods. Explore the amazingly diverse world of American trucks and the colorful men and women who drive them. Join country superstar Brad Paisley and his crew of truckers on the road between Little Rock and Tulsa--racing the clock to be on time for Brad's next concert. In Dearborn, Michigan, climb aboard one of the most popular pickups--the Ford F-150--as it tackles a devilish test course. And in Virginia, see how fast the world's most nimble tow truck can extract a car from the tightest parking spot imaginable. Meet a Mack truck fanatic and his cool collection of vintage models, and ride-along with an unsung hero with a truly dirty job--operating a truck designed to empty and clean portable toilets.

Ropes & Chains

Premiere Date: 01/28/2011

From hauling our heaviest gear to mastering the tallest mountains, they have been around for centuries, but we constantly improve upon them. Get an inside look at factories where every kind and style of Ropes & Chains are made. We'll get some lessons from a company that trains high-flying workers who depend on rope to do their jobs safely. Learn how window washers, rock climbers and even bungee jumpers safely use the ropes they depend on every day! See dockworkers who rely on ropes around the clock, and pay a visit to the head-spinning factory floors where some of the strongest ropes available are made. See how industrial chain links come to life from just a rusty steel coil and how they're used to anchor massive ships and unload cargo. From parachute cord to shipping lines, from fine jewelry to anchor chains--we'll discover the many uses of today's Ropes & Chains.

Grease

Premiere Date: 01/21/2011

In our lifelong battle to fight friction, Grease--in all its forms--is the unsung hero. Journey deep into places few people ever get to see, to discover the "hidden" uses of one of our most slippery products inside giant machines. We'll also investigate how it's made in a factory in New York, as well as what new advances some are working towards for grease of the future. But in the meantime, we'll witness how it is currently used inside a US Navy aircraft carrier, San Francisco's famous cable cars, elevators and escalators, assembly lines, huge excavators, amusement park rides, and even the Panama Canal. From pig fat to nano-particles... amazing Grease keeps everything rolling along--smooth and fast.

Packaging

Premiere Date: 01/14/2011

It's all around us--so much a part of our lives that we forget it's there. But try to survive a single day without packaging. This episode reveals the astounding technology and ingenuity required to create our packaged world. At a Michigan company that designs water bottles, we'll show you how engineers find their inspiration from a bell pepper. In New Jersey, the makers of bubble Wrap clue you in on their manufacturing secrets. In Texas, workers conquer the challenge of packaging the world's largest crane. And you'll also see how America's military goods and supplies are packaged and shipped by the United States Transportation Command. Other stories include a new easy to open package that's the cure for "wrap rage"--and how NASA engineers packed a fragile humanoid robot for a trip into orbit.

Rice

Premiere Date: 12/29/2010

You can fry it up, eat it for breakfast, or quaff it down on a hot summer day. It's the world's most versatile grain: RICE. At last count, there were over 140,000 types--white, brown, long-grain, wild, short-grain, jasmine, Arborio, Basmati, black Thai, sweet, sticky--enough to satisfy any discerning palette. From the mountaintops of Nepal to the fertile fields of California and Arkansas, we'll find out everything there is to know about growing, harvesting and milling this tiny, life saving fare. We'll travel to restaurants and distilleries to experience the delicious creations talented masters whip up. It comes in all the colors of the rainbow, served up everyday in countless dishes. It even brews into alcoholic drinks--sake and beer. We'll also go inside the factories that make Rice Cakes and Rice Krispie Treats to discover how they use RICE to make their "snackable" delights.

Driver's Seat

Premiere Date: 12/21/2010

Get behind the wheel and take control of the some of the largest, fastest, most powerful machines on the planet. These aren't your average vehicles--and handling one of these rides is unlike anything else. But you need more than just a learner's permit to take control of these vehicles...you need training, experience, and above all, guts--if you plan to sit in the Driver's Seat.

Made in the USA

Premiere Date: 12/17/2010

Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the United States has stamped, carved, cut, built and assembled its way into becoming the super power of product production. However, in the last 20 years, the "Made in America" tag began to fade, as the manufacturing landscape of industry went overseas. So what is still Made in the USA? Visit the world's biggest and oldest flag manufacturer, which has made some of the most famous flags in history. Go inside the factories that produce the last athletic shoe made in the US. See the strangest form of alternate transportation known to man--completely assembled in 30 minutes. Check out a hot toy company that believes it's imperative to keep their work here at home. Top it all off with some great food--some American success stories that may seem foreign at first glance. It's not just a label. It's a proud and important tradition.

Made in the USA

Premiere Date: 12/17/2010

Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the United States has stamped, carved, cut, built and assembled its way into becoming the super power of product production. However, in the last 20 years, the "Made in America" tag began to fade, as the manufacturing landscape of industry went overseas. So what is still Made in the USA? Visit the world's biggest and oldest flag manufacturer, which has made some of the most famous flags in history. Go inside the factories that produce the last athletic shoe made in the US. See the strangest form of alternate transportation known to man--completely assembled in 30 minutes. Check out a hot toy company that believes it's imperative to keep their work here at home. Top it all off with some great food--some American success stories that may seem foreign at first glance. It's not just a label. It's a proud and important tradition.

Secret Underground

Premiere Date: 12/10/2010

Just below the surface, there's a whole different America hidden from public view. Take a revealing look at the America under our feet, from secret military installations, and experimental farms to tunnel networks and neutron lasers.

Built to Last

Premiere Date: 12/03/2010

Enter the amazing and ingenious ultra-sturdy shelters, machines, containers, materials and packaging designed to deny the ruination of society. The drive to create the indestructible has inspired some of the most prolific and awe inspiring results: The Cold War spawned personal bomb shelters in the 1950s. They weren't truly safe and secure, but today's 21st century version will last a millennium. And so will the special food you can get, along with all the comforts of home--like running water, plumbing and electricity. Caskets serve as our final resting place, but how long do they really last? Investigate how valuable data from a plane crash survives in a "black box" (that's not really black), to explain what might have caused the accident. And get an intimate look at the new "home" that protects and preserves one of the world's most valuable documents--the case that houses the original Declaration of Independence.

Dogs

Man's best friend--fearless, faithful, determined and swift. They're our sharpest eyes, noses and ears--and among the bravest hunters, soldiers, rescuers, and protectors. From natural instincts to complex training, see what makes dogs a perfectly engineered Modern Marvel.

Engineering Disasters 22

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.

Coin Operated II

Premiere Date: 11/12/2010

Tens of millions of them all over the world--soda and snack machines, parking meters and payphones, video games and vending machines... and they all use coins--but for how long? Examine the historic one-armed bandits and the 21st century, cutting edge, computerized slot machines that occupy Vegas casinos and get an exclusive look at their inner workings in a never-before-seen factory in Reno, Nevada. Search out some of the wackiest, strangest vending machines on the planet that sell everything from bottles of wine to dog washes. Get a close-up look at the famous binoculars located at popular tourist sites around the world, as well as a unique company that collects and cleans the coins thrown into fountains for good luck. But it all starts and ends in the historic halls of the U.S. Mint, where coins are made and destroyed. Will coins one day become obsolete?

Supersized Food

Premiere Date: 11/05/2010

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.

Mega Stores

Premiere Date: 10/29/2010

The colossal cornerstones of commerce. Oversized outfitters. Merchandise Moguls. Mega Stores are giant facilities engineered to keep up with America's supersized habits. They are the largest, busiest places in the country. Their greatest challenge: keeping up with demand on a massive scale, and to do it, they have everything from scuba divers to sandblasters. It's not what's on the shelves--it's what happens behind the scenes.

Top Ten

We can't live without them and yet they didn't even exist a couple of decades ago. We'll count down our list of the top ten technological innovations of the last generation. Have they made human existence exponentially better, or more fragmented and precarious? Tune in to find out what they are, and how they've impacted our lives.

The Real National Treasure

Premiere Date: 06/10/2010

Where in Washington D.C. is the nation's most incredible treasure chest? It's a library unlike any other in the world--the U.S. Library of Congress. Explode the myth that this 200-year-old institution is simply "where members of Congress borrow books." Viewers are taken beyond the magnificent Jefferson Building Great Hall into the secret vaults where more than 600 miles of shelves hold 130 million items, many of them priceless treasures--from George Washington's hand-written diaries to Galileo's first images of the moon to the original camera film of the movie Frankenstein. See how a staff of 4,000 catalogues protects and preserves these treasures and distributes them globally via a new World Digital Library.

Doors

Premiere Date: 06/03/2010

Take a look at the tallest doors in the world at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Visit a company that makes blast doors and bulletproof doors. Learn about the surprisingly complex process involved in making home doors, as well as what goes into those commercial entries and exits we use everyday--the revolving door and the turnstile. At the Southwestern Foundation for Biomedical Research, enter through an airlock into their level 4 biohazard lab. The Cleveland Federal Reserve doesn't even send people into their vaults; its robots go in and out. Try some aviation entries and exits--the jet way used to board a plane, the airplane emergency exit procedures we hope to never use, and ejection seats, the fastest exit anywhere. Then, an engineering firm that designs hidden doors will take viewers to see a few of their secret entries. Finally, take a quick look at doors that go nowhere, at the Winchester Mystery House.

Super Steam

Premiere Date: 05/27/2010

It's full steam ahead when we drop in at Jay Leno's garage as Jay fires up two of his classic steam cars and takes viewers for a couple of rides. Jay also shows off his 11-ton steam engine built in 1860, back when pigs had to be slaughtered to keep it lubricated. In northern Nevada, fire up a coal burning boiler and get a 100-year-old steam locomotive chugging across the rugged landscape. In New Orleans, board an authentic paddlewheel steamboat. Trek to the Southern California desert where geothermal steam rushes up from the ground and drives electricity producing turbines, powering over 300,000 homes. In New York City, find out why manmade steam surges into some of the world's most famous skyscrapers. Steam clean some very dirty machines, and do a little laundry, too. And ride a steam-driven carousel and play with some strange, steam-powered robots that are part of a movement called--what else--"steampunk."

Keep Out

Premiere Date: 05/20/2010

Either someone has something to protect, or it's dangerous in there. Challenge the world's best safecracker to defeat a bank vault, and see the methods a bank uses to protect its money and tellers. Travel to New Mexico to find out how the government plans to keep people away from a nuclear waste site for the next 10,000 years. Tour Master Lock to see how padlocks and combination locks are made, as well as how facial recognition, irises, and even vein structure can "unlock" biometric locks. With Customs and Border Protection, watch how officers stop illegals and contraband from entering the U.S. Tour a company that specializes in making products like steel nets to keep out people and vehicles. Visit a command center that monitors all airspace in and around the U.S. Finally, see how cages and other deterrents tell sharks to KEEP OUT!

Breaking Point

Premiere Date: 05/13/2010

Get ready to examine points of failure in ultra slow motion. Watch drivers crash cars and trucks at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to find their breaking points, and to find the breaking points of the crash dummies inside. At Underwriter's Laboratories, fire rounds at bullet proof glass until it breaks, and see how long it will take experts to breach a safe using more and more powerful tools. Watch as lithium-ion batteries catch fire and blow up at Sandia National Laboratories. At Arizona State University, find the breaking points of steel, concrete--even Kevlar jet engine containment systems. See how a bike helmet guards against the skull reaching its breaking point, then fire high-speed projectiles at Oakley's sport glasses and military grade goggles to see if they survive. And at Black Diamond, scale a rock face with a professional climber to find the breaking point of the carabineers and chalks upon which his very life depends.

Big & Small

Premiere Date: 05/06/2010

Size does matter. We'll size up the biggest of machines, and their smallest counterparts. First we go to France to find out what goes into assembling the world's largest jetliner, the Airbus A380. Then, fly with microjet pilots in the world's smallest jets. Witness a race between a huge Boss Hoss 425 horsepower motorcycle and an 18 inch tall pocket bike. Take the world's smallest production car for a ride and see just how many choir members we can fit into a super-sized limousine. See a mammoth Caterpillar front loader in action, in an open pit coal mine, and dig up the backyard with a loader that's no bigger than a lawnmower. Finally, walk inside an enormous diesel engine powering an 80,000 ton container ship and eyeball a tiny one driving a five pound model airplane.

Super Ships

Premiere Date: 04/29/2010

Take a journey into the world of super sized, super strong, super unique ships. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography takes viewers out to sea to see how their FLIP research vessel flips a full 90 degrees, sinking over three quarters of its 355-foot length. In Miami, go behind the scenes of one of the largest cruise ships in the world. In California, step onboard the Navy's newest, most advanced transport ship and take a spin in one of America's strongest and greenest tugboats. In Boston, venture into the frigid world of an LNG carrier, transporting enough natural gas to power a million homes for an entire week. In Maine, hop on "the Cat," the fastest car ferry in North America--it's a huge twin-hulled catamaran. Finally, learn how a ship that looks like an enormous spider on water may someday save lives.

Helicopters

In Alabama, fly with the Apache Longbow, the deadliest helicopter in world, and learn how to fly the Blackhawk, one of the most sophisticated and versatile helicopters in world. Then climb aboard a Coast Guard helicopter as a team trains for water rescues in the Gulf. In California, see how the immensely popular Robinson helicopters are hand-made and how the police use them to catch fleeing criminals. In Tennessee, learn how million dollar Bell helicopters are customized with everything from bars and entertainment systems to state of the art navigation. Then it's off to Arizona to see how anyone can build their own affordable helicopter in their garage. Finally, learn how drone helicopters that can shoot a movie or take out an enemy.

