The BEST episodes written by Matthew P. Hickey
#1 - Construction Machines
Modern Marvels - Season 8 - Episode 29
Feel the earth move under your feet and dig into the fascinating story of earthmoving equipment. Ride on specialized behemoth dump trucks, delve below sea level to view dredging equipment, and leave the planet altogether to explore earthmoving space equipment in this 2-hour special presentation.
Watch Now:Amazon
#2 - Hadrian's Wall
Modern Marvels - Season 8 - Episode 22
74-miles long and 2,000 years old, Hadrian's Wall winds over the hills and valleys of Northern England, marking the northernmost extent of a long-dead empire. Ordered built by the Emperor Hadrian around the time of his visit in 122 AD, this archaeological treasure teaches us much of what the Roman era was like for Britain.
Watch Now:Amazon
#3 - Axes, Swords And Knives
Modern Marvels - Season 9 - Episode 16
Blade implements have been a part of civilized man's arsenal since the Paleolithic Age, when sharp tools were chipped off of flint or obsidian. But with the discovery of metallurgy, people were able to forge stronger, more versatile blade implements.
#4 - Military Movers
Modern Marvels - Season 10 - Episode 41
Military planners move millions of soldiers and tons of cargo halfway around the world and into the thick of action.
#5 - The Maginot Line
Modern Marvels - Season 7 - Episode 26
Go inside the ambitious fortifications that nevertheless failed to protect France from Nazi aggression.
#6 - International Airports
Modern Marvels - Season 4 - Episode 18
The developments and technology of international airports' construction and operation.
#7 - Cranes
Modern Marvels - Season 9 - Episode 44
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.
#8 - Route 66
Modern Marvels - Season 12 - Episode 31
Route 66, encompassing eight states from Illinois to California and 2,400 miles, represented an American myth--that something better lay over the rainbow. Route 66 began in the early 20th century when a confluence of technologies--automotive, steel construction, and concrete paving--merged with population explosion, westward migration, and prosperity after WWI. The federal government responded with highway bills that converted existing roadways into an interstate called Route 66. Later, WWII highlighted the need for a strategic system similar to Germany's Autobahn--wider, safer, and more advanced. As federal and state governments worked on a superhighway, millions