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Private Notes
We trace the history of household appliances and how they've made things much more convenient.
Join us as we span the history of one of the world’s most famous bridges, London’s Tower Bridge. The world’s largest bascule bridge (a counterweighted drawbridge), when it was erected in 1892, it became a postcard image of London. The famed gothic towers of this pioneering steel structure, sheathed in stone, are purely decorative.
The job of joining Britain and France via a tunnel under the English Channel was a challenge. Geologists tracked the only safe route with satellite technology, and French and British teams drilled towards each other using two of the largest Tunnel Boring Machines ever made. We'll explore the greatest underwater land-link of all time.
Join us on an out-of-this-world exploration of the history of long-duration life in space--from the first Soviet station to Skylab to Mir to the International Space Station. Experience what it is like to live in space, as well as the monumental obstacles engineers and astronauts overcame to make it possible.
The Pentagon…The name alone conjures up an imposing image of American power and prestige. As the largest office building in the world, it serves as the headquarters of the nation’s armed forces.
Bridges play a key role in the human quest to connect and unify.
The philosophy, architecture of today's U.S. prisons emerge from those of history.
They are buildings designed to keep their inhabitants inside and under control. But very often, there is another, psychological aspect at work--they are made to look as grim and foreboding as possible.
MODERN MARVELS takes a long, hard look at how prisons have been designed and built through the ages. The program starts in antiquity, where sewers and dank dungeons were commandeered to keep the unruly and unwelcome captive. Prison designers and experts examine how these ancient roots show up in the design of much more modern prisons, where many elements go beyond the need for security. We'll tour famous prisons from Alcatraz to the newest, maximum-security facilities built during America's most recent wave of prison construction. And examine the features that may well become staples of the next generation of these facilities.
This is your day pass into the world of punishment, a fascinating tour of the buildings at the backbone of the penal system.
Close cousins to machines and tools, gadgets are mechanical or electronic devices that make life a bit easier. While they don't always fall into clear categories, we know one when we see one. We'll view the craziest, cleverest, and most brilliant gizmos, meet the often-quirky gadgeteers, and glimpse gadgetry of the future.
Wheel; steam engine; railroad; automobile; airplane; printing press; electric light; wireless telegraph; telephone; television; computer.
This episode explores the stories behind everything from the paper clip to the laser printer, showing how they were invented and developed and revealing what makes them tick. From chance discoveries never intended to wind up at work to the irony of labor saving devices and why they can actually create more work, we'll deconstruct your desktop and expose the wonders there.
When police forces were born in the 1800s, British "bobbies" made due with a billy club. Public wariness and institutional resistance to change held back technological advances for much of the 20th century. But in the last decades, police have been swept up in a technological revolution that has transformed nearly all aspects of crime fighting.
Technological tools help science mitigate nature's fury.
A look at London's Tower Bridge, a fine example of Victorian engineering and architecture that has attracted tourists since its inauguration on June 30, 1894, by Edward, the Prince of Wales.
Invented by the ancient Romans, concrete is a relatively simple formula that changed the world. Concrete has been used to divide an entire country, as in the Berlin Wall, and to unite nations, as in the Chunnel. We'll review the history of this building block of civilization and look at modern applications
Today, race cars tear up the tracks at 300 m.p.h. Computers and space-age composite materials are as much as part of racing as the drivers. They’re fast, they’re thrilling, and they’ve gone high-tech. We’ll review the history of the innovations that led to today’s technological wonders.
The plane's on the runway and revving up for our flight of power and whimsy. The panorama reveals some amazing machines--from vintage aircraft to homemade winged wonders to posh private jets. It's a tale that merges technological progress and the fantasies of an unique type of person, who refuses to be grounded by earth's surly bonds.
Today, race cars tear up the tracks at 300 mph. Computers and space-age composite materials are as much as part of racing as the drivers. They're fast, they're thrilling, and they've gone high-tech. We'll review the history of the innovations that led to today's technological wonders.
As the American economy continues to surge a very real bottleneck is emerging--the ability of the infrastructure to handle the traffic it generates. And this issue affects much more than weekend travelers. MODERN MARVELSTM visits planning offices and government agencies for an eye-opening look at, literally and figuratively, the road we are on. See how small the margins for error have become--and how disastrous the results can be when problems arise. And as our traffic systems come closer to their capacity, crises are likely to become more frequent.