Deliver It

Premiere Date: 04/15/2010

Got something strange to deliver? From pizza to packages, we'll show you how it's packed, labeled and shipped. Head down the highway carrying gigantic wind turbine blades. See how UPS got China's invaluable terra cotta warriors to a Los Angeles art museum. Deliver luxury yachts aboard a submersible carrier ship. Ride to the track with prized thoroughbreds on their own special jet. Want dinner and a movie? Sounds like a visit to Netflix headquarters and Papa John's Pizza. Ride radical with bike messengers in New York City, and deliver a donor kidney to a waiting hospital. Take a tour of the UPS Worldport hub in Louisville, Kentucky, a mammoth center with delivery docks for 100 jets, and handles 1.2 million packages a day.

Soft Drinks

They account for nearly 30% of all beverages consumed in the U.S., and have been quenching our thirst for over a century. Visit the world's third largest soft drink supplier, Dr. Pepper, and then watch the scientists at Gatorade collect an athlete's sweat for analysis. Your brain will freeze with the Slurpee, get a jolt with the energy drink of the 21st Century and explore the roots of Ginger Ale and Root Beer. Finally discover how Jones Soda dares to make a soft drink taste like a Christmas ham.

Fry It

Premiere Date: 04/01/2010

Welcome to the world of sizzling hot oil. First, it's a trip to the fair to discover the secrets behind fried classics such as funnel cakes and churros. And how about some deep fried treats such as frogs legs, and Twinkies and Coke? At Mickey's Diner in St. Paul, Minnesota, get schooled in the tricks of the fried food trade from a master short order cook. See what goes into forging the classic cast iron frying pan, supplying deep fryers for American restaurants, and producing billions of pounds of cooking oil. At Kentucky's World Chicken Festival, witness the world's largest stainless steel frying pan fry up to six hundred chicken quarters at a time. Find out what makes international favorites like British fish and chips, Japanese tempura, and Chinese stir-fry so tasty. Cooking oil is now being deployed as a fuel. Marvel at how San Francisco fire trucks are fueling up on the city's used cooking oil.

Mega Meals

Premiere Date: 03/25/2010

Explore the complex logistics behind creating feasts for the largest and most ravenous crowds. At the U.S. Naval Base in Bangor, Washington, hop aboard a nuclear submarine stuffed with enough food for a 120-day mission. At the U.S. Marine Corps' base in Twentynine Palms, California, follow a brigade of cooks as they prepare their "Victory Meal" for more than a thousand Marines. At the Philadelphia Eagles' football stadium, see how a major food supplier satisfies 69,000 fans during an NFL game. Watch a team of experts rapidly assemble a remote kitchen as they prepare to cater the official after party of the American Music Awards. In Las Vegas, the cooking team at Planet Hollywood's Spice Market Buffet will show viewers what it takes to feed a never-ending line of gamblers. And at Gate Gourmet kitchen in New York, watch as thousands of airline meals are whipped together in just one day.

Hot & Spicy

Premiere Date: 03/18/2010

Chili head alert! It's time to get hot and spicy. First we'll take you to the home of sizzling Tabasco sauce--McIlhenny Company of Louisiana, and to McCormick in Baltimore, Maryland--the leading spice manufacturer in the world. Then, head down south to see who likes it hot at the Southern Mississippi Chili Cook Off. At the Chile Pepper Institute, taste the rare "Bhut Jolokia," the hottest Chile pepper in the world, and learn about the chemical substance capsaicin, which gives the "Bhut" and other popular peppers their tongue-burning heat. At Sol Toro restaurant in Connecticut, owned by basketball great Michael Jordan, customers need to sign a waiver to dine on their sizzling dishes. Go to the manufacturers of horseradish, wasabi and mustard to find out how their roots and seeds deliver their own distinctive blazing burn. Using the same heat many savor, we'll demonstrate the powerful punch of pepper spray as a weapon.

Beans

Premiere Date: 03/11/2010

Follow the soybean from field to refinery with CHS, Inc. as they convert billions of soybeans into vegetable oils, flour, and soy meal. These products, in turn, end up in salad dressings and margarines, baked goods, animal feed and even bio-fuel and plastics. Pay a visit to the Kelley Bean Company which cleans 80,000 pounds of dry beans per day. B & M Baked Beans stirs up some New England tradition by baking beans in steel kettles and brick ovens. Then, Italian chef and bean lover Cesare Casella whips up a few bean dishes using rare heirloom beans, some of which cost $35 per pound. For dessert, Japanese pastry makers prepare traditional bean-based confections with the azuki bean. Fry up some falafel and puree some beans into a paste called hummus with the most widely consumed legume in the world...the chickpea. Last but not least, the makers of Beano explain how it works to prevent that unfortunate bean byproduct: gas.

Start to Finish

What does it take to turn twenty tons of steel into top-notch vehicles in less than a day? How does a pile of lumber become a million dollar home in a mere week? Every process, from beginning to end, is a unique and incredible adventure. From the fiery birth of high tech golf clubs to the cataclysmic end of old buildings... get ready to race from Start to Finish.

Chrome

Premiere Date: 03/02/2010

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.

Winter Tech

Premiere Date: 02/11/2010

From building cutting-edge competition venues to the latest sports science training, winter sports use more technology than ever. This episode takes you behind the scenes of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter games. Olympic organizers race against the clock to build venues, expand transportation and security, and add futuristic touches to the ultimate Olympic icon--the Olympic torch. Meanwhile, US Olympic hopefuls use high-tech training tools to gain a competitive edge. Take in breathtaking views from the world's highest unsupported gondola and rocket down a bobsled track at 80 miles per hour, as we show you winter sports like you've never seen them before.

Tuna

It's the most popular fish in the American diet. From the school lunch box--to the high end sushi bar--to the outdoor barbecue, tuna crosses all demographic lines. We'll go fishing with the men who risk their lives to bring in a haul, stop in at Bumble Bee, the only major tuna cannery still operating in America, and visit the world's largest fish market in Tokyo, where a single tuna can sell for as much as $100,000. We'll also explore worldwide efforts to save the giant bluefin tuna, which has been over-fished to a point of peril. Then we'll head to sea with scientists who track the tunas' inter-oceanic migrations, and travel to South Australia, where entrepreneurs seek to breed the mighty bluefin in captivity.

The Potato

Premiere Date: 01/28/2010

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.

Eggs

Premiere Date: 01/21/2010

Each year in the U.S., 280 million hens lay 80 billion eggs, one of the world's most affordable sources of protein. We'll chart the "journey of the egg" from henhouse to breakfast table...from massive traditional Iowa farms, where millions of eggs move from hens to delivery trucks without being touched by human hands...to "cage-free" and "pasture raised" farms where chickens have more room to roam but consumers pay the price. Find out what labels like "Grade A, Organic" and "Omega-3 Enhanced" really mean. See how powdered eggs get made and what happens to the billions of whites and yolks that go their separate ways. Try the world's largest omelet, made from an ostrich egg, the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs. How about some pickled eggs or "century" duck eggs? And prepare to be awed by the "Michelangelo" of the egg-shell world as he sculpts egg shells less than 1/32 inch thick into jaw-dropping works of art.

Dirt

Premiere Date: 01/14/2010

You know the old saying "dull as dirt"...wrong! In Las Vegas we'll see how thousands of tons of dirt transform a stadium into a Supercross course, and in New Jersey we'll slog into a secret bog to collect the special mud that every major league team relies on to give extra grip to baseballs. Then, we'll join in the down and dirty fun of mud wrestling at a state fair in Hawaii. In Tucson we'll see how modern adobe and stunning rammed-earth homes are made. To farmers, "dirt" is "soil" and in a teaspoon of healthy soil there are more living organisms than people on our planet. We'll find out where they came from at a sprawling potting soil facility in central California where huge earth moving equipment adds tons of dried kelp, bat guano and other ingredients to dirt. At exclusive spas we'll watch patrons submerge in mud. Finally, we'll visit the Tide detergent factory--why? To get the dirt out, of course.

Night

Some activities only occur when the world is dark. We stay up late off the coast of California to hunt some slippery and slimy nocturnal creatures: squid by the tens of thousands. Fishermen show us how they lure them into their net by mesmerizing them with the boat's powerful lights. We also visit Toronto, Canada, the self proclaimed "worm capitol of the world", where an army of pickers pluck countless night crawlers emerging from their burrows. In Tennessee, we put a night vision lens on our camera to capture the action as military trainees try their hand at the latest night vision gear. And we'll experience how hard it is to evade a police helicopter's blindingly bright Spectrolab spotlight, or powerful noses and sharp teeth when the cops deploy their K-9 units. For some after hours fun, we'll see how more than six hundred, 2,000 watt lights can turn night into day inside the Pittsburgh Pirates' new state-of-the-art stadium.

Super Human

Premiere Date: 12/22/2008

Do normal humans actually possess the ability to have super powers? In Utah, see how a man can strap on an exoskeleton and lift hundreds of pounds with virtually no effort. In England, visit "Mr. Cyborg," a man with the ability to control machines with merely a thought. In California, see a man glide through the sky like Superman, then it's off to Atlanta, Georgia to see how engineers have found a way to help people glide through the water like Aquaman. Learn how scientists at the University of Texas are building artificial muscles that are 400 times stronger than our own, and in Las Vegas, strap on velocity motion stilts for a little bionic high jumping and high speed running.

Car Wash

Premiere Date: 12/08/2008

Americans hit the car wash 2 million times a day--at a cost of $25 billion dollars a year. From tunnel systems to in-bay automatics, we'll go beyond the suds to see how car washes are built to clean. We'll get wet inside the largest car wash in the U.S.--a seven acre mega facility complete with a dog wash, chapel, and barber shop. We'll head to a car wash manufacturer where electric eyes are trained, auto conveyers are built, and mega vacuums suck up bowling balls. We'll learn some tips on how to clean our cars at home. Watch as we plaster a $160,000 Porsche with tar, glue, egg, bird droppings, and a bucket full of sludge... and then challenge a detailer to get it off. Cleaning radioactive waste from a train? No problem, if you go to the Energy Solutions rail car wash. Then, it's off to see how car manufacturers design and build vehicles to survive the car wash.

The Turkey

Premiere Date: 11/24/2008

It's the centerpiece on your Thanksgiving dinner table--and one of the most famous birds in North America. From the moment a baby turkey pecks through its shell to the factory that transforms turkey waste into crude oil, see a world few have ever seen. Tour the Butterball factory in North Carolina, where millions of domesticated turkeys are processed, take a trip to a wild turkey hunt in the Montana wilderness, and stop at America's most famous turkey-themed restaurant, The Strongbow Inn, for a plate of turkey testicles and turkey eggs. From pets to presidential pardons, it's an up-close look at the feisty fowl that's the reluctant star of our holiday dinners.

Halloween Tech

Halloween has become a six billion dollar industry. Go behind-the-scenes at Knott's Berry Farm's 35th annual Halloween Haunt. Learn how to apply Hollywood grade monster make-up, watch scary latex masks cranked out by the thousands and discover which costumes are past and present winners. See the most extreme jack-o-lanterns ever made, find out how hundreds of gallons of fake blood are manufactured and finally visit a haunted house with an annual attendance of over 50,000.

Corrosion & Decomposition

Premiere Date: 10/13/2008

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the aging U.S. infrastructure is in danger of collapse. Learn about a company in Missouri that uses a trench-less technology to rebuild corroded sewer pipes from the inside out while engineers at General Motors Proving Grounds lead the battle against corrosive road de-icing salts. See how a bioreactor in Florida turns mountains of garbage methane gas. Finally, discover how the tiny termite is teaching us how to turn agricultural waste into ethanol at a fraction of the current cost.

Lead

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?

Mold & Fungus

Premiere Date: 09/18/2008

From magic mushrooms to athlete's foot to penicillin, fungi are everywhere. Learn about fungal organisms that live within our bodies, grow beneath our feet, float in the air and help create some of the foods and beverages we consume. Follow professionals as they battle mold inside the walls of one moldy home. Visit the Phillips Mushroom Farms, America's largest producer of specialty mushrooms and finally see how scientists are looking for way to use fungi to fuel cars and clean up hazardous waste.

Dangerous Roads

Premiere Date: 08/28/2008

Take a ride along some of the world's most dangerous roads. From Bolivia's "Death Road," to California's fog-shrouded Highway 99, find the danger that waits behind every blind curve. Visit the Federal Highway Administration's test laboratory to see what's being done to make roads safer in the U.S. Finally, ride along in extreme four-wheel drive trucks with some adrenaline junkies that drive boulder-strewn trails just for the fun of it!

Wheat

Premiere Date: 08/21/2008

It feeds the world. Ride along with a custom harvester traveling from Texas to North Dakota and discover the ripening wheat fields. See how the harvesting crews brave months on the road, cutting thousands of acres each season. Tour a pasta plant to see how a special kind of wheat becomes everything from spaghetti to rigatoni. Watch as the grain is mashed into a thirst-quenching brew. Finally visit a company that transforms wheat into plastic-like products, such as eating utensils, hair combs, drumsticks, and yo-yos.

Iron

Premiere Date: 08/14/2008

From the spear, axe, and sword to today's high tech arsenal, iron weapons have revolutionized warfare. Visit the mines of Minnesota and discover how iron ore is extracted and made into steel. Learn how military-metallurgists create the latest weapons and demonstrate their firepower. Discover iron super magnets, and study the biggest iron magnet of all--the earth! See how iron oxide plays a significant role in creating paints for cars and houses and ink for tattoos and the dollar bill. Finally, it's off to the Moon and Mars to mine iron in space.

Coin Operated

Premiere Date: 07/24/2008

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.

Underwear

Premiere Date: 07/17/2008

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.

Crashes

Explore collisions that shake our world from the astronomic to the subatomic. Discover breakthroughs that could make the deadly sport of professional auto racing safer and visit a motorcycle crash test facility and examine two-wheeled accidents in detail. Meet a skydiver who survived a crash to earth from 11,000 feet. An asteroid crashing to earth could destroy our planet--watch as NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Tracking team hunt down dangerous asteroids. Finally learn about scientist's who are creating crashes with colliding subatomic particles in the world's largest machine. Will they unlock the secrets of the universe--or accidentally open a black hole?

