The WORST episodes of Modern Marvels
Every episode of Modern Marvels ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Modern Marvels!
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 - Yard Tech Plus
Season 21 - Episode 15 - Aired 8/8/2022
Time to start the mower and whack those weeds as Modern Marvels cuts into the 100 billion dollar a year yard tech industry. From the latest mowers to a sprinkler system that checks the weather for you, we'll check out hi-tech gadgets and gizmos promising to keep your patch of grass beautiful and green.
#2 - 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.
#3 - Pyramids: Majesty and Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/23/1997
Standing majestically for centuries, the world’s great pyramids have long inspired and mystified. Leading experts and historians explore the engineering genius that created some of the largest structures on the planet, from ancient Egypt to Central America.
#4 - Observatories: Stonehenge To Space Telescopes
Season 2 - Episode 28 - Aired 6/8/1997
From Stonehenge to the Hubble Telescope, man has always been a species of stargazers. Unforgettable film footage and expert accounts reveal the facts of astronomy’s most mind-boggling discoveries.
#5 - The Great Wall Of China
Season 2 - Episode 29 - Aired 6/22/1997
Winding roughly 6,700 kilometers through undulating mountains, grasslands, and desert, its vastness seems beyond the realm of human possibility. A wonder of the ancient world, the Great Wall of China is one of mankind's most awe-inspiring building achievements. Yet contrary to popular belief, there is no single wall of China, but rather a series of walls built for different reasons at different times. Modern Marvels embarks on a journey of discovery, investigating the mysterious history surrounding this cultural marvel. Historians and modern engineers discuss the planning, construction, and function of various segments while extensive location footage illuminates the stunning majesty of its architecture. From ancient to modern China, explore the incredible history behind The Great Wall of China.
#6 - Airships
Season 4 - Episode 26 - Aired 1/18/1999
They are among the most romantic machines ever built, enormous craft held aloft by lighter-than-air gas trapped beneath their vast skins. In the 20th century, they have played a vital role in war, transportation and commerce and been involved in one of the most famous tragedies of all time.
#7 - The NYC Subway
Season 4 - Episode 25 - Aired 1/6/1999
New York subway system's riders, workers and street performers make it a microcosm of city life.
#8 - Engineering Disasters
Season 4 - Episode 29 - Aired 2/22/1999
Throughout history, the builders and engineers who paved our way out of the caves and into the modern world have also caused some of our worst disasters. What happens when their calculations prove wrong and it all comes tumbling down?
#9 - 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.
#10 - 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.
#11 - 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.
#12 - 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!
#13 - The St. Louis Arch
Season 7 - Episode 67 - Aired 12/11/2001
It is a majestic structure that rises boldly over the Mississippi River--40,000 tons of steel and concrete that create the biggest arch of its kind in the world. We'll see how its simple and elegant form results from remarkable achievements in construction and engineering.
#14 - Demolition
Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 11/8/1999
While a civilization's greatness is reflected in the achievements of architects and engineers, equally impressive are spectacular acts of destruction throughout history. The cycle of construction and destruction reflect the shifting values of any given era. We'll trace the evolution of planned destruction from ancient to modern day.
#15 - More Engineering Disasters
Season 5 - Episode 26 - Aired 11/29/1999
Throughout history the same builders and engineers that paved man’s path out of the caves and into the modern world also caused some of mankind’s worst disasters. Often a huge calamity is traced back to a tiny cause, insignificant in itself, but triggering a domino effect. We’ll revisit notable disasters and search for probable causes.
#16 - History of Tall Buildings
Season 4 - Episode 28 - Aired 2/8/1999
The construction of skyscrapers is a triumph of engineering and capitalism. Climb to the top of the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Sears Tower, and World Trade Center to see how ego, money, and technology joined to build the tallest of man-made structures.
#17 - 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.
#18 - 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.
#19 - Roller Coasters
Season 2 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/13/1997
Since the turn of the 20th century, designers have competed to build them faster, taller, and steeper. But as technology pushes the envelope with flips, weightlessness, and more g-force than a jet, how many thrills can the human body take?
#20 - Concept Cars
Season 8 - Episode 49 - 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.
#21 - 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".
#22 - Runways
Season 8 - Episode 50 - 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 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.
#24 - Digi-Tech
Season 8 - Episode 48 - 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.
#25 - Firing Ranges
Season 7 - Episode 66 - Aired 12/4/2001
Discover how military and police personnel, as well as private citizens, hone their shooting skills with one of the oldest of training techniques when we review the history of firing ranges.