The BEST episodes of Modern Marvels

#1 - Hoover Dam

Season 6 - Episode 17 - Aired 7/12/1999

Venture into the Southwestern Desert for the complete story of one of the seven engineering wonders of the world -- Hoover Dam. From the blueprints to reality, this is the story of the ingenuity and manpower that literally moved a river and sculpted a mountain of concrete.

#2 - World's Fair: Visions of the Future

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/24/1998

A look at the expositions known as "World's Fairs," which have served as showcases for entertainment, cultural events and new technology.

#3 - The Spitfire

Season 8 - Episode 28 - Aired 8/16/2001

The Supermarine Spitfire is a revolutionary fighter plane.

#4 - More Gadgets

Season 8 - Episode 25 - Aired 6/27/2001

A salute to the tools and toys that have stood the test of time--from the Zippo lighter to the Palm Pilot. As we focus on the technology behind familiar gadgets, we see the subtle ways they have changed our lives.

#5 - Computers

Season 8 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/11/2001

The development of computers from Charles Babbage's mechanical computers first used in the 1890 U. S. Census, to the computers developed during WW2 to break the German Enigma code--from transistor computers, integrated circuits and microcomputers used for the space race to the moon, to networked computers sharing data around the globe.

#6 - Bombs

Season 6 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/13/1999

One of the most feared and powerful weapons in any nation's arsenal. From the use of diseased carcasses flung over castle walls to Greek Fire to today's smart bombs, we review the evolution of bombs.

#7 - Crash Testing

Season 6 - Episode 20 - Aired 8/9/1999

Delve into the secretive, but hugely important, multi-billion-dollar industry of product testing where wrinkles get ironed out and goods are stripped of the marketing and hype to see if they actually work.

#8 - World's Strongest 3

Season 15 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/6/2008

Witness some mind-blowing feats of strength starting with the world's most powerful elevators. Discover the world's strongest tire, the strongest mountain bike, the world's strongest land transport vehicle that carries the Space Shuttle & strongest home blender.

#9 - Work Clothes

Season 8 - Episode 39 - Aired 10/17/2001

From the riveted blue jeans of the old ’49ers working the gold mines of California to the million-dollar suits astronauts wear in outer space, we see how “dressing for success” often means being able to get the job done. With the right work clothes, people have been able to go anywhere and do any job.

#10 - Weather Prediction

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/7/1998

A study of the discoveries, inventions, and technological advances that have helped us understand and predict weather accurately. From simple observations made by primitive humans, to early instruments such as thermometers and barometers, to Doppler radar and satellite imaging, we'll see how man has tried to harness weather.

#11 - Rocks

Season 14 - Episode 41 - Aired 12/3/2007

From the Stone Age, to the Space Age, we've built our world from rocks. With moon rocks located at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

#12 - Secret Allied Aircraft of WWII

Season 12 - Episode 48 - Aired 10/14/2005

At WWII's outset, US and UK military aircraft designs were woefully behind Germany's and Japan's technologically superior planes. But the genius and ingenuity of innovators on both sides of the Atlantic closed the gap. For America, it was a handful of visionaries and their teams; for Great Britain, a creative and thoughtful spirit emanated from the top leadership on down. In this hour, we recount the untold stories of their cutting-edge designs and solutions, some of which proved decades ahead of their time.

#13 - Carbon

Season 15 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/14/2008

Carbon 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.

#14 - Medical Imaging: The Voyage Inward

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/28/1998

Medical imaging, the technology that allows us to see inside the human body, is full of amazing stories. Learn how X-rays were discovered in 1895, completely by accident; how ultrasound was developed to locate enemy submarines; and how the CAT Scan might never have been built if it weren't for The Beatles!

#15 - The Future of Food

Season 21 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/28/2021

Adam Richman travels through time to uncover: the Future of Food! With special security clearance to a U.S. Army lab we get a glimpse into the cutting-edge food research that's taking a quantum leap into the future. At Impossible Foods, we make a delicious discovery and learn why it's not impossible for plants to look, taste and even bleed like meat. Plus, science fiction becomes fact when we see food grilled and served by robots, food made to last for years, and food made to be eaten in Earth's upper atmosphere. The future of food is here and it's tasty!

#16 - Earth Movers 2

Season 6 - Episode 27 - Aired 10/13/1999

#17 - Salt Mines

Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/19/1999

Discover more about this priceless commodity essential to our very survival. It has over 14,000 uses from de-icing our roads to softening our water.

#18 - Firefighting! Extreme Conditions

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/8/1998

The most extreme raging fires and the firefighters who tame them. Meet “Hell Fighters” who fight raging oil well fires and “smoke jumpers” who parachute into forest fires. Also, see how NASA guards against the very real risk of a fire aboard a space vessel.

#19 - War Planes of World War II

Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/10/2000

World War II sees more planes built in a single year than had been built in the previous 40.

#20 - Lead

Season 15 - Episode 29 - Aired 10/9/2008

A versatile yet toxic metal, lead has served mankind for 6,000 years.

#21 - Engineering Disasters 12

Season 11 - Episode 53 - Aired 11/9/2004

In Milwaukee, 104 died after drinking contaminated tap water. At Texas A&M, a tradition turned tragic when a pile of bonfire logs collapsed onto its builders. Thousands of US soldiers expired in known WWII deathtraps--Sherman Tanks. In 1973, 14 men working on a 26-story building died when supports were removed from wet concrete. And in 1993, Denver's "dream" airport became a nightmare when its baggage-handling system ran amok. Aided by computer graphics, catastrophe footage, and visits to the locations today, MIT scientists, Center for Disease Control experts, WWII vets, bonfire builders, and construction engineers explain these tragedies and measures taken to prevent them in future.

#22 - Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Season 10 - Episode 53 - Aired 10/15/2003

In the land of Mardi Gras, jambalaya, and zydeco, exits 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!

#23 - Motors

Season 9 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/19/2002

The electric motor.

#24 - Battle Gear

Season 8 - Episode 21 - Aired 6/19/2001

From battle armor to bubble gum, you might be surprised by what soldiers have carried into battle--and what they'll carry in future wars.

#25 - Gold Mines

Season 7 - Episode 20 - Aired 7/31/2000

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.