Bathroom Tech II

Premiere Date: 06/30/2008

The most used room in the home is the bathroom and it's full of tech. Visit Kohler and see the new digitally controlled uber-shower, complete with steam, music and LED chromatherapy. Check out American Standard's Champion 4--the supposedly "uncloggable" toilet. Learn all about the low-flow alternatives for showers and toilets. Finally, what is New York City's latest hi-tech solution for going on the go?

Ice Cream

Premiere Date: 06/23/2008

From the gelato of Italy, to the French Pot process of the 1800s, to the numerous assortments of frozen delights being served up today, learn the history of this delicious dessert. Visit factories at Dreyer's, TCBY and the Joy Cone Company where ice cream, frozen yogurt, and the cone, roll off the assembly line. Get the scoop on how Ben & Jerry's come up with their crazy ideas and watch as one of their madcap inventors creates a new flavor, just for us.

Corpse Tech

Do you ever wonder what happens to your body after you die? You might be surprised to discover that the human body is host to a multitude of hidden secrets. Discover how coroners and forensic anthropologists use a body to both save lives and catch killers. Visit the University of Tennessee's famed "Body Farm," a crematorium, and one of the largest tissue banks in the United States.

Most Dangerous

Premiere Date: 06/06/2008

Discover that the deadliest snakes, sports and weather events are closer and more treacherous than you think. Travel to the slopes of Mt. Rainier, America's most dangerous volcano, and find out why 100,000 people could be in serious trouble. Watch where you step, because the most dangerous snake in the U.S. slithers in great numbers and has a short temper. Learn where the most dangerous weather phenomenon, the tornado, can cause the most damage. We'll look for protection for the most dangerous hits football can muster.

Axes

Premiere Date: 05/30/2008

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.

Mad Electricity

Premiere Date: 05/14/2008

Nikola Tesla's bizarre vision of the future brought him failure, but his genius electrified the world. Travel to Niagara Falls, where in 1893, Tesla installed his new system of Alternating Electrical Current known as AC--the same power we use today. Uncover the forgotten ruins of Tesla's dream experiment---a huge tower on Long Island Sound he hoped would wirelessly power the world. Radar, death rays, invisibility devices and earthquake machines: Tesla claimed to have created them all. More than 100 years ago Tesla foresaw the need for alternative energies like geothermal and solar.

Bread

It's the basic source of nourishment for half the world--bread. Bake it, roast it, slice it, toast it--it's a wonder that three simple ingredients, flour, water and salt, can be transformed into so many different shapes and tastes. From baguettes to pita, from corn bread to flour tortillas, every culture finds a way to make it and bake it.

Whiskey

Premiere Date: 03/17/2008

Known to Irish monks as "water of life", visit some of the world's finest distilleries to see how each country brews this thousand-year old spirit. Jack Daniels tells the secret of charcoal filtering, Jim Beam shows its premium bourbons and the art of blending is revealed at Canadian Club Whiskey. Cross the Atlantic to get the real deal at Jameson's Distillery in Midleton, Ireland and in Scotland discover what gives Glenlivet its character. Meet some of the people who are lucky enough to sample whiskey for a living. Cheers!

Alaskan Fishing

Premiere Date: 03/16/2008

The Alaska Ocean is the largest factory-fishing boat in the US fleet. The crew's mission: hunt down, catch and process 300 tons of Alaskan Pollock each day on the unforgiving waters of the Bering Sea. We travel with them on the last voyage of a long and grueling season. The crew reveals the inner workings of one of the most sophisticated and complex vessels afloat. It is half fishing boat, half floating factory, processing and flash freezing Alaskan Pollock as fast as its crew can catch it. To meet their seasonal quota of Pollock, the crew must overcome obstacles of weather, mechanical dangers aboard the sea-tossed ship and the wiliness of the fish themselves. Captain Scott Symonds takes us inside the amazing ultra-modern world of high stakes commercial fishing where a wrong decision on his part can cost not just the season's catch, but also the lives of his crew.

Strange Weapons

Premiere Date: 03/10/2008

Modern arsenals have become much more sophisticated than bullets and bombs. Discover microwave-like rays that make the enemy flee when they feel the heat and laser weapons, mounted on trucks and airplanes that can blow missiles out of the sky. Some of the newest non-lethal weapons include a B.B. machine gun that can fire 150 pain-causing pellets a second and a flashing device nicknamed "the pukelight" that may make you lose your lunch. Finally examine ancient weapons that include a cutlery set containing hidden pistols and Ninja hand claws that would put the X-Men's Wolverine to shame.

World's Strongest III

Witness some mind-blowing feats of strength starting with the world's most powerful elevators--one lifts fighter jets, the other lifts a giant stage filled with acrobats. Discover the world's strongest tire and the monster mine machine it rolls with. Take a 35-foot drop on the world's strongest mountain bike. See the world's strongest land transport vehicle that carries the Space Shuttle. Finally mix some drinks or chop a telephone into dust with the biggest and strongest home blender you've ever seen.

Superhighways

Premiere Date: 02/28/2008

Millions of drivers travel the world's superhighways each year. See a multi-billion dollar expansion project in Houston, Texas where a stretch of superhighway is being widened to 20 lanes. Take a ride atop the High-Five, a 12-story, five-level interchange that's become the latest Dallas tourist attraction. Then it's off to China's 28,000-mile National Trunk Highway System. Discover how a single distracted driver can cause a major traffic jam. Finally, play a cutting-edge video game that's training emergency personnel how to unclog a clogged superhighway.

Carbon

Premiere Date: 01/14/2008

It is the chemical basis of all known life and yet this simple element is also the foundation of modern technology. Carbon burns hotter, cuts deeper, insulates more thoroughly and absorbs more fully than any other material. See why carbon is the key both in heavy-duty industries, as well as in tools like the graphite pencil, the charcoal water filter, and the diamond saw blade. Watch how carbon fiber, a material stronger than steel and lighter than fiberglass, is made into the fuselage of a new Boeing 787. Discover why "activated charcoal" is the material of choice for absorbing everything from toxic heavy metals in your drinking water to funky odors in your shoes.

Milk

Got milk? Billions of pounds of milk are consumed worldwide on a daily basis. Milk is the basis for its own food group, and has been around since the dawn of mammals. Visit a farm with a milking parlor that looks more like a cow merry-go-round. Learn what pasteurization is really all about, and even milk a yak. Find out what those active cultures in yogurt are and discover if milk truly makes the body good. Wait until you discover just how many types of cows there truly are.

Fast Food Tech

Can fast food get any faster? Fast food joints in the US pull in $150 billion dollars in annual sales. Their mantra is "fast, consistent, and inexpensive." Learn how they grow it, process it, freeze it, ship it, track it, fry it, flip it and pack it. Watch as hundreds of burgers, fries and shakes fly across counters and drive-thru windows at Carl's Jr., Jack in the Box, Wendy's and McDonald's. Visit a potato-processing plant for the scoop on how fries are made and learn how Taco Bell's founder developed the fast-food hard shell taco. Find out what the future holds for fast food technology.

Cold Cuts

Premiere Date: 12/17/2007

They're the meat in our sandwiches and slices of American pop culture. Take a look behind the deli counter to reveal the secret ingredients in boloney. Watch a master sausage maker craft salami, and pile it on at Carnegie Deli with their famous mile-high pastrami sandwich. We'll construct exotic cold cuts made of pig head parts and livers, make the cut with the best meat slicers, past and present and see how to make turkey out of tofu. And don't forget that olive loaf for the holidays. Served cold and cut with precision. Pureed, pounded, and poured, it's time for a taste of cold cuts.

Most Shocking

Premiere Date: 12/10/2007

It strikes without warning and kills in an instant. We fear its might even as we use it to save a life. Explore the electric shock in its numerous forms. Visit a modern day taser factor, uncovering the history behind these devices. Deconstruct a lightening bolt, which can travel up to 100,000 miles per second, and listen to the shocking tales from survivors of lightening strikes. From fences to eels, to the electric chair, we reveal the jolting truth about the electric shock.

Engineering Disasters 21

Premiere Date: 10/25/2007

A steam pipe explosion rocks New Yorkers on a summer day in Midtown Manhattan. Boston's Big Dig highway project suffers a major setback when sections of a tunnel ceiling fall onto the roadway. Rush hour in Minnesota turns deadly, as a bridge plunges into the Mississippi River. An air show in Mannheim, Germany comes to a tragic end when a Chinook helicopter crashes along the Autobahn killing 46 people. A tanker truck explodes on an Oakland freeway overpass, causing the structure to collapse. And a mud volcano near a natural gas drilling site erupts in Indonesia, leaving villages buried 16 feet deep. We'll explore what engineering and structural failures caused these events, and the changes the catastrophes have wrought.

World's Sharpest

Premiere Date: 10/11/2007

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.

Acid

Premiere Date: 10/01/2007

It is the most widely produced chemical in the world and possibly the most dangerous. Take a look at the many uses of acid. See how the military harnesses acid to make the explosive "Comp B-4." Visit a sulfuric acid plant to see how acid can take the stain out of stainless steel and learn how it can be mixed to dissolve precious metal. At the Heinz vinegar plant discover why acid's sour taste is sweet. Finally, learn how acid loving bacteria in Yellowstone National Park may hold the key to a biological industrial revolution and meet a mad scientist who will demonstrate how acid can hollow out a penny and turn a hot dog to sludge!

Deep Freeze

Premiere Date: 09/25/2007

Take a look at the technology of cold. Think your home freezer is "cool"? Try spending some time in a 12-story unit filled with 135 million pounds of ice cream. Enter Arctic vaults that store millions of different seeds and learn how scientists have mastered temperatures of -200 degrees F and below. Explore how the cold not only preserves and chills, but also shatters rubber tires, strengthens steel, and fuels rockets. Finally, visit Alcor, where researchers keep cadavers on ice in hopes of future revival.

Extreme Aircraft II.

Premiere Date: 09/20/2007

Take a supersonic flight through a world of flying machines that are redefining our skies. Pull serious G's in the U.S. military's latest fighter jet: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Riding shotgun in the lethal B-1B Lancer, and look close or you'll miss the swarm of MAV's (Micro Air Vehicles)--so small they are launched out of a backpack. The "vertical takeoff and landing" capable PAV's (Personal Aerial Vehicles) may be the answer to the commuting needs of tired travelers. Then, discover how a commercial jetliner has been retrofitted into the biggest flying fire truck the world has ever seen.

Chocolate

Premiere Date: 08/06/2007

Americans eat over three and a half billion pounds of chocolate each year--that's 12 pounds per person per year with annual sales topping $13 billion! Take a tour through the entire chocolate making process and learn how chocolate has been thought of as an energizer, an aphrodisiac and a cure-all. Watch as colorful M&Ms are made by the millions at Mars. Visit a working cacao bean farm in Central America for a demonstration of the hand harvesting techniques that have remained unchanged for centuries. To the delight of those who indulge, this awesome edible is now even good for you--full of antioxidants, cholesterol-lowering polyphenols, and heart-healthy flavonols.

Aluminum

Premiere Date: 07/25/2007

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.

Saws

Premiere Date: 07/18/2007

Sink your teeth into the razor sharp world of saws. Cut across the centuries to discover how the Egyptians arduously sawed stone as compared to modern saws that slice through limestone like butter. Saws have been used as instruments of torture and tools for surgery. They are imperative for construction, salvage, demolition, and they even make music. Whether they have teeth of steel, carbide or diamond, you will be on the cutting edge of successful sawing.

Cheese

Premiere Date: 06/27/2007

From cheddar to brie, Parmesan to blue, take a look at both ancient techniques and new technologies behind some of the world's most popular cheeses. Visit the cow pastures of Wisconsin to the giant cheese factories of California to discover how cheese is made. Travel through history from the Roman Empire's diversity of cheeses to the 19th Century birth of industrial cheese. And yes, we'll answer that eternal question, "Why does Swiss cheese have holes?"

Truck Stops

Premiere Date: 06/13/2007

Catering to more than twenty million truckers, truck stops are bigger and better than ever. These mega-pit stops are essential to the trucks and truckers that haul eight billion tons of freight annually. Tour the world's largest truck stop that offers fuel, food, parking, private showers, a movie theater, a dentist office, and a barbershop. Look at how 18-wheelers can power up their rigs with a high tech parking lot hookup called IdleAire; complete with heat, air conditioning, a telephone line, a computer with high speed internet, and of course satellite TV. We'll also see how 30,000 gallon underground diesel storage tanks are manufactured. And we'll weigh and inspect a truck while it's barely slowing down. In an interview with Willie Nelson, we'll explore one of the most unique truck stops in the United States and the revolutionary fuel it sells: biodiesel.

70's Tech

Premiere Date: 05/30/2007

The 1970s were a decade of excess. Dust off your mirror ball, put on your leisure suit, and rediscover the gadgets of the era. Play PONG with its inventor and learn how this simple game created a billion dollar empire. Texas Instruments engineers explain how the technology behind the Speak & Spell ended up in our cell phones. Discover how Mr. Coffee became America's favorite breakfast buddy, and how Polaroid engineered a film that magically developed right before your eyes. Climb aboard the Concorde and learn how Britain and France trumped the Soviet Union and the United States in a race for supersonic air supremacy.

World's Strongest 2

What does it take to rate as "the world's strongest"? Watch as life-saving boron carbide body armor, strong enough to stop 9mm machine gun bullets at point-blank range, is put to the test. Visit the world of Monster Trucks and watch BigFoot in car-crushing action. For a demonstration of lifting might, head dockside with a super-strong mobile crane capable of hoisting a 600-ton mega-yacht and toting it through a boat yard without a scratch. The Super-Shredder is a metal recycling monster that can gobble up 6 junked cars a minute.

