The BEST episodes of Modern Marvels season 7

#1 - Tower Bridge

Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired 5/25/2000

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.

#2 - Power Plants

Season 7 - Episode 38 - Aired 12/5/2000

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.

#3 - Aswan Dam

Season 7 - Episode 24 - Aired 9/11/2000

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.

#4 - Body Shop (2)

Season 7 - Episode 29 - Aired 10/16/2000

#5 - Suez Canal

Season 7 - Episode 33 - Aired 10/25/2000

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.

#6 - Inventions of War

Season 7 - Episode 39 - Aired 12/12/2000

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.

#7 - Camping Technology

Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 6/6/2000

#8 - City Beneath Our Feet, The AKA Underground Surprises

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/10/2000

#9 - 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.

#10 - Machine Tools

Season 7 - Episode 30 - Aired 10/17/2000

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.

#11 - The Erie Canal

Season 7 - Episode 22 - Aired 8/14/2000

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.

#12 - Banks

Season 7 - Episode 21 - Aired 8/3/2000

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.

#13 - Buses

Season 7 - Episode 19 - Aired 7/27/2000

#14 - Race Cars

Season 7 - Episode 17 - Aired 6/19/2000

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.

#15 - Disaster Technology

Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/8/2000

Technological tools help science mitigate nature's fury.

#16 - Private Planes

Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 6/12/2000

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.

#17 - Assembly Line

Season 7 - Episode 32 - Aired 10/19/2000

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.

#18 - Trucks

Season 7 - Episode 23 - Aired 8/22/2000

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.

#19 - Great Inventions

Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/14/2000

Wheel; steam engine; railroad; automobile; airplane; printing press; electric light; wireless telegraph; telephone; television; computer.

#20 - Traffic

Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 6/22/2000

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.

#21 - Office Wonders

Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/15/2000

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.

#22 - Police Technology

Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/17/2000

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.

#23 - The Pentagon

Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/26/2000

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.

#24 - The Chunnel

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/11/2000

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.

#25 - Farming Technology

Season 7 - Episode 31 - Aired 10/18/2000

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.