Backbones of worldwide economics, for centuries banks enabled the creation of wealth, and industry leaders became icons. But modern technology revolutionized the way banks do business, and the Internet insures they must adapt or disappear. From banking's early European origins to "e-banking", this is an hour you can't afford to miss!
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.
They have been the backbone of the world's economy for centuries, but they have also been constantly reinvented over that time. And recent technological innovations promise to continue that trend, possibly revolutionizing the banking industry.
From the influence of men like Alexander Hamilton to the creation of the FDIC, this is a fascinating chronicle of the institutions at the backbone of the world's economy.
This show ventures back to the days of the Medicis and inside the mysterious workings of an ATM in this comprehensive look at the banking industry. We'll get the complete story behind such institutions as the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, and examine the influence of such notable figures as Alexander Hamilton, Henry Wells, Aaron Burr, William Fargo, A.P. Giannini, Andrew Jackson and J.P. Morgan. And experts and insiders consider the impact of comparably recent developments like the credit card and electronic banking, as well as the changes that the future may hold.
More than just the storehouses of wealth, they have created fame and fortune and shaped the course of history.
It was a 363-mile highway linking the western frontier to the Atlantic seaboard. It shaped the history of the nation and transformed New York City from a minor seaport into a commercial capital.
THE ERIE CANAL was as important an engineering project as has ever been undertaken. MODERN MARVELSTM ventures back to the early days of the 19th century to tell its complete, captivating story. Despite its ambitious intent, it was originally derided as "Clinton's Folly," referring to New York governor Dewitt Clinton, who spearheaded efforts to create the canal. Just eight years later, in 1825, newspapers declared the recently completed canal "The Eighth Wonder of the World." It immediately proved its worth, generating millions of dollars in tolls, opening up the interior of the state to development and spurring the creation of new towns. For years, it remained the commercial backbone of the region, and today, it is a treasure house of history, an invaluable reminder of a vanished era.
From the first shovel of dirt to its survival into the 21st century, this is the extraordinary story of THE ERIE CANAL.
They are the backbone of the transportation and construction industries. Versatile, vital and ubiquitous, trucks perform jobs from carting off mountains to keeping nations fed.
TRUCKS drives through a century of history to deliver the goods on this all-important vehicle. Visit museums and collections where the very first trucks are on display--bizarre machines with steel, tireless wheels, open cabs and tillers! See how war and the changing face of industry spurred remarkable proliferation and technological advancement, leading to everything from 165-foot-long "Road Trains" in the Australian Outback to two-story high super trucks capable of carrying 320 tons of earth in a single load. Explore the role of legendary names like Mack, Kenworth and Peterbilt and see what may lie in store for the next generation of heavy haulers.
MODERN MARVELS takes to the road for the ultimate examination of, arguably, the most important vehicles ever made.
In 1954, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Arab Republic of Egypt's first prime minister, had a plan to bring his poor country into the 20th century. To pull it off, he needed to harness the flow of the world's longest river--the Nile. The ambitious plan called for construction of a high dam in southern Egypt at Aswan. But the builders of the pyramids and the Suez Canal were no strangers to large undertakings. We'll see how the Aswan High Dam socially, politically, culturally, and agriculturally affected Egypt.
A fun-filled glimpse into the not so distant history of video games. Since inception, the gaming industry has been a driving force in computer technology and video games are one of today’s dominant entertainment mediums. We’ll talk to creators of many of the most popular games in an hour packed with thrilling visuals from the virtual world of video games.
The Maginot Line, a defensive string of forts with enfilading firepower, was built by France between WWI and WWII. Conceived by Minister of War André Maginot, it was meant to forestall another German invasion until troops could arrive. But the French began to think of the line as a substitute for manpower. When Belgium declared neutrality and exposed France's flank, Germany was able to sidestep the line. We'll visit the "impregnable" line's forts, observation turrets, and underground railroads.