60's Tech

Premiere Date: 05/16/2007

Take a groovy ride back to the freewheeling days of the 1960s and recall the technological happenings that helped shape the decade. Television went from black and white to color. Satellite broadcasting made coast-to-coast live broadcasts possible. Transistors made radios portable, computers downsized and telephones began switching from rotary to touch-tone. The 60s also brought along the Ford Mustang and other hot wheels. For fun, there was slot car racing, etch-a-sketch, the superball, and lava lamps. The decade gave us quite a technological rush, with the introduction of concert sound, psychedelic light shows and the birth of the rock festival.

Deep Sea Salvage

Premiere Date: 05/02/2007

Driven by the need for deep sea rescue and salvage capabilities, the US Navy Diving and Salvage Programs have gathered together a highly skilled team of divers, scientists and engineers, who have been involved in some of the most exciting and dangerous salvage operations ever undertaken. Ride aboard the USS Salvor, which is equipped with underwater remote operated robots and see how they were put to use following the crash of TWA Flight 800. We'll examine the bomb locating mini-sub Alvin and learn about "Saturation Diving" which allows divers to stay below for days at a time.

More Military Movers

Premiere Date: 04/18/2007

Soldiers, machines, and supplies are only effective if they arrive at the battlefield in time. Explore the history and the technology behind the machines that do the heavy moving in times of war. The V-22 Osprey is designed to combine the best qualities of a helicopter with the best qualities of a fixed-wing aircraft. For all of its ingenuity and promise, the Osprey has had a tumultuous development period. These controversies will be examined as Osprey advocates explain how the aircraft's shortcomings have been worked out. Take a look at the Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter--a versatile, twin engine, tandem rotor, heavy lift copter that is a major military workhorse. Also spotlighted are LMSRs, which are some of the largest non-combatant ships in the military. Reaching nearly a thousand feet in length, they are capable of carrying an entire U.S. Army task force.

Dams

Premiere Date: 03/28/2007

They block the force of a river, produce enough electricity to power cities, move water over hundreds of miles and irrigate fertile valleys. Dams prevent floods and produce "green" energy. We'll visit a hydroelectric dam, the most technologically advanced type of dam, and a dam in Brazil that is five times the size of the Hoover Dam. At the Utah State University Water Research Laboratory Hydraulics Lab in Logan, Utah, we watch a model of a dam crumble beneath tons of water and discuss how future dam failures can be averted. We will learn how dams adversely affect river systems and as a result, there are many proponents of dam removal.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Premiere Date: 02/21/2007

From the unimaginable power of nuclear bombs to microscopic anthrax spores, we reveal who possesses these nightmare weapons and explore the danger posed by terrorists with deadly technologies. Using the latest computer technology we see an on-screen representation of the radioactive plume that would result from a mock dirty bomb attack in Seattle. We will learn how bio-agents are discovered and understand the technology currently used to identify and prevent suicide bombings. Weapons of mass destruction have made the world a dangerous place but we will find out how technology can assist us as we strive for lasting solutions.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Premiere Date: 02/21/2007

From the unimaginable power of nuclear bombs to microscopic anthrax spores, we reveal who possesses these nightmare weapons and explore the danger posed by terrorists with deadly technologies. Using the latest computer technology we see an on-screen representation of the radioactive plume that would result from a mock dirty bomb attack in Seattle. We will learn how bio-agents are discovered and understand the technology currently used to identify and prevent suicide bombings. Weapons of mass destruction have made the world a dangerous place but we will find out how technology can assist us as we strive for lasting solutions.

Ice

Premiere Date: 02/11/2007

The solid form of life's precious elixir--has played a key role in fashioning our history and is making its mark as an unusual tool of technology. We'll explore how Earth's ice originated and recount how ice age glaciers sculpted North America. Our cameras take an inside look at Colorado's National Ice Core Repository to see how ice drilled from Antarctica and Greenland is an invaluable archive of past climate, and at a Canadian research lab experts demonstrate the dynamics and dangers of icebergs. We'll see how Greenland's massive ice sheet may be sliding faster than ever toward the sea. Take a look at how scientists are using Antarctica's ice as a gigantic lens to probe the secrets of the universe and ride aboard everyone's favorite ice resurfacing machine, the Zamboni machine. Other highlights include the search for extraterrestrial ice and a trip inside the studio of a chainsaw-wielding artist as he sculpts a masterpiece.

Environmental Tech

From the prairies of Saskatchewan to a Manhattan skyscraper we'll see the 21st Century's cutting-edge "green" technologies in action. New technologies such as carbon sequestration and bioremediation take on our most daunting environmental crises, from global warming and deforestation to nuclear waste and resource scarcity. See how blue-green algae are converted into automotive biofuel and methane from decomposing garbage is turned into clean-burning natural gas. Finally, we'll see how trees and other natural environments can be used as engineering materials to control flooding and rejuvenate dying rivers.

Christmas Tech

Premiere Date: 12/20/2006

Christmas is observed by nearly one-third of the world's population...and probably more if you count the non-Christians who incorporate some of the more secular traditions into their winter season. Every year, revelers go all out with trees, ornaments, lights, window displays and Christmas treats. Technological advancements have made them cheaper, easier and safer. We'll visit Rockefeller Center for a look at their yearly tree preparations and then take a walk to Macy's, Herald Square, where we'll find out what it takes to design, assemble and install their annual holiday windows. How is the 3,300 pound UNICEF crystal snowflake hoisted above Fifth Avenue every year? Then it's off to Yule Tree Farms, one of Oregon's largest Christmas tree farms and we'll visit a bakery in Texas that bakes and ships about 33,000 fruitcakes per day during the holiday season. So plug in the tree, grab some eggnog, sit back and enjoy!

Tea

After water, tea is the second most popular drink in the world. It has been around as a drink for 5000 years, and 6 billion pounds of tea are harvested annually. We begin with a trip to the Lipton's plant in Suffolk, VA., where state of the art machines crank out 24 million teabags a day, and then its off to the only tea plantation in the US, the 127 acre Charleston Plantation in South Carolina. We'll follow the flow of tea from England to the Colonies, where a tea tax precipitated the Boston Tea Party, and chronicle the brief but glorious age of the Clipper Ships, speed craft that brought tea from China to London in less than 100 days. Big news in the 20th century for the tea trade includes the emergence of herbal, powdered, iced and decaf teas. Tour the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder Colorado, and then visit a boutique tea garden where expensive teas sell for upwards of $300 a pot.

Snow

Premiere Date: 12/10/2006

It is the bane of every suburban parent and the joy to every school kid. Born in a swirling storm cloud through a process called nucleation, the characteristics of snow flakes are threatened by pollution trapped in the clouds. We'll travel two miles into the sky, where scientists study the inner workings of clouds while perched high on a mountaintop at the Storm Peak Laboratory. Then we'll head to the finest ski resorts in Colorado to discover how they manage the snow on their slopes and how snowmaking really works. These resorts also reside in one of the most avalanche-prone regions of the world. Despite best efforts of experts, avalanches still occur. Discover the new technology that gives rescuers a critical assist to quickly find skiers buried alive when the beauty of snow quickly turns to terror. We'll also go to Buffalo, New York the "Blizzard Capital of America" to watch how a TV Weatherman forecasts blizzards and warns his viewers to prepare for the onslaught.

Wine.

Premiere Date: 11/29/2006

A glass a day is said to keep the doctor away. A defeated Napoleon drowned his sorrows in it; Thomas Jefferson became obsessed with it. Wine is an integral part of our culture and more wine is consumed today than ever before. Supermarket shelves that once carried only box wine and jugs are now lined with wines from Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Aerial imaging and infrared photography once used by NASA to map the moon is now employed by wineries to analyze soil, vine vigor, and even disease. Paying tribute to wine's unique history we will travel the world over to explore wineries, the worlds' most historic wine cellar and a legendary Paris restaurant.

Harvesting 2.

Premiere Date: 11/29/2006

In America's orchards and farm fields, the constant struggle between hand labor and mechanization has produced dozens of efficient and sometimes bizarre harvesting methods. We'll learn the secrets of the orchard manager and his ladder crew as they check fruit pressures and barometric readings. We'll visit California's largest fruit packing house and try to keep up with 10-fruit-per-second conveyors. Then we're off to the corn fields of Nebraska and the cranberry marshes of central Wisconsin. Finally, we'll go underground to the world's largest mushroom farm where the harvest takes place in limestone caverns that run some 150 miles. From fruit tree picking platforms to cranberry beaters and corn pickers, we constantly strive to speed the harvest.

Breakfast Tech.

Premiere Date: 11/28/2006

It slices and squeezes, sorts and sizes, mixes and cooks. Every morning we count on it to keep our orange juice fresh, our eggs whole, our cereals flaked, and our McGriddle syrupy--this is Breakfast Tech. Aboard the aircraft carrier USS Stennis, we'll see how technology makes it possible for chefs to prepare a fresh and nutritious breakfast for five thousand hungry sailors. We will take you to the Tyson Foods factory where thousands of pork bellies are dissected into savory, smoked slices of bacon and at the Sunkist Orange Juice Factory, we'll watch a million oranges get squeezed to a pulp. For those on the go, it's a tour of a McDonald's factory to see the McGriddle pancake being made. If you eat breakfast and you're not afraid to see where it came from, join us on this tasty journey.

The Supermarket.

Premiere Date: 11/15/2006

Our basic need and desire for food has made the supermarket one of the great success stories of modern retailing. Making customers' visits to the market as efficient as possible has led to many technological advancements such as bar coding and a scale that recognizes the type of produce placed on it. We'll explore the psychology of the supermarket including store layout, lighting, music and aromas that trigger the appetite. With a growing percentage of the public interested in eating healthier foods, organic grocers are carving out an increasingly large niche. These are just a few of the items worth checking out in this appetizing hour.

World's Strongest.

Strength...A powerful word, but what does it mean? How is it measured? Why are some things simply stronger than others. How strong is a rope, a tractor, a diamond, a tugboat or even plastic. From Spectra fibre to Lexan learn where, how and why strength matters to us every day.

Distilleries 2.

Premiere Date: 10/11/2006

It's an art. It's a science. It's a marriage of vapor and water. From the elite to the illegal, the banned, to the celebrated, the distillation of spirits is a 50 billion dollar a year business. We will visit brandy, liqueur, moonshine, and absinthe distilleries to see how this magic is done. A trip to the Christian Brothers Distillery in northern California will reveal the secrets of how brandy is made and in the Deep South we observe a working moonshine still. Then it's off to France, where we visit the Courvoisier Cognac distillery and at the Jade Absinthe Distillery we see how this controversial drink is made. Includes expert commentary and historical perspective given by Bon Appetit's Anthony Dias Blue.

Freight Trains.

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.

Copper.

It transports electricity, water, and heat. Our bodies can't survive without it, yet it can kill microbes in minutes. It brings music to our ears and beauty to our eyes. We'll delve into all of copper's impressive traits, history, and how it's mined. This versatile red metal's most famous attribute is its ability to conduct electricity--copper wires connect and energize the world. And it's revolutionizing the electronics industry by enabling ever-shrinking computer chips. It's also formed into plumbing pipes to convey water and is the metal of choice for beautiful roofs and sculptures. It doesn't only look good--it sounds great too. A visit to a bell foundry reveals why bronze, a copper alloy, has been used to make music for hundreds of years. In myriad shapes and for innumerable uses, copper figures prominently in our world.

Water.

Premiere Date: 09/06/2006

It's nature's precious elixir--so powerful it can carve our landscape, yet so nurturing it can spawn life and support its intricate matrix. And it's the only substance on Earth that can exist in three separate forms at the same temperature--liquid, solid, and gas. We take it for granted, yet compared to other natural compounds, it's a genuine oddity. We'll paint a vivid portrait of this common entity that's anything but as we explore water's multidimensional character--from its place in the $10-billion bottled water industry to its critical role in a Canadian nuclear reactor. We watch it flow from huge irrigation machines that have revolutionized American agriculture, blast 200 miles into space from a newly discovered geyser on one of Saturn's moons (via computer animation), coaxed from the clouds by chemical injection, captured by innovative "fog-catchers", and cascade with artistic flair from compressed air jets at the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Mummy Tech.

After thousands of years, Egyptian mummies are speaking from the grave. With the use of state-of-the-art computer tomography scanning, known as CT-scanning, we explore inside a 2,000-year-old mummified body of an Egyptian child. With today's technology, mummies are studied without being unwrapped. Researchers travel around inside the mummy's head and body with 3-D imagery. We meet Dr. Robert Brier, a renowned Egyptologist. Dr. Brier reveals secrets of Mummification--it took up to 70 days to preserve the dead. Aided by new technology, we investigate the death of one of the most famous mummies, King Tut. Was he murdered or did he die from an illness? We also uncover the case of the Mummy who lay in obscurity for over a hundred years, until modern science unlocked the secrets of his identity as an Egyptian pharaoh. And we join a team of conservationists as they build a nitrogen-filled glass display case to provide a safe sanctuary to prevent mummies from decay.

World's Biggest Machines 5.

Join us for another look at big machines. At NASA's Ames Research Center, we visit the world's biggest wind tunnel, part of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex, and one of the biggest and most complex flight simulators, NASA's Vertical Motion Simulator, or VMS. At the Joy Mining Machinery plant in Franklin, Pennsylvania, giant machine tools form, cut, and measure the enormous individual parts that make up a Continuous Miner, the biggest underground mining machine in the world. But big machines aren't limited to science and commerce. Ride with us on the biggest observation wheel in the world, the London Eye, which stands 443 feet high and provides a 360 degree unobstructed view of London. And we take a look at IMAX technology. The film, cameras, projectors, and theater screens are the largest in the world. Finally, we take a ride on every lawn tender's dream machine--the Claas Cougar, the world's biggest lawnmower.

