The BEST episodes of Modern Marvels season 5

#1 - Hoover Dam

Season 5 - Episode 14 - 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 - Rescue Technology

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/1/1999

Check out the latest advances in rescue technology, including a Searchcam system that locates buried victims, and the Jaws of Life that can extricate a person from a crushed car in seconds.

#3 - Dynamite

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/21/1999

Dynamite blasts out the natural resources that have built our modern world.

#4 - Bombs

Season 5 - Episode 8 - 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.

#5 - Crash Testing

Season 5 - Episode 17 - 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.

#6 - Battlefield Medicine

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/30/1999

In this history of medicine under fire, we see how a small army of medics, nurses, surgeons, stretcher-bearers, and ambulance drivers, race to keep pace with the deadly advances of war.

#7 - Salt Mines

Season 5 - Episode 9 - 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.

#8 - Parachutes

Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 8/23/1999

The history of parachutes and how there development has impacted the fields of war, firefighting, recreation, and space exploration.

#9 - Fireworks

Season 5 - Episode 19 - Aired 9/6/1999

Since the invention of gunpowder, fireworks have thrilled audiences around the world. We'll review highlights of fireworks exhibitions throughout history, and go behind the scenes to explore how science and art mingle in this unique, ancient craft.

#10 - Map Making

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/8/1999

Charting the history of cartography--from ancient Marshall Islands' stick maps to the New York City Police Department's computerized super-map. Some are works of art, others vital tools for law enforcement, space exploration, and agriculture.

#11 - Offshore Oil Drilling

Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 7/6/1999

Drilling offshore is to drilling onshore what Ginger Rodgers was to Fred Astaire, she did everything he did except she did it backwards and in high heels. Offshore drilling is one of the greaest technological dances mankind has ever attempted

#12 - Jet Engines

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/3/1999

Strap on a parachute and soar through the saga of jet propulsion, which radically transformed our world since inception in WWII.

#13 - Spy Technology

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/15/1999

Tracing the evolution of the tools of espionage over the past century, from drop boxes and rudimentary codes to the tiny, high-tech devices that are already far more prevalent than most people imagine.

#14 - City Parks

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/3/1999

Parks play an even more important role than simply offering city dwellers a scenic break from the urban landscape. They provide important ecological and health benefits that help cities like New York and Los Angeles thrive.

#15 - Baseball Parks

Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/19/1999

Tracing the development of the ballpark. Visit some of baseball's greatest shrines, including Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards, and see how the years have changed the way they were conceived and built.

#16 - Submarines

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/25/1999

#17 - Garbage

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/10/1999

#18 - Scuba Diving & Underwater Breathing

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/25/1999

Dive with the best as we test scuba diving’s past, and look to a future of mechanical gills.

#19 - New York Bridges

Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 8/2/1999

Visits the Brooklyn, George Washington, the Tri-Borough and the 59th Street bridges. In the stone and steel of these edifices the history of modern bridge building can be seen.

#20 - Emergency Room

Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired 10/25/1999

Emergency room medicine has only been a recognized specialty since 1989, and it took close to two millennia to get to this point. Advancements that led to the modern emergency rooms are highlighted as well as emergency/trauma medicine.

#21 - The Atlantic Wall

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 9/13/1999

Overview of the Nazi Fortifications along the Atlantic Seaboard from Belgium to Spain. Coastal Defense of WW2 Nazi efforts to prevent Allied Forces from gaining foothold into France. War Time Film Footage of "D" Day Invasion.

#22 - The Tool Bench: Power Tools

Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 10/11/1999

The history of civilization could easily be measured in terms of our ability to make, use, and improve tools. We'll examine today's power tool industry, which is booming thanks to more powerful, lighter, and quieter cordless tools.

#23 - The Tool Bench: Hand Tools

Season 5 - Episode 25 - Aired 11/23/1999

Well over 2-million years before modern man evolved, his primitive ancestors were making tools. The ability to extend the hand and strengthen the arm is considered one of the keys to human evolution. Join us as we nail down the history of hand tools, and look at a new generation of computer-designed, high-tech hand tools.

#24 - Motorcycles

Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 11/15/1999

Fast and powerful, they come in a hundred shapes and a thousand colors. To some, motorcycles symbolize freedom; to others, they simply stand for trouble! We race back in time and see how, for over a hundred years, motorcycles have tantalized riders with a promise of unparalleled speed and endless adventure!

#25 - Casino Tech

Season 5 - Episode 27 - Aired 12/13/1999

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.