The BEST episodes of Modern Marvels season 15
Every episode of Modern Marvels season 15, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Modern Marvels season 15!
Celebrating ingenuity, invention and imagination brought to life on a grand scale, MODERN MARVELS tells the fascinating stories of the doers, dreamers and sometime-schemers who created everyday items, technological breakthroughs and man-made wonders.
#1 - Halloween Tech
Season 15 - Episode 32 - Aired 10/27/2008
An inside look at the technology used for the Halloween traditions such as producing latex masks, professional monster makeup, carving jack-o-lanterns, making fake blood and a glimpse of a popular haunted house attraction.
#2 - The Turkey
Season 15 - Episode 34 - Aired 11/24/2008
The turkey is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinners and one of the dumbest birds in the animal kingdom, but it has managed to survive since the dinosaurs; Butterball factory; turkey hunting; dining on turkey testicles and eggs.
#3 - Crashes
Season 15 - Episode 20 - Aired 7/10/2008
Explore collisions that shake our world from the astronomic to the subatomic. Indy car racing; motorcycles; skydiving; meteorites; and subatomic particles.
#4 - Soft Drinks
Season 15 - Episode 43 - Aired 4/8/2010
The history, production process, and use of various kinds of soft drinks are explored, including Dr. Pepper, natural sodas, Gatorade, energy drinks, ginger ale, root beer, Slurpees, soda fountain drinks, and drinks with unusual flavors.
#5 - Underwear
Season 15 - Episode 21 - Aired 7/17/2008
From itchy woolen union suits to comfortable briefs and boxers learn how our undergarments have evolved over the last 100 years.
#6 - Coin Operated
Season 15 - Episode 23 - Aired 7/24/2008
Every 15 minutes, Americans insert over 3.5 million coins into vending machines. What are they buying? How do the machines work?
#7 - Secrets of Oil
Season 15 - Episode 24 - Aired 7/31/2008
Rubber, plastic, nylon, aerosols, resins, solvents, & lubricants; none can exist without oil. If we stopped driving our cars tomorrow, America would still need 5 million barrels of oil a day.
#8 - Corrosion & Decomposition
Season 15 - Episode 30 - Aired 10/13/2008
America's aging infrastructure is in danger of collapse due to corrosion, according to engineers; technology for battling corrosion; harnessing the destructive power of decomposition.
#9 - Night
Season 15 - Episode 40 - Aired 12/26/2008
Some activities only occur when the world is dark; fishermen use lights to lure squid to their nets; finding night crawlers in Toronto; military night vision gear; police helicopter's Spectrolab spotlight; baseball stadium.
#10 - Wheat
Season 15 - Episode 26 - Aired 8/21/2008
It feeds the world. See how harvesting crews brave months on the road, cutting thousands of acres, tour a pasta plant to see how special kinds of wheat becomes everything from spaghetti to rigatoni. Watch as grain is mashed into a thirst-quenching brew and finally visit a company that transforms wheat into plastic-like products
#11 - Dangerous Roads
Season 15 - Episode 27 - Aired 8/28/2008
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
#12 - The Horse
Season 15 - Episode 33 - Aired 11/19/2008
A celebration of the horse, the animal that helped mankind change the world; the thoroughbred racing industry in Kentucky; how a Minnesota logging company uses real horsepower; a Colorado program pairs horses and prison inmates.
#13 - Retro Tech
Season 15 - Episode 37 - Aired 12/19/2008
Rummage around in your garage and you'll likely find remnants of gadgets past: a typewriter, analog TV, LPs, film cameras and brick-sized mobile phones. These products served us well and remember each one with nostalgic fondness. Take a trip down memory lane to examine how these oldies-but-goodies worked and find out how more advanced tech superseded them.
#14 - Salt
Season 15 - Episode 35 - Aired 12/1/2008
It's the only rock we eat, and we need it to live. History has shown that those who have salt rule the world--and today, this versatile substance has 14,000 known uses
#15 - Mold & Fungus
Season 15 - Episode 28 - Aired 9/18/2008
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.
#16 - Car Wash
Season 15 - Episode 36 - Aired 12/8/2008
The car wash's in America are a $25 billion dollars a year industry, with tunnel systems to in-bay automatics, we'll show you how America keeps it's cars clean. We'll visit the largest car wash, seven acres wide which includes a dog wash, chapel, and barber shop. And then to a wash which uses trained electronic eyes, auto conveyors, and mega vacuums which can hold up a bowling ball. We also show tips for cleaning a car at home. Plus we'll add tar, glue, egg, bird droppings, and a bucket full of sludge to a $160,000 Porsche, and then challenge a detailer to clean it off. Also, see how cars are built to survive a car wash.
#17 - Measure It
Season 15 - Episode 39 - Aired 12/23/2008
How do you weigh a whale? How does your speedometer work? Take a look at the five most common areas of measurement: distance, time, speed, weight, and temperature
#18 - Super Human
Season 15 - Episode 38 - Aired 12/22/2008
hether humans have the ability to possess superpowers; a man can strap on an exoskeleton and lift hundreds of pounds with little effort; Mr. Cyborg can control machines with his thoughts; flying like Superman.
#19 - Iron
Season 15 - Episode 25 - Aired 8/14/2008
How iron mined in Minnesota is made into steel; iron weapons revolutionize warfare; military metallurgists customize weapons and demonstrate their firepower; iron magnets.
#20 - Bull's-Eye
Season 15 - Episode 31 - Aired 10/20/2008
Examining how frequently experts in various disciplines can hit their targets, including archers, sharpshooters and even a billiards player; the ancient world's ballista and trebuchet weapons; knife thrower; Cirque du Soleil's daring artists.
#21 - Batman Tech
Season 15 - Episode 22 - Aired 7/21/2008
He's caped, cowled and the coolest superhero of them all, because underneath that Batsuit, Batman only has his human strength and intellect to rely on. That and the greatest arsenal of crime fighting weaponry ever devised. But just where does comic book science fiction end and scientific fact begin? What technologies are behind the gadgets in Batman's utility belt? And just how plausible is the Batmobile? Get ready for a real life trip to the Batcave as we reveal the secrets behind Batman Tech
#22 - Fry it
Season 15 - Episode 42 - Aired 4/1/2010
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?
#23 - Ultimate Gadgets
Season 15 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/4/2008
We're living in a gadget revolution. New and unimagined gizmos solve problems that we didn't even know we had. They emerge from cutting edge think tanks and tinkerers basement workshops. Will they usher in a techno utopia, or enslave us to pocket size technology?
#24 - Milk
Season 15 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/7/2008
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.
#25 - 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.