BBQ Tech.

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.

Horsepower.

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.

Heavy Metals.

Premiere Date: 06/14/2006

They are elements that occupy a select portion of the periodic table and are so essential to America's economic and military might that they are stored in the National Defense Stockpile in case of all-out war. We plan a riveting visit. Some of the vital heavy metals that we survey include copper, uranium, lead, zinc, and nickel. We also take a look at superalloys--consisting of steel combined with chromium, cobalt, and dozens of other heavy metals--that resist corrosion and perform increasingly elaborate functions. From Earth to space, from cosmetics to vitamins, in a million different ways, heavy metals are here to stay!

'80's Tech.

Premiere Date: 05/24/2006

Remember "brick" cell phones, Pac-Man, Rubik's Cube, Sony Walkman, and the first music CDs? Remember all the new and exciting gadgets of the 1980s? Join us as we investigate the transition from Industrial to Information Age--a digital decade dedicated to ergonomics and entertainment. The microchip ushered in an era that revolutionized the way we work, play, and communicate. And we tour Silicon Valley--birthplace of some of the greatest inventions from an amazing time of change, including the modern personal computer. Steve "Woz" Wozniak tells us about the evolution of Apple computers, and we talk to Sony--makers of the Walkman, Betamax, and the first CD players. A visit to the Computer History Museum shows fun technological "artifacts", primitive by today's standards. At Intel, makers of the first microchips, we learn why technology moves at such a fast pace. We also take a ride in a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car--few things moved faster.

Shovels.

Premiere Date: 05/03/2006

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.

Insulation.

It keeps us warm. It keeps us cool. It protects us and makes our world more comfortable. As simple as a pane of glass, or as complex as the fuselage of a space station, it's all around us, but is almost always out of sight. We explore where insulation technology has been, where it is today, and where it's going. We'll visit the manufacturing facilities of two of the most recognizable insulating materials: fiberglass and foam; and explore how insulation has evolved. Historical highlights include how the ancient Romans and Greeks insulated their homes, as well as the natives of tropical and arctic climates. New technologies covered include insulated concrete forms and gas-filled panels. Whether at home or in the office, on a space station, or beneath the sea, insulation is essential for making our world habitable. We'll show that how we use insulation, and how we develop it, will be a major factor in how we conserve our supply of energy in the coming years.

Candy.

Premiere Date: 02/14/2006

It pulls, stretches, bubbles, hardens, crunches, and melts! We eat about 7-billion tons of it yearly. We're talking about Candy--loved by kids and savored by adults. Candy-making evolved from a handmade operation to high-tech mass production. Nowhere is that more apparent than at Hershey's. On a tour of their newest production facility, we learn how they process the cocoa bean. At See's Candy, we see how they make their famous boxed chocolates--on a slightly smaller scale than Hershey's. We get a sweet history lesson at Schimpff's Confectionery, where they still use small kettles, natural flavors, and hand-operated equipment. Then, we visit Jelly Belly, purveyors of the original gourmet jellybean. Saltwater-taffy pullers hypnotize us on our sweet-tooth tour; we gaze at extruders making miles of licorice rope; and watch as nostalgia candy bars Abba-Zaba and Big Hunk get packaged. And in this sugary hour, we digest the latest sensations--gourmet chocolates and scorpion on a stick!

Engineering Disasters 18.

Premiere Date: 02/08/2006

We look at a 1999 tragedy, when three ironworkers plunged 200 feet when the basket in which they were working was struck by debris during construction of Milwaukee's Brewers Baseball Stadium. Next, we travel to a deadly explosion in China's Sunjiwan coal mine--antiquated equipment, minimal safety standards, and a rush to overproduce left the mines susceptible to fires, floods, and explosions. From the 1920s through the `50s, US shoe stores featured the fluoroscope. Based on an early Edison machine, the fluoroscope took x-rays to determine a customer's size--while emitting high doses of radiation. In California, we visit the Salton Sea, an unnatural body of water with no drainage that grows more salty and less hospitable to life daily. In the 1950s Soviet leaders embarked on a massive irrigation project that diverted water from the Aral Sea. Over time, the coastline receded 100 miles, killing off many species of fish and a once thriving fishing industry.

Cotton.

Premiere Date: 01/18/2006

For a soft, fuzzy, white fiber, cotton has played a starring role in history. As well as being one of the most useful of materials, cotton has created empires, helped launch at least one civil war, jumpstarted the Industrial Revolution, and become the world's most ubiquitous fabric (you must be wearing at least a piece of it right now). Follow the jaunt cotton makes "from dirt to shirt", as they say in the textiles trade, and the lesser-known journey it makes into thousands of products, including gunpowder, cattle feed, plastics, photographic film, lipstick, and ice cream. We also examine cotton's historical place beginning with its ancient origins, especially India, and examine the many innovations in which cotton had a hand, like the cotton gin, which separated cotton from seed and also had a hand in both oppression and progress in both America and England. And don't forget that evil critter, the boll weevil!

Walt Disney World.

Premiere Date: 12/25/2005

Journey underground and backstage at the technological marvel that is Walt Disney World. Enter a make-believe world spanning some 27,000 acres, brought to life by cutting-edge technology. What was once Florida swampland now boasts the world's largest theme park. The ride technology ranges from space-age centrifuges to enhanced motion vehicles powered by 3,000 PSI of hydraulic pressure. And hundreds of audio animatronics brought to life through the power of pneumatics, hydraulics, and electrical systems. Walt Disney World is made up of four separate theme parks, each with its own innovations: the 107-acre Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. The four parks are all part of a megaplex of a resort. Twice the size of Manhattan, it was the final vision and crowning achievement of a man who spent more than 40 years pushing the limits of technology to create entertainment magic: Walt Disney.

More Snackfood Tech.

Premiere Date: 12/20/2005

They crunch; they ooze; they crackle; they pop--mmmmm, yeah! Soft drinks, donuts, meat snacks, popcorn, and gum. What's your weakness? From the handmade treats of the earliest civilizations to hi-tech mass production, these snacks are borne of man's need to feed his cravings. Join us for an hour-long tasty treat as we examine the history of snackfoods and check out how they are made today.

Weird Weapons: The Allies.

In this hour we uncover Allied secrets off WWII, such as a battleship made of ice, bat bombs, floating tanks, rocket-propelled wheels that would roll through enemy lines, pigeon-guided missiles, and earthquake bombs designed to penetrate the earth and shake structures to pieces. Join us for more bizarre stories of extraordinary armaments dreamt up by the some of the time's most inventive minds--weird weapons unlike anything before. And what about the atomic bomb?

Da Vinci Tech.

Nearly 500 years after his death, Leonardo da Vinci still intrigues us. Most people think of him as a great artist, but he was also a remarkable scientist and inventor. His love of mechanics was unparalleled and he filled his notebooks with pages of incredible machines--from weapons of war to "Ships of the Skies", from submarines and scuba suits to robots and an analogue computer...even contact lenses and alarm clocks! How did a 15th-century man envision such modern innovations? If we follow his plans, would any of his designs work? We need wonder no more. With recent technological advances and new materials, we're the first generation able to bring Leonardo's drawings to life--to learn whether his "mechanical dreams" were workable plans. We explore the fascinating intersection of his art, science, and engineering marvels, and use them to offer insight into this "Genius of Geniuses", who remains as elusive as Mona Lisa's smile.

The Lumberyard.

Premiere Date: 11/30/2005

At the center of the American Dream is the home--and at the center of its creation or renovation is the lumberyard. We'll explore the options lumberyards provide for builders and renovators--from natural to engineered woods. We'll show how plywood and pressed woods are made, trace exotic woods to jungle and desert, visit a special lumberyard that deals in recycled and antique woods, and go on an underwater expedition as divers locate ancient logs buried in the Great Lakes and New Zealand. We'll see how 50,000-year-old ancient Kauri wood is "mined" from a bog and is now all the rage among those who live in mansions and travel on yachts. From the lowly 2-by-4 used to build a tract home, to a reclaimed set of historic planks used to make a million-dollar bar in a 5-star hotel, this eye-opening program hits the nail right on the head.

Brewing.

Premiere Date: 11/16/2005

It's one of the world's oldest and most beloved beverages--revered by Pharaohs and brewed by America's Founding Fathers. Today, brewing the bitter elixir is a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Join us for an invigorating look at brewing's history from prehistoric times to today's cutting-edge craft breweries, focusing on its gradually evolving technologies and breakthroughs. We'll find the earliest known traces of brewing, which sprang up independently in such far-flung places as ancient Sumeria, China, and Finland; examine the surprising importance that beer held in the daily and ceremonial life of ancient Egypt; and at Delaware's Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, an adventurous anthropologist and a cutting-edge brewer show us the beer they've concocted based on 2,700-year-old DNA found in drinking vessels from the funerary of the legendary King Midas.

Coffee.

Traces the origins of this tasty drink from Ethiopia over 1,000 years ago to the espresso-fueled explosion of specialty coffee stores like Starbucks today. Along the way, we'll see how American companies like Hills Brothers, Maxwell House, Folgers, and MJB grew to be giants. Discover how billions of coffee beans make their journey from coffee farms and plantations, and are processed in gigantic roasting and packaging plants before showing up in coffee cups all over the world. Details the invention and production of instant coffee, decaffeinated coffee, freeze-dried coffee, and the espresso machine. Also, we explain how coffee made shift work in factories possible, while coffeehouses provided a creative cauldron that brewed political and artistic progress in the 18th and 19th centuries. And, we also provide tips on how to make a better cup at home!

Wiring America.

We begin with electrical linemen perched precariously out a helicopter door, repairing 345,000-volt high-tension power lines. They are part of an army of technicians and scientists we'll ride, climb, and crawl with on this episode. They risk their lives so that we can have the services we take for granted--electric power and 21st century communications. They lay and maintain the wire that connects us one to another, as well as America to the rest of the world. The hardwiring of America is a story that is nearly two centuries old. And though satellites and wireless systems may be challenging the wire, it's not dead. Fiber optic cable, lines that transmit light, became a player in information delivery in the late 1970s. We may be entering a "wireless" age, but the infrastructure of wires laid by visionary scientists and industrialists are still vital to America. Wire technology will be with us, continuing to provide service, well into the next century.

B-2 Bomber.

Premiere Date: 08/26/2005

In any battle, the key to victory is the ability to strike the enemy without them knowing what hit them. Within the US arsenal one such weapon can go into harm's way, deliver 40,000 pounds of either conventional or nuclear bombs, and slip away unobserved--the B-2 Stealth Bomber. With its origins in single-wing experimentation in Germany in the 1930s, the B-2 was developed under a cloak of secrecy. But when that cloak was lifted, the world was awed by what stood before them. Able to fly over 6,000 miles without refueling, it can reach whatever target the US military wants to attack and deliver its awesome array of laser-guided weapons with pinpoint accuracy. Using state-of-the-art technology, including over 130 onboard computers, and shrouded by a mantle of stealth, it's undetectable by any radar.

The World's Fastest.

Premiere Date: 08/24/2005

Perhaps no field has experienced the revolution in velocity more acutely than transportation. We look at five blazingly fast technological marvels that have pushed the speed limits to the very edge, each with its own unique and dramatic history: the world's fastest production car (Sweden's Koenigsegg CCR); the world's fastest train (the Maglev in Shanghai); the world's fastest boat (The Spirit of Australia); the world's fastest roller coaster (the Kingda Ka) and the fastest thing on earth (the Holloman High Speed Test Track), used to test highly sensitive equipment for many branches of the government and commercial clients.

Dredging.

Premiere Date: 08/03/2005

They dig, scoop, suck, and spew an ocean of silt and sediment. Dredgers are the mechanical beasts that fuel the world's economic engine by clearing and deepening ports for mega-container ships. The roots of dredging go back as far as the Egyptians, who used their hands to open channels on the Nile to keep crops watered. The Romans, who used harbor dredging to keep a tight fist on Europe, pioneered the "spoon and bag" dredge to speed up the process. Steam power brought about the first large-scale dredges and helped create the Panama Canal. We'll go aboard two of the largest US dredgers and see how they keep waters moving. And in Holland, we meet the biggest players on the dredging world and witness the launching of the largest dredge ever built. From there, we head to Dubai in the Middle East, where 90 square miles of new islands was dredged from the sea and will now create a pleasure world for the rich and powerful.

World's Biggest Machines 4.

From a giant machine press that stamps out an entire car body to a 125-ton chainsaw that cuts through the world's hardest rock; from a huge telescope that glimpses the ends of the known universe to the world's largest rock crusher. Join us for a workout of the world's largest machines, and take a long look through the lens of the world's biggest optical telescope, the Keck Observatory, atop 13,800-foot Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

Mountain Roads.

Join our journey along monumental feats of engineering that preserved America's natural wonders while paving the way towards her future. Travel the Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, site of a dark chapter in US history. Today, crews use the latest technology to keep I-80 open during the worst winter storms. Enjoy the view while traveling to the summit of Pike's Peak in Colorado, inspiration for America the Beautiful. The "Going-to-the-Sun-Road" slices through Montana's majestic Glacier National Park, crossing the Continental Divide and allowing motorists unsurpassed views of mountain scenery. Outside Denver, the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel, carved through mountain rock, united eastern and western Colorado. And the Blue Ridge Parkway, which took 52 years to complete, snakes through large, scenic swatches.

Future Tech.

