The BEST episodes of Modern Marvels season 3

Every episode of Modern Marvels season 3, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Modern Marvels season 3!

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.

Last Updated: 5/13/2026Network: H2Status: Ended
The Stock Exchange
star
7.71
7 votes

#1 - The Stock Exchange

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/12/1997

Welcome to the center of the American economy, where nearly $90-million changes hands each minute. Journey back to the wooden wall, built to hold back Indians, where early traders signed a pact creating the New York Stock Exchange; watch worldwide markets quake with the crash of 1929; and visit today's computer-driven wonder.

Radio: Out of Thin Air
star
7.70
43 votes

#2 - Radio: Out of Thin Air

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/24/1997

Though now considered a country cousin when compared to the sophisticated television, merely a century ago, the radio galvanized communications as it linked the world without wires. The program examines the long life of the radio.

Polio Vaccine
star
7.36
11 votes

#3 - Polio Vaccine

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/5/1997

When "poliomyelitis" swept the nation, thousands died or were disabled before American ingenuity, trial and error, and blatant acts of desperation led to one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history. We'll see how polio shaped the vision of FDR, and catapulted the young unknown doctor Jonas Salk to international celebrity.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Forensic Science
star
7.12
17 votes

#4 - Forensic Science

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/28/1997

From Sherlock Holmes' examination of the physical evidence at a crime scene to today's DNA technology, we review the history of crime detection through the use of forensic science.

International Airports
star
6.91
35 votes

#5 - International Airports

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/28/1997

The developments and technology of international airports' construction and operation.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Household Wonders
star
6.86
7 votes

#6 - Household Wonders

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/14/1997

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.

Radar
star
6.75
8 votes

#7 - Radar

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/21/1997

Examine the history of this landmark technology, from its role in the Allied victory in World War II, to its widespread use in air traffic control, ocean surveillance, astronomy, geology and meteorology.

NORAD: The War Game Fortress
star
6.70
10 votes

#8 - NORAD: The War Game Fortress

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/19/1997

Journey inside the top-secret headquarters of NORAD–the North American Aerospace Defense Command–a binational military command composed of the United States and Canada. See how its primary mission has changed through the years, and go inside the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center.

Satellites
star
6.09
11 votes

#9 - Satellites

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/17/1997

It took the innovation of three men, including a visionary British science fiction writer and a Nazi engineer, and one of the most desperate technological races of all time to create the satellite. See how satellites evolved into the world's most essential communications tools, and explore the stunning capabilities of modern spy "birds".

Great Towers in the Sky
star
5.94
17 votes

#10 - Great Towers in the Sky

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/7/1997

A profile of history's greatest tower including the Tower of Babel, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower. Also features in depth looks at the Seattle Space Needle, the CN Tower in Toronto, and the Las Vegas Stratosphere.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Earth Movers: The Power to Move Mountains
star
5.50
4 votes

#11 - Earth Movers: The Power to Move Mountains

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/27/1997

Feel the earth move under your feet and dig into the fascinating history of earthmoving equipment--from invention of the simple spade to today's powerful steam shovels. Meet the legendary giants like John Deere, Jerome Case, and the founders of Caterpillar, who helped forge America's monolithic construction industry.

Deep Sea Exploration: Challenging the Abyss
star
4.60
5 votes

#12 - Deep Sea Exploration: Challenging the Abyss

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/3/1997

Chronicling the development of deep-sea exploration and the vessels and devices that make it possible. Also: some of the revolutionary findings that have resulted from marine exploration.

American Steel: Built to Last
star
1.00
1 votes

#13 - American Steel: Built to Last

Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/18/1998

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.

The Alaskan Oil Pipeline
star
1.00
1 votes

#14 - The Alaskan Oil Pipeline

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/4/1997

In 1973, a desperate America, starved by an OPEC embargo, began construction on an 800-mile lifeline for its insatiable oil hunger. We'll examine this technological triumph, built over impenetrable mountains and tundra, where temperatures drop to 75 below zero. We also study its impact on a fragile ecological system.

Battlefield Engineering
star
1.00
1 votes

#15 - Battlefield Engineering

Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/8/1998

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".

Aqueducts
star
1.00
1 votes

#16 - Aqueducts

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/4/1998

The story of how man has moved water from place to place since ancient times up through Mulholland's Los Angeles aqueduct and the present.