A fun-filled glimpse into the not so distant history of video games. Since inception, the gaming industry has been a driving force in computer technology and video games are one of today's dominant entertainment mediums. We'll talk to creators of many of the most popular games in an hour packed with thrilling visuals from the virtual world of video games.
This engrossing, two-hour show goes under the hood and a whole lot farther, as two certified mechanics dissect a 2000 Ford Taurus, providing a fascinating, nuts-and-bolts view of its major systems and explaining how it all works. While the Taurus surrenders its secrets, automotive experts and historians detail how cars have evolved since the days of the horseless carriage, tracing the developments that have made autos swifter, safer, more economical and just plain better. Visits to museums and private collections highlight important older cars, while concept cars and computer animations offer a glimpse into the automotive future.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, an assembly line is an “industrial arrangement of machines, equipment, and workers for continuous flow of workpieces in mass production operations.” While the basic principles of the assembly line technique have not changed in one hundred years, the people and the products that exploit the technique have. Throughout the hour, we will hear from four generations of assembly line workers who will provide some perspective, heart and soul for this revolutionary production technique.
Machine tools, power-driven machines of all shapes and sizes, are used to make metal parts and have built our modern world. Life today would not be possible without them. Beginning with the story of the steam engine and traveling forward to modern-day "machining centers" that are used to make incredibly complex space shuttle parts, we'll examine the basic types of machine tools and their development. We'll also look at machine tools of the future that will change the way products are made.
The US agricultural process, from seed to shelf, is so efficient that most people don't think much about it. But food growing and processing is ever more sophisticated, employing computer-guided, ground-shaking machinery, and sometimes controversial techniques. It's an industry of declining family farms, diminishing returns, yet higher yields. We review the evolution of the tools used to produce food, show the steps in the cycle that bring food to the table, and look at the future of farming.
Its efficiency has produced billions of products, from toys to Boeing 747s, cheaply and quickly. Follow the evolution of the assembly line, including its sometimes troubled relationship with the human beings who make it work. We'll see how Americans eventually overcame prejudices toward blacks and women in the factories during World War II. And we'll follow a family of four generations of Detroit auto assembly workers as they tell us how they dealt with the relentless pace of production. During the 1930s, assembly lines' frantic pace led to widespread labor unrest; and in the 1970s, it was a symptom of a greater concern for quantity than quality.
Since its completion in 1869, the Suez Canal has been a vital link in world trade and a point of controversy in geopolitics. Today, more than 20,000 ships transit the canal yearly.
Head beneath the streets of London for an in-depth look at the world's first underground railway.
Sign up at the ultimate survival school, where soldiers learn to kill or be killed, and learn how 21st-century warriors are training today for the battlefields of tomorrow. We follow combat training throughout history, reviewing survival skills and psychological tools--from ancient Rome to World Wars One and Two--and learn how modern training is enhanced by advanced technology and computer simulation.
It all started with the vision of the legendary scientist Nikola Tesla, who built a remote controlled, steam-powered boat in 1898. A little over a century later, unmanned vehicles have taken us on vicarious journeys to the surface of Mars and deep into space, helped locate scores of shipwrecks, and been sent to work in conditions where humans would never survive.
The hangman, guillotine, gas chamber, firing squad, and electric chair are just a few of the ways in which societies have rid themselves of those who committed capital crimes. And throughout history, a select few have developed the devices that have carried out the mandate of the people. This is the dark story of those inventors and the macabre history of execution mechanics--from the first "stone" of antiquity, the dungeons of the Inquisition, and Nazi death camps to today's sterile injection chambers--with a peek at the future of death technology.
Mankind controls the environment in a variety of ways, whether by capturing the force of a river, harnessing the power in coal or oil, controlling a nuclear reaction, or transforming the light of the sun into electricity. From Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla to Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein, the world's greatest minds have enabled us to acquire our light, heat, and power with a simple flip of the switch. Join us for an electrifying hour as we review the foundation for all of this--power plants.
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 Spam 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.
Each day, billions of gallons of water flow through cities into homes and back out again in a confusing mess of pipes, pumps, and fixtures. The history of plumbing is a tale crucial to our survival--supplying ourselves with fresh water and disposing of human waste. From ancient solutions to the future, we'll plumb plumbing's depths.