A paper-thin, wall-sized holographic television...a car that runs on processed seawater...an army of robotic killing machines...outer-space luxury resorts and a cleaning droid controlled by your mind? Buckle-up for safety as we race into the near future--where fantasy becomes fact. There have always been visionaries, futurists, and dreamers predicting the world of tomorrow--flying cars, space-station colonies, and android personal assistants. But time has proven the fallacy of many of their predictions. So what future technology can we realistically expect? With the help of 3D animation, we present some pretty far-out predictions and take you to various research labs to see working prototypes of these technologies in their infancy. Join us on a rollicking ride through the entertainment room, down the road, over the battlefield, through the mind, out in space, and into the future, where science fiction becomes science fact.

Paint.

From the Impressionist canvas to the Space Shuttle...from customized hotrods to the brilliant orange hue of the Golden Gate Bridge or tiny electronic devices--paint is one of our most ubiquitous products. And paint adds more than just pigmentation. It's a crucial engineering element, protecting ships from water corrosion, stovetops from heat, and the Stealth Bomber from radar detection. In homes and businesses, it provides a balanced spectrum of light and protects surfaces from wear. In this colorful hour, we discover how this marvel of chemistry and engineering is made, and how it is applied. Come see what's beneath the surface as we reveal one of man's most ingenious methods of defeating the elements and adding spice to life!

Deadliest Weapons.

Premiere Date: 03/16/2005

In this fiery hour, we profile five of man's deadliest weapons, focusing on the inventors, battles, and dark technology behind their lethality. We begin with the deadliest bomb ever created, the Tsar Bomba--a 50-megaton nuclear bomb with a yield thousands of times greater than the one dropped on Hiroshima. During WWI, technological advances in weaponry led to the deaths of over 8-million, and one of the deadliest killers was the machine gun. In WWII, the use of incendiary bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people. Another deadly invention of WWII was the proximity fuse, or VT fuse, that allowed artillery to detonate within a predetermined range of an enemy target. Finally, we examine VX nerve gas, thought by many to be the deadliest chemical agent ever created and suspected to have been used by Saddam Hussein with devastating results. We'll visit Edgewood Chemical BioCenter, which plays a large role in protection and detection for our troops in Iraq.

Sub Zero.

Come in from the cold while we explore some of Earth's most frigid places and examine how man copes with sub-zero climates. With the advance of technology, our boundaries have expanded--from the North and South Poles, to the depths beneath the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, to the Moon, Mars, and outward to Saturn. Enter these forbidding territories, guided by a special breed of experts as we inspect the new US South Pole Station, try on the latest Polartec fashions with anti-microbial fibers, ride on the newest snowmobiles and Sno-Cats, sail through glacial waters on ice-breaking ships, and fly on an LC-130 transport plane. And we'll see what NASA has on the planning board for deep-space exploration, including a beach-ball robot explorer, and learn from scientists studying fish in the waters off Antarctica to understand glycoproteins, which may keep frozen tissue healthy longer for transplantation.

George Washington Carver Tech.

Premiere Date: 02/15/2005

One of the 20th century's greatest scientists, George Washington Carver's influence is still felt. Rising from slavery to become one of the world's most respected and honored men, he devoted his life to understanding nature and the many uses for the simplest of plant life. His scientific research in the late 1800s produced agricultural innovations like crop rotation and composting. Part of the "chemurgist" movement that changed the rural economy, he found ingenious applications for the peanut, soybean, and sweet potato. At Tuskegee Institute, Dr. Carver invented more than 300 uses for the peanut, while convincing poor farmers to rotate cotton crops with things that would add nutrients to the soil. A visionary, Carver shared his knowledge free of charge, happy in his Tuskegee laboratory where he could use his gifts to help others.

The Butcher.

Premiere Date: 02/08/2005

In a carnivorous world, a butcher is a necessary link in the food chain, carving a carcass of unsavory flesh into mouthwatering cuts. We trace the grisly trade's evolution--from yesteryear's butcher-on-every-corner to today's industrial butcher working on a "disassembly" line. We tour the infamous remains of the Chicago Stockyards, where Upton Sinclair, Clarence Birdseye, and refrigeration changed butchering forever; witness high-speed butchering; and travel to a non-stop sausage factory. And if you're still squeamish, a USDA inspector offers the lowdown on HACCP--the country's new system of checks and balances on everything from quality grading to E. coli, Salmonella, and Mad Cow Disease. Finally, we visit the last bastion of old-school butchering--the rural custom butcher, who slaughters, eviscerates, skins, and cuts to his customer's wishes.

World's Biggest Machines 3.

Giant robots on the factory floor and in outer space. A floating fortress that's home to 6,000 military personnel, which is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall. And a diesel engine with 108,000 horsepower. (You read that right.) These giants must be seen to be believed! In this episode, we travel over land and sea to find these and more of the biggest, baddest, most audacious feats of engineering in the world.

Doomsday Tech 1.

Premiere Date: 12/28/2004

Doomsday threats range from very real (nuclear arsenals) to controversial (global warming) to futuristic (nanotechnology, cyborgs, and robots). Despite the Cold War's end, we live under the shadow of nuclear weapons, arms races, and accidental launches. Next, we stir up a hotter topic--the connection between global warming and fossil fuels--and ask if they're cooking up a sudden, new Ice Age. And we examine 21st-century technologies that typify the dual-edged sword of EM Doomsday Tech /EM with massive potential for both creation and destruction--nanotechnology (engineering on a tiny scale), robotics, and cybernetics. We witness amazing applications in the works, wonder at the limitless promise, and hear warnings of a possible nano-doomsday, with tiny, out-of-control machines devouring everything around them.

Doomsday Tech 1.

Premiere Date: 12/28/2004

Doomsday threats range from very real (nuclear arsenals) to controversial (global warming) to futuristic (nanotechnology, cyborgs, and robots). Despite the Cold War's end, we live under the shadow of nuclear weapons, arms races, and accidental launches. Next, we stir up a hotter topic--the connection between global warming and fossil fuels--and ask if they're cooking up a sudden, new Ice Age. And we examine 21st-century technologies that typify the dual-edged sword of EM Doomsday Tech /EM with massive potential for both creation and destruction--nanotechnology (engineering on a tiny scale), robotics, and cybernetics. We witness amazing applications in the works, wonder at the limitless promise, and hear warnings of a possible nano-doomsday, with tiny, out-of-control machines devouring everything around them.

Commercial Fishing.

Premiere Date: 12/22/2004

Battered and fried or simply raw--seafood is a popular dish, no matter how you serve it. Americans consume more than 5-billion pounds yearly, an order that takes more than a fishing rod to fill and worries conservationists. We follow the fish, the fishermen, and the science trying to preserve fisheries for future generations--from ancient ships on the Nile to a modern technologically sophisticated factory trawler on the Bering Sea to the University of New Hampshire's open-ocean aquaculture research project. And we witness a wide variety of fishing methods--from gillnetting and longlining STRONG /STRONG to lobster trapping. Hop aboard and sail through time and around the globe as we explore the harsh conditions of life at sea and experience firsthand one of history's deadliest jobs. Brace yourself and feel the ice-cold, salt spray on your face as we explore commercial fishing!

PT Boat.

Pound for pound, the Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats were WWII's most heavily armed fighting boats. Screwed and glued together on a hull made of wood, these 50 tons of fast fighting fury were hated by the Japanese who nicknamed them "The Devil Boats of the Night". With their three powerful marine engines and speedboat designs, they took on the enemy at close quarters with greater frequency than any other type of surface craft--from firefights with coastal barges to protecting the invasion fleet at D-Day. And they attacked the enemy from the freezing seas of the Aleutian Islands to the treacherous waters of the South Pacific. Using unique archive film, reenactments, and extraordinary interviews, here is the story of how this wooden wonder struggled for early recognition, but through the brilliance of its design, daring of its missions, and courage and sacrifice of its crews would play a major part in WWII.

Snackfood Tech.

Premiere Date: 12/16/2004

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.

Engineering Disasters 15.

A series of construction errors causes a devastating flood that brings Chicago to a standstill. A deadly accident traps hundreds in a smoke-filled Alpine tunnel, with no ventilation. Three boilers explode on a Mississippi riverboat resulting in thousands of deaths and earning the disaster the title of the worst in maritime history. Two buildings, halfway around the world from each other, collapse from the same type of shoddy construction methods--14 years apart. And a cockpit warning system malfunctions, causing a fiery, fatal crash before the jetliner ever takes off. We interview design and construction experts as we investigate what went wrong. And we talk with rescue personnel, eyewitnesses, and victims as we visit the tragedies' sites to see what improvements have been implemented to insure against these kinds of disasters.

Washington Monument.

Premiere Date: 12/01/2004

The US capital boasts many memorials, but none with a more bizarre history than the obelisk erected to America's first president. Over 55 stories high and weighing over 90,000 tons, the Washington Monument stands stalwart in the city's center. From concept to completion, it took 100 years--years filled with mystery, ceremony, conflict, government action, and inaction. Proposed in the late 1700s by a group of prominent citizens and finished in the late 1800s by the Army Corps of Engineers, the exterior is mainly Maryland white marble, while the interior is made of granite, iron...and a few surprises. How did it come together and why did it take so long? Historians tell stories of stalling bureaucracy, secret societies, and triumphant engineering. Stark and daunting on the outside, we let viewers know what's inside.

Gas Tech.

Gas--it makes a balloon go up, cooks our food, and fills our lungs. But this invisible state of matter does far more, and has a very visible impact on the world. We follow natural gas from well tip to stove top and trace its use from 3rd century BC Chinese salt producers to modern appliances. Next, we investigate the most plentiful gas in the universe--hydrogen--which may also prove to be the most powerful. We also experience the cryogenic world of industrial gasses--what they do and where they come from--as we travel to the British Oxygen Company's Braddock Air Separation Plant to see how they freeze millions of tons of oxygen and nitrogen. And at the Bush Dome Helium Reserve in Texas, we learn why the US government sits atop 36-billion cubic feet of the stuff. Finally, we look inside the colorful world of gas and neon lights. So lay back, breathe deep, and count backwards from 10...

Presidential Movers.

Premiere Date: 10/20/2004

The vehicles that transport the President of the United States aren't your ordinary planes, trains, and automobiles. They are top-secret. And for your Average Joe, there's only two ways to find out what they're really like inside--either get elected or stay tuned.

Engineering Disasters 10.

Disasters investigated include: the 1984 Union Carbide debacle in Bhopal, India, where a toxic chemical release killed 3,800 people and left 11,000 with disabling respiratory ailments; and the 2003 sudden collapse of a 10-story parking garage at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey that killed four and injured 20. We find out why a series of structures in Hutchinson, Kansas mysteriously caught fire and exploded in 2001; and examine the 1933 construction of a canal ordered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that later proved to be nearly useless and cost many lives. And we get to the bottom of a maritime mystery, when a tanker carrying non-explosive materials in San Francisco Bay blew up in 1983.

Engineering Disasters 9.

What happens when the calculations of builders and engineers prove wrong and their constructs come tumbling down? In this episode, we examine the 1987 failure of the Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York; the partial destruction by a runaway freighter of the Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans in 1996; the roof collapse of the Rosemont Horizon Arena in Illinois in 1979; the deadliest grain-dust explosion on record in Westwego, Louisiana, when a grain elevator exploded in 1977; and the crash of the British R101 airship in the 1920s.

Harvesting.

Cutting, digging, picking, stripping, shaking, and raking--whatever the crop, there's a custom machine to harvest it. It all began with handpicking and today it's often one man and one machine harvesting hundreds of acres in a single day. The farmer may even get a little help from satellites. Far above the earth, high-resolution photography is giving the grower more opportunities to cut costs and maximize the harvest. From the debut of the sickle in ancient Egypt to McCormick's famous Reaper to the field of ergonomics that assists human harvesters, we'll dig into the past and future of the harvest.

SOS Tech.

Premiere Date: 09/28/2004

A look at the technology that changed the serious game of Search and Rescue forever. At the mouth of Oregon's Columbia River, we visit the Coast Guard's Motor Lifeboat School, the training ground for High Surf Rescue. Then, we trace the evolution of life-saving technology at sea, and learn why the EPIRP (Emergency Position Indication Radio Beacon) is the pleasure boater's greatest friend. And we take a look at how the U.S. Navy deals with accidents classified as "Man Overboard" in the 21st century.

Police Pursuit.

Join us for a high-speed look at police pursuits in an adrenaline-filled hour focused on the history and evolution of the technologies that give law enforcement the upper hand when pursuing bad guys. From the days of chasing moonshine runners in "hopped up" vehicles during Prohibition to the most recent 100-mph freeway chases, patrol cars have undergone many advances. We also examine how communications have improved, the use of airborne resources, and pursuit on the high seas.

Extreme Aircraft.

Premiere Date: 08/25/2004

Join us for a supersonic look at some of the most cutting-edge aircraft ever developed--from the X-1 that first broke the sound barrier to the X-43 Scramjet that recently flew at Mach 7. These extreme aircraft have made their mark on aeronautical history, and sometimes on political history as well. The U-2 and SR-71 spy planes played a crucial role in the Cold War, and now Lockheed Martin's top-secret "Skunkworks" division is touting the new "air dominance" fighter plane-- the F/A-22 Raptor.

Distilleries.

Premiere Date: 08/04/2004

From water and grain...to mash...still...vat...barrel and bottle--the distilling of alcoholic spirits is a big business and near-sacred religion. Its acolytes eye the color, swirl the glass, inhale the bouquet, sip, and then ponder their ambrosia. What's your pleasure? Bourbon, Scotch, Rum, Gin, Vodka, or Tequila? We trace the history of distilling from the one-man/one-still tradition to the Voldstead Act of 1920 that devastated American distilleries to the mega-sales and high-volume distillery of today.

Apollo 11.

Premiere Date: 07/21/2004

As mankind's greatest achievement of the 20th century, Apollo 11 stood as the apogee of science, exploration, flight, and technological prowess. In scarcely 10 years, America went from rocketing monkeys to landing a man on the moon. Leaving Earth on July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Mike Collins pushed the limits of skill and endurance. See and experience the flight of Apollo 11 through the eyes of the astronauts, mission controllers, engineers, and designers who made it happen.

