The BEST episodes of Modern Marvels season 9
Every episode of Modern Marvels season 9, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Modern Marvels season 9!
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 - Hangars
Season 9 - Episode 25 - Aired 6/25/2002
Come in for a smooth landing as we explore the history of hangars--stark, massive structures that house and protect flight vehicles.
#2 - Drag Racing
Season 9 - Episode 17 - Aired 5/21/2002
Head to the drag strip and back in time for the complete story of these amazing machines.
#3 - The Manhattan Project
Season 9 - Episode 20 - Aired 6/4/2002
At 5:30 a.m., July 16, 1945, scientists and dignitaries awaited the detonation of the first atomic bomb in a desolate area of the New Mexico desert aptly known as "Jornada del Muerto" (Journey of Death). Los Alamos scientists and engineers relate their trials, triumphs, and dark doubts about building the ultimate weapon of war in the interest of peace.
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#4 - The Strategic Air Command
Season 9 - Episode 29 - Aired 7/16/2002
With the ironic motto "Peace is our Profession", the Strategic Air Command was in charge of US nuclear forces from 1946 to 1992.
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#5 - Tunnels of Vietnam
Season 9 - Episode 48 - Aired 11/13/2002
Here is the heroic story of a intrepid band of infantry soldiers, the "Tunnel Rats", charged with a daring mission--to search for, find, and destroy a secret subterranean network of enemy tunnels in Vietnam. Armed with only a flashlight, valor, and a .45, they faced a determined foe and overcame lethal odds, uncovering secret enemy arms and intelligence caches. Tragically, many of these volunteers died and others were seriously wounded on this terrifying suicide mission.
#6 - The Magnum
Season 9 - Episode 37 - Aired 8/21/2002
It's known as the most powerful handgun in the world, made famous by Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies. But its origins stretch back more than a century to the Indian Wars of the American West and African safaris, where hunters stalked big game. Join us for a review of the history of the biggest, baddest gun available today--unlimited firepower at the pull of a trigger!
#7 - High Tech Sex
Season 9 - Episode 47 - Aired 10/30/2002
Join us for a walk on the wild side of the history of sexual enhancement and contraception--from Cleopatra's box of buzzing bees to 17th-century condoms to Internet sex and 21st-century holographic pornography! In an explicit exploration of the aphrodisiacs, drugs, contraceptives, toys, and cyber-tech innovations that have ushered in a brave new world of modern sexuality, we talk to sexologists and historians for ribald romp behind the bedroom's closed doors.
#8 - Train Wrecks
Season 9 - Episode 46 - Aired 10/28/2002
Throughout railroad history, disasters lay at the heart of progress, since expansion and profit proved the main goals of management. In 1875 alone, an average of 22 train accidents happened daily; in 1890, over 6,000 people were killed. We'll examine how safety, once a secondary consideration, became a primary goal.
#9 - Sherman Tanks
Season 9 - Episode 45 - Aired 10/22/2002
From the D-Day beaches to the crushing defeat of the German Army in France, the U.S. M-4 Sherman tank fought in some of the bloodiest battles of WWII. This is the dramatic story of America's triumphant industrial mobilization and the manufacture of a tank that would blast its way into history and pave the way for the liberation of Europe. Miniature cameras provide an inside look at the horrifying reality of being inside a Sherman tank in combat and under fire.
#10 - Cranes
Season 9 - Episode 44 - Aired 10/8/2002
One of the most useful machines ever created, the crane is a simple but important combination of the pulley and the lever. Though cranes have been helping us build civilization from at least the time of the Egyptian pyramids, the modern steel-framed construction cranes are a relatively recent development. Put on your work boots as we ride through the history of cranes from ancient days to skyscraper construction sites, ocean-freighter docks, and the International Space Station.
#11 - Muscle Cars
Season 9 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/30/2002
Pop open the hood, check out the carbs, and hear the engines roar on a journey back to a time when gas was cheap, emission controls non-existent, and all that mattered was acceleration and speed as we go behind the scenes of the muscle-car wars.
#12 - Pickup Trucks
Season 9 - Episode 43 - Aired 9/18/2002
They have made the leap from humble farm vehicles to mainstays of the American road. PICKUP TRUCKS tells the complete story of these rolling icons of individuality and freedom.
#13 - The Autobahn
Season 9 - Episode 42 - Aired 9/17/2002
Buckle up for safety as we take you for the ride of your life when we explore the fascinating history and current reality of the world's fastest freeway. The number-one works project of the Third Reich, the Autobahn was known as Adolf Hitler's Road until Germany's defeat in WWII.