Nuclear Tech.

Premiere Date: 07/08/2004

Nuclear research ranges from well-known applications, such as bombs and reactors, to little-known uses in medicine, food preparation, and radiation detection. It's also spawned ancillary technologies to store nuclear waste and clean up accidents. Despite the risk of use and abuse for destructive purposes, many scientists remain optimistic about what's next for the atom. In an explosive hour, we explore the atom in war and peace, and the latest in nuclear power generation, safety, and security.

Rubber.

The story of rubber is more than tires, toys, gloves, and gum--it's imbedded in modern life, from the controversial Challenger O-rings to seals on hydrogen fuel cells. A gigantic worldwide synthetic rubber industry creates exotic elastomers for high-tech applications, while China's rapid industrialization plays havoc with the world's natural rubber supply. From the ancient Olmecs of Yucat n, who knew the secret of vulcanization, to modern processing plants, we trace rubber's history and future.

Plane Crashes.

Premiere Date: 05/26/2004

When the most sophisticated machines fail, they do so horrifically, plunging to earth with a terrifying loss of life. From the beginning of manned flight, plane crashes have plagued the aviation industry and terrorized the public. But the truth is, passengers have never been safer because of the brightest minds, best technology, and billions of dollars focused on preventing air disasters. Using famous crashes like TWA Flight 800, we examine safety improvement and what still needs to be done.

Hydraulics.

Premiere Date: 05/12/2004

The machines that helped build our world have been powered by hydraulics, a compact system of valves, hoses, and pumps that transmits forces from point to point through fluid. This basic concept of powerful force transmission through fluid provides the drive for most machines today. From the ancient Roman mastery of the aqueduct to Universal Studios, a veritable hydraulic theme park, we see how hydraulics power industry, keep planes flying, and make that 3-point-turn a U-turn.

Engineering Disasters 6.

An in-depth look at the modern era's most complex, deadly, and controversial engineering failures. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic experts, and footage of disasters, we seek to understand what went wrong and how mishap led to remedy. Stories include: the Marines' AV-8 Harrier "Jump Jet"; the Ford Explorer/Firestone rollovers; fire on the Piper Alpha offshore oilrig; derailment of a high-speed train in Germany; and computer errors that brought the world to the brink of accidental nuclear war.

Bathroom Tech.

Premiere Date: 04/21/2004

From tub to toilet to toothpaste, here's everything you ever wanted to know about the most used and least discussed room in the house. From the first home bathrooms in ancient India, Roman latrines, and bizarre Victorian-era bath contraptions, to modern luxurious master bathroom suites, we trace the history of bathing, showering, and oral hygiene. And we reveal the messy truth about what was used before toilet paper--brainchild of the Scott Brothers of Philadelphia--and why astronauts wear diapers.

Bible Tech.

Premiere Date: 04/07/2004

Arguably the most influential book ever written, the Bible provides a glimpse into the origins of ancient technology and its use to withstand the elements, build great structures, wage war, and conserve precious water. We examine the technological plausibility of biblical structures and machines--including the Tower of Babylon, the Temple of Jerusalem, ancient bronze and iron forging, and shipbuilding skills that might have been employed to build Noah's Ark.

Toys.

Premiere Date: 12/23/2003

All aboard the nostalgia express as we take a trip through the past to enjoy toys of our youth--the ones we can't forget and those that some of use never gave up! This is the real toy story! We take a look at five categories of boys' toys and see what relationship they have had on the development of young minds; talk with collectors of antique and specialty toys; and visit companies that make electric trains, Matchbox Cars, GI Joe action figures, and LEGO Bricks, among others.

Egyptian Pyramids.

Constructed as tombs for the ancient pharaohs, over 100 pyramids remain in Egypt. Built during a span of well over 1,000 years, they stand as cultural and engineering marvels of staggering proportions. But many things about these monuments, including the exact methods used to construct them, remain tantalizingly obscure. Travel back in time as we investigate their evolution--from the earlier mastaba to the Step Pyramid, Bent Pyramid, and of course, the magnificent necropolis at Giza.

Failed Inventions.

Join us for a salute to the dreamers and schemers who brought the world an odd assortment of flawed ideas--like flying, swimming, and jet-powered automobiles, flying rocket belts, and radium-filled clothes that promised to inflate the owner's sagging love life! And we explore the minds of the off-kilter geniuses who thought up these off-the-mark concepts. Some tinkerers' musings were merely ahead of their time and deemed flops during the inventor's lifetime, but others were just plain bad!

Extreme Gadgets.

Premiere Date: 12/02/2003

Join us for an exploration of the technological innovations that have made extreme sports a reality. The world's best extreme athletes, designers, manufacturers, and engineers explain and demonstrate why the gadgets, gear, and technology of these sports have captured the public's imagination and revolutionized the sporting industry. Sports covered include surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, in-line skating, street luge, wakeboarding, sport climbing, BMX biking, and sky surfing. (1-hour version)

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.

In the land of Mardi Gras, jambalaya, and zydeco, exists an engineering marvel called the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway that seems to go on forever. Two ribbons of concrete span the largest inland body of water in Louisiana, and at nearly 23.87 and 23.88 miles long, these two spans form the world's longest automobile bridge. At midpoint--12 miles out--water surrounds travelers who are unable to see either shoreline. The bridge is so long, it actually transverses 1/1000th of the earth's circumference!

Overseas Highway.

A spectacular roadway nearly 120 miles long, the Overseas Highway links mainland Florida with the Florida Keys, and contains 51 bridges, including the Seven-Mile Bridge. A boat was the only mode of travel from Miami to Key West until oil tycoon Henry Flagler completed his railroad line in 1912. After a 1935 hurricane destroyed 40 miles of track, the scenic highway was built using Flagler's bridges. A $175-million refurbishment that ended in 1982 resulted in today's remarkable Overseas Highway.

Bullets.

Premiere Date: 08/13/2003

From "safe" bullets that stop hijackers but leave aircraft unscathed to bullets that chain-saw through steel and "smart" bullets computer-programmed to hit a target, this explosive hour examines the evolution of bullets from origin in the 1300s--stones and round lead balls shot from iron and bamboo tubes. Lead balls ruled until 1841 when a conical-shaped bullet changed ammo forever. We learn how to construct a modern cartridge, and at pistol and rifle ranges view demonstrations of modern firepower.

Military Movers.

The challenge: Move millions of soldiers and tons of cargo halfway around the world and into the thick of action. How? Use the biggest ships, the widest planes, and the strongest trucks. Today, military planners move men and equipment further and faster than ever. The United States Transportation Command, answering to the Department of Defense, runs military transport like an efficient private shipping and travel agency. From the Civil War to US Transcom, we track the development of military logistics.

Terror Tech: Military.

Premiere Date: 08/05/2003

The chance of enemy confrontation by sea, tank, or air battle is small, but terrorist networks operating in the shadows will likely challenge the U.S again. Instead of waiting to react, the military's new mission is to detect, deter, and defend America from terrorist attack. We examine cutting-edge technology that leads the fight in this new battle landscape, including Smart Bombs, Tactical Ballistic-Missile Systems, GPS-driven technology, Electro-Optical Systems, and the pilotless drone Predator.

Logging Tech.

Premiere Date: 07/09/2003

When Paul Bunyan cried "Timber!", he never foresaw today's cutting-edge, controversial industry that feeds a ravenous, lumber-crazy world--a world striving to protect nature while devouring it. Come into the woods to see how he-men and hi-tech combine forces to topple 4-billion trees annually; journey to 19th-century America, when lumberjacks cut a legend as large as the timber they felled; and travel with a tree from stump to sawmill and learn its non-wood uses--from aspirin to film to toothpaste!

Dangerous Cargo.

Premiere Date: 06/25/2003

Toxic traffic is everywhere! An average of 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials hit our highways and railways daily. From Wild West wooden crates filled with explosives to HAZMAT containers of nuclear waste, we shadow dangerous cargo. We ride shotgun on a hazardous material shipment that's tracked by satellites; hunt down the hush-hush "ghost fleet"--trucks carrying classified government materials; and board a Con-Air flight moving another kind of nasty stuff--dangerous felons!

Torture Devices.

Premiere Date: 05/22/2003

For more than 3,000 years, emperors and generals, dictators and police, criminals, clerics, and even medical doctors have created and used a vast array of torture devices--everything from the ancient Greeks' Brazen Bull, which slowly barbecued the victim, to the elaborate mechanical apparatuses of the Spanish Inquisition. A medical doctor who specializes in victims of torture reveals how the human body responds to their use--from the earliest excruciating contrivances to the more modern.

Coal Mines.

Coal--the fuel responsible for more than half the electricity used daily. We unearth the amazing technological advances that have led to today's extremely efficient methods--from ancient techniques to the simplistic bell-pit method, from drift mining, surface mining, and strip mining to modern longwall mining, when a massive machine extracts an entire wall of coal in seconds. We go underground with miners in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, and also address environmental concerns.

Bullet Trains.

Traveling between 135 and 190 miles per hour with an astonishingly high safety record, bullet trains can be found throughout Europe, Japan, and on the US eastern seaboard. How high-speed trains are propelled is rooted in fundamentals that haven't changed since the first electric trolleys appeared in the 19th century. We see how scientists are looking at new alternatives to electricity, including magnetic levitation that can move passenger trains 345 miles per hour and beyond!

Mackinac Bridge.

Until recently, the Mackinac Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. One of the top engineering marvels of the 20th century, the bridge spans the 4-mile wide straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Huron and Michigan come together. The Mighty Mac connects the pastoral northern mainland of Michigan with the state's heavily forested Upper Peninsula and stands as a testament to the dreams, determination, and hard work of a small few who created a true masterpiece of modern engineering.

The Alcan Highway.

Premiere Date: 02/11/2003

Today, vacationers travel from British Columbia north through the Yukon Pass on their way to Fairbanks, Alaska, thanks to one 2-lane roadway, the 1,522-mile long Alaska Highway. A bit treacherous in spots and best driven in the few summer months the region provides, it's an unrivaled engineering feat that took 11,000 soldiers, nearly 4,000 of them black, only eight months to build! Travel back to 1942 as they bulldoze their way into history while connecting the Lower 48 to the Alaskan Territory.

Castles & Dungeons.

Some of the most imposing structures ever built, medieval castles withstood both bloody assaults and the test of time. Designed like machines with nearly every architectural detail devoted to defense, castles represented the perfect fusion of form and function. Journey back to that unruly era as we examine the complexity of their construction and the multipurpose they served--homes to kings and nobles, economic centers, courthouses, treasuries, prisons, and torture chambers.

The Autobahn.

Imagine a superhighway designed for speed...thousands of miles of roadway unhindered by limits of any kind. Buckle up for safety as we take you for the ride of your life when we explore the fascinating history and current reality of the world's fastest freeway. The number-one works project of the Third Reich, the Autobahn was known as Adolf Hitler's Road until Germany's defeat in WWII. Reconstructed and extended to more than four times its original size, it became a symbol of the New Germany.

Towing.

Premiere Date: 08/06/2002

Think you know towing? As simple as engaging a tow man when your car is stalled? From mighty tugboats that guide massive ships safely into port, dizzying roller coasters that send cars careening up and down hills, to funicular railroads that climb mountainsides, when it comes to towing, being a "drag" was never so good! We also watch a 125-year-old church as it's towed on the back of a flatbed truck, and rocket towards space as we're hauled 20,000 feet-high behind a Boeing 747!

Hangars.

Come in for a smooth landing as we explore the history of hangars--stark, massive structures that house and protect flight vehicles. We visit the first hangar, built on a German lake; Boeing's Delta 4 rocket hangar; Hangar Number One in Lakehurst, New Jersey, that housed all US airships built in the 1920s and '30s; and the Space Shuttle's hangar--as big as four skyscrapers! Back in Germany, Cargolifter's mammoth hangar, large enough to enclose the Superdome, signals the rebirth of an industry.

Camouflage.

Premiere Date: 06/18/2002

From ancient hunters' camouflage to computer-generated digital pattern uniforms, we uncover the past, present, and future of deception through disguise. During an ambush exercise by US Marines, we learn that camouflage came from natural coloration and patterns of flora and fauna. The art of military camouflage took off in WWI with the use of the airplane, when the French learnt to hide from "eyes in the sky". It's a world of shadows and smoke, where even cities disappear through disguise.

The Tackle Box

Premiere Date: 06/11/2002

From ancient Egyptian fishing parties to today's high-tech bass tournaments, we untangle the fascinating technical history of man's quest to seduce creatures of the deep out of their watery world and into the frying pan. We trace the evolution of the basic rod and reel, from crude hickory poles with braided horsehair to ultra-light graphite wonder-rods with space-age nylon line, and examine the angler's glittering arsenal of spinners, spoons, plugs, and flies.

The Manhattan Project.

At 5:30 a.m., July 16, 1945, scientists and dignitaries awaited the detonation of the first atomic bomb in a desolate area of the New Mexico desert aptly known as "Jornada del Muerto" (Journey of Death). Dubbed the Manhattan Project, the top-secret undertaking was tackled with unprecedented speed and expense--almost $30-billion in today's money. Los Alamos scientists and engineers relate their trials, triumphs, and dark doubts about building the ultimate weapon of war in the interest of peace.

Axes, Swords and Knives.

Blade implements have been a part of civilized man's arsenal since the Paleolithic Age, when sharp tools were chipped off of flint or obsidian. But with the discovery of metallurgy, people were able to forge stronger, more versatile blade implements. We visit an axe-throwing contest in Wisconsin for an introduction to the least subtle of the blade tools. Then we visit a swordsmith and an experienced swordfighter who work in traditional methods from ancient sources, and review the history of knives.