#14 - The Chrysler Building
Season 9 - Episode 40 - Aired 9/10/2002
The 1,046-foot Chrysler Building in New York City, erected between 1928 and 1930, was the world's tallest edifice--until the Empire State Building eclipsed it in 1931! Since then, this Art Deco masterpiece has become one of the most beloved skyscrapers on the city skyline.
#15 - Breweries
Season 9 - Episode 39 - Aired 8/30/2002
From Pilgrim brew masters to early commercial ventures to today's monolithic corporations, we'll imbibe American beer's long history, focusing on the commercial brewing industry that developed in the 19th century and continues to today.
#16 - Magnets
Season 9 - Episode 38 - Aired 8/27/2002
We played with them as children, but the world of magnets isn't kid's stuff! The pervasive magnet serves as the underpinning for much of modern technology. They can be found in computers, cars, phones, VCRs, TVs, vacuum cleaners, the washer and dryer, the ubiquitous refrigerator magnet, and even in an electric guitar.
#17 - Big Rigs of Combat: Jeeps
Season 9 - Episode 19 - Aired 6/2/2002
We'll look at the American soldier's best friend in WWII--the Jeep. A "Blitz Buggy" could serve as a combat car, snowplow, or ambulance!
#18 - More Bond Gadgets
Season 9 - Episode 51 - Aired 12/2/2002
He's everyone's favorite spy, the man with a woman in every port and a gadget in every pocket! No villain is too strong, no situation too tough for His Majesty's Secret Agent, thanks to his wits, cunning, and the best toys on the silver screen. History Channel cameras travel from the Arizona desert to the British countryside to find the best Bond gadgets--including amazing footage from inside the cockpit of the world's smallest jet and rare home movies taken on the underwater set of Thunderball.
#19 - Limousines
Season 9 - Episode 52 - Aired 12/4/2002
Limousines have been stretched to greater and greater lengths--as has the notion of what can be done inside them! You can have a rolling disco in a stretched SUV, go for a rumble off-road in a monster truck limousine, or take a direct hit in an armored limo and still make your meeting. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride of your life as we review the history of chauffeured limousines--from weddings, proms, and funerals to the ultimate adult playpen and the president's "Cadillac One".
#20 - Digi-Tech
Season 9 - Episode 54 - Aired 12/5/2002
DVD, CD, PDA, HDTV, PVR--they are the ultimate in "gotta have it" gadgets and gizmos and "to die for" technology that populate a digital world of acronyms. We trace digital technology back to the early 1940s and the first high-speed electronic computer used to calculate cannon trajectory charts for new artillery in WWII, and look at the rapidly approaching future in places such as MIT's Media Lab, where tomorrow's technologies are being developed today.
#21 - Convertibles
Season 9 - Episode 53 - Aired 12/4/2002
Topless, unobstructed--the convertible completely transforms the driving experience and unlike any other car, sets the driver free. During this face-paced hour, experts highlight the history of the world's most dynamic car design and the essential quality that makes it so unique. From the very first convertible design in 1915 to modern-day marvels of retractable hardtops, we peer under the hoods to see why the convertible remains the car that everybody wants, but only a few are bold enough to own.
#22 - Runways
Season 9 - Episode 56 - Aired 12/17/2002
What do you think about when you gaze out the window as your plane takes off? Probably not about the least heralded part of our infrastructure--airport runways. But runways play a vital role as the backbone of aviation. They're where rubber meets road and land gives way to sky. Did you know that airports like JFK train falcons to keep little birds from becoming a hazard to the big, shiny birds? Join us for an engrossing look at the brawny concrete and asphalt runways that make aviation possible.
#23 - The Quest for Health
Season 9 - Episode 26 - Aired 6/27/2002
From Ancient Greek gymnasiums where pupils pumped up their bodies as well as their minds, to today’s high-tech facilities and science-based fitness regimens, find out how people have stayed in shape throughout history
#24 - War Trains
Season 9 - Episode 35 - Aired 8/14/2002
A look at how the use of trains affected warfare in the 20th century.
#25 - Concept Cars
Season 9 - Episode 55 - Aired 12/10/2002
This addition to the Modern Marvels documentary series takes a look at the many concept cars of the 1950's. These forward thinking designs sometimes were the first embodiments of changes that would become standard on vehicles, and other times they were radical attempts to change the way people drove. The filmmakers offer a wealth of archival footage, and interview numerous people who have made cars both their life's work and their life's passion.