Muscle Cars.

Premiere Date: 04/30/2002

Pop open the hood, check out the carbs, and hear the engines roar as we journey back to a time when gas was cheap, emission controls non-existent, and all that mattered was acceleration and speed. During the 1960s and '70s, GM, Ford, and Chrysler competed to create high-performance cars at prices teenage baby boomers could afford. Featuring interviews with John DeLorean, creator of the Pontiac GTO, and his marketing partner Jim Wangers, we go behind the scene of the muscle-car wars.

Fire and Ice.

Who could imagine life without our "man-made weather"? On cold winter nights and hot summer days, we are forever grateful to the visionaries who took two basic elements--fire and ice--and turned them into true modern marvels. Fire warmed the caves and primitive dwellings of mankind for centuries, yet the technology of keeping cool lagged far behind as we learn in this chronicle of heating and air conditioning that covers advancements from the home and industry to outer space and beyond!

Icebreakers.

They are the toughest ships in the water, plowing headlong into one of nature's hardest obstacles. Modern icebreakers can smash through 10-foot thick ice sheets without stopping, allowing scientists and commercial shipping access to some of Earth's most inhospitable spots. Join our blustery journey as we patrol the Great Lakes on the USCG Cutter Mackinaw and traverse the infamous Northwest Passage on the maiden voyage of the USCG Healy, the newest Polar Class Icebreaker in the US Fleet.

The Magnum.

Premiere Date: 03/26/2002

It's known as the most powerful handgun in the world, made famous by Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies. But its origins stretch back more than a century to the Indian Wars of the American West and African safaris, where hunters stalked big game. Join us for a review of the history of the biggest, baddest gun available today--unlimited firepower at the pull of a trigger!

Engines.

Story of the development of engines and motors, with particular emphasis on the ones that have profoundly changed society. Beginning with the steam engine, we see how it was created, how it works, and how it led to the Industrial Revolution. We review the electric motor, internal combustion engine, jet engine, and rocket engine, and conclude with a look at futuristic engine technologies, including hydrogen-powered cars and microtechnology engines so small that they fit on the tip of a finger.

The F-14.

Premiere Date: 03/12/2002

October 7, 2001: Missiles from lethal U.S. jets rain down onto Afghanistan. One powerful and deadly plane led the majority of the assaults--the F-14 Tomcat, the world's most complete military fighter. No other fighter jet carries the F-14's unique combination of weapons. Its state-of-the-art system can spot an oncoming enemy plane at almost 200 miles. Its radar can detect targets as low as 50 feet and as high as 80,000 feet and does so three times faster than the radar of any other fighter jet.

The Junkyard.

It's the place where one man's trash is truly another man's treasure. Enter the strange and mysterious world of the junkyard, where many pieces actually do add up to a whole. Uncover how junkyard operators create order out of seemingly random piles of junk.

Bulletproof.

How do you stop a speeding bullet? From body armor to armored cars and trucks, we review the history of the race between the bullet and a successful way to stop it. It's not exactly easy to design material that can catch gunfire traveling up to 3,000 feet per second. We'll look at little-known advances like bulletproof layering hidden in walls, futuristic smart materials that "remember" how to stop a bullet, and a system that deploys a shield within milliseconds when it detects an oncoming round.

Remote Control

Premiere Date: 01/30/2002

Press a button and you can soar in the sky, command a virtual pet, adjust the thermostat in your house while driving in your car, and, of course, change the channel on your TV. The remote control revolution began in 1898, when inventor Nikola Tesla successfully controlled a 6-foot-long iron-hulled model boat using radio waves. Today, Microbots are the latest remote control marvel. We'll see how, in our technologically-evolved world, pressing a button to get what we want has become commonplace.

James Bond Gadgets.

His movies are legend, his women beautiful, and his toys the best in the world. Whether James Bond is foiling villains in space-age flying machines or eavesdropping on his enemies with ultra-sophisticated spy gear, British Secret Agent 007 is always guaranteed to have the most outrageous and wonderfully creative gadgets ever to grace the silver screen. Bond had it all. But as we see in this exclusive look at his gadgets, it takes a lot to save the world!

Firing Ranges.

Discover how military and police personnel, as well as private citizens, hone their shooting skills with one of the oldest of training techniques when we review the history of firing ranges--from a simple knot on a tree, old bottles, rusted tin cans, and highway signs to high-tech targets and advances in weaponry.

Cemeteries.

More than 2-million people die in the U.S. each year. That works out to about 5,500 burials a day, with roughly 80 percent taking the long goodbye in a casket, and the remaining 20 percent electing to be cremated or finding some alternative method of crossing eternity's threshold. We take a look at dealing with the dead throughout the centuries, and at today's $20-billion funeral industry. Any way you look at it, it's a healthy business, with new generations of customers year after year!

Quarries.

Dynamite explodes hills to bits, drills divide sheer stone walls, 400,000-pound blocks are pulled from pits by giant cranes, and men work around the clock to wrest rock out of the earth. Not diamonds or gold...rock, the raw material of civilization! Without rock, modern society wouldn't exist. Roads, sewers, dams, bridges, buildings, paint, glue, make-up, antacids, and even chewing gum need crushed stone. From ancient days to the present, we explore the evolution of quarrying techniques.

Cannons.

Cannons have fired balls of iron and atomic bombs, changed the way wars are fought, and now come equipped with smart weapons. Beginning with 13th-century cannons that were designed to penetrate forts of the day, we'll see how cannons were first cast and later forged, and show how large cannons terrorized civilians and soldiers in WWI and WWII. Moving to the present, we feature the 40-ton self-propelled Crusader that launches 100-pound steel artillery shells more than 33 miles.

Engineering Disasters 3.

Premiere Date: 04/16/2001

When design flaws fell projects, the cost is often exacted in lives as we see in this look at engineering disasters. Why did the Tower of Pisa begin to lean by as much as 17 feet; what caused the first nuclear accident in 1961 in Idaho; what killed three Soyuz 11 cosmonauts aboard the world's first orbiting space station; how did a winter storm destroy the Air Force's Texas Tower Radar Station, killing 28; and what errors led to NASA's loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander?

Apollo 13.

The Apollo 13 mission was intended to be a "routine" trip to the moon. But when an oxygen tank exploded, the spacecraft was crippled and its 3-man crew placed in mortal danger. The Lunar Module, intended for deployment on the moon's surface, instead became a lifeboat. Scientists and engineers on earth fought a race against time to save the crew. We'll examine the mission, which nearly ended in tragedy, but instead was a resounding success, and in some ways became NASA's finest hour.

Proving Grounds.

Where can you fire a missile without scaring the neighbors? Or lift millions of pounds in pursuit of a couple of ounces of gold? On a proving ground, of course, where performance is the only thing that matters. Because in the heat of battle or head-to-head competition, no excuses can be given. We'll visit the US military's Cold Regions Testing Center in Alaska and desert proving grounds in Arizona, the Olympic Complex in Colorado, and the now-defunct Packard proving grounds in Michigan.

Inventions of War.

Arising from the horrible carnage, deprivation, and suffering caused by war is a countless array of everyday items--from hairbrushes to microwaves--that directly descend from wartime innovations. Wartime research and development have revolutionized communication, transportation, and medicine. From EM Spam /EM to nuclear power to hairspray and cell phones, life as we know it ironically owes a lot to war. We'll follow the day-to-day life of an ordinary woman and see the influence of war on her life.

Trucks.

Icons of the open road, trucks form the backbone of the construction and transportation industries. The facility to handle nearly any load and the ability to deliver goods almost anywhere make trucks integral to modern life. From 18th-century steam-powered carriages to tomorrow's computerized trucks, it's a long haul you'll enjoy!

Gold Mines.

Premiere Date: 07/31/2000

Around the world and across the eons, gold stands as a symbol of power, wealth, and love. The quest for the yellow metal took men across oceans, into the depths of the Alaskan winter, and miles beneath South African earth. This is the story of the hunters of the precious metal and their methods for extracting it.

Bridges.

From amazing ancient Roman aqueducts and arch bridges, romantic Renaissance spans, 19th-century railroad crossovers, to monumental marvels of our time, bridges played a key role in the human quest to connect and unify. We'll trace the history of bridge types, including suspension, arch, beam, truss, and cantilever designs.

Casino Technology.

Place your bets and join us for an exciting spin through the history of the casino. We'll go behind the neon lights, free drinks, and 24-hour gambling to see how the gaming industry has evolved from a simple house of cards to a high-tech multi-billion dollar industry.

More Engineering Disasters.

Throughout history the same builders and engineers that paved man's path out of the caves and into the modern world also caused some of mankind's worst disasters. Often a huge calamity is traced back to a tiny cause, insignificant in itself, but triggering a domino effect. We'll revisit notable disasters and search for probable causes.

Guns of Infamy

In a dramatic review of guns that changed the course of history, we examine the firearms used to assassinate Presidents Kennedy, McKinley, Garfield, and Lincoln, and the gun used to kill Archduke Ferdinand--a key event that triggered the outbreak of WWI. We'll also look at candidates for the gun that may have been used to fire the "shot heard 'round the world" in the American Revolution, as well as guns of notorious Wild West outlaws. Who owns these highly sought-after guns today?

Dynamite.

Join us for a highly charged hour as we see why Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite took on earthshattering dimensions as his product blasted out the natural resources that built our modern world. We also examine its impact on construction of the roads, tunnels, and dams that provide us with energy and transportation.

Shotguns.

The first specialized gun, the British upper-class used it to shoot birds and small game for sport. But through the years, the shotgun took on a variety of roles, used by hunter and warrior alike. For more than four centuries, the shotgun was the weapon of choice for those who could afford one! Film director John Milius is interviewed.

Airships.

First there were balloons and blimps. Then, visionaries enlarged, reinforced, and motorized them and the airship was born. The biggest aircraft ever flown, they remain one of the most romantic aerial creations. In all, 161 rigid airships were built before spectacular crashes, including the EM Hindenburg /EM , put an end to the era.

Bombs.

Premiere Date: 11/09/1998

Bombs...the most feared and powerful weapon in any nation's arsenal. What began as incendiary devices in the 7th century has evolved into weapons that can literally blow the human race off the face of the earth! From the use of diseased carcasses flung over castle walls to Greek Fire to today's smart bombs, we review the evolution of bombs.

Money

Premiere Date: 09/10/1998

How does America make money--literally? We visit the United States Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see the secretive government facilities where our legal tender is generated. With a storied past as tantalizing as the wealth they create, these mints can spit out fortunes in an hour and keep our economy flowing.

Las Vegas Hotels.

Out of the bleakness of a vast desert arose a city built on wish fulfillment and indulgence. Unencumbered by tradition or notions of good taste, for 50 years Las Vegas has taken tourists to the height of their imaginations while reaching into their pockets. Visit 11 of the world's largest hotels in the country's biggest playground.

Battlefield Engineering.

Meet some of the most important, yet least-recognized, warriors--the battlefield engineers who lay the groundwork for oncoming conflicts. We'll cover combat engineering from ancient Rome to modern-day Iraq, and take a look at the "Next Big Thing".

American Steel: Built to Last.

For over a century, the US steel industry was a powerful symbol of the nation's industrial might. Steel helped explode the stock market into an overnight powerhouse, and transformed a country of farmers and merchants into a nation of visionary builders. But America's domination of the market would meet new challenges in the 1970s.

International Airports

Everyday 3-million passengers board the 10,000 aircraft flying at any given moment. Go behind the scenes at international airports to see the inner workings that make commercial air travel possible--from ground control in air traffic towers, the plane's cargo holds and high-tech security, and back to earth at customs.

Household Wonders.

Reviews the revolution in home improvement and glimpses the kitchen of tomorrow. Included: the development of the stove, sewing machine, refrigerated air, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, toaster, and mixer.

Observatories: Stonehenge to Space Telescopes.

From Stonehenge to the Hubble Telescope, man has always been a species of stargazers. Unforgettable film footage and expert accounts reveal the facts of astronomy's most mind-boggling discoveries.

Paving America.

Premiere Date: 06/16/1996

The story of the construction of our grand national highway system, from its beginnings in 1912 (it was conceived by auto and headlight tycoons) to its completion in 1984 (when the last stoplight was removed--and buried).

Mt. Rushmore.

Premiere Date: 02/11/1996

The incredible tale of how Gutzon Borglum created the world's largest sculpture by carving the faces of four US presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln) into the Black Hills of South Dakota. The four figures carved in stone pay tribute to the first 150 years of American history. The hour chronicles the "swiveled pointer" that Borglum put in each president's "head", and how workmen hung like spiders 6,000 feet above the ground to blast away 450,000 tons of rock.

The Railroads that Tamed the West.

The year was 1869 and America had just completed the greatest building achievement in its history--the Transcontinental Railroad. A thin ribbon of steel and wood now connected East and West. But the fledgling country now faced an even greater challenge--how to harness the awesome potential of the railroad to tame the still wide-open and wild West.

Golden Gate Bridge.

More than 50 years after its construction, the Golden Gate remains one of the world's greatest engineering marvels. It took 25-million man-hours and 80,000 miles of cable to complete. But the cost in human life proved even greater.

Silver Mines.

Premiere Date: 01/14/1996

It was called the "mother lode", a deposit of silver so massive that it would produce $300-million in its first 25 years of operation, establish Nevada as a state, and bankroll the Union Army in the Civil War. Named after an early investor, we'll see how the Comstock Lode, discovered near Virginia City, proved to be a scientific laboratory from which vast improvements in mining technology and safety were pioneered, including innovations in drilling, ventilation, drainage, and ore processing.

Upcoming Episodes on H2

Hunting Gear.:: Monday, Feb 13, 8/7c
Bullets.:: Monday, Feb 13, 9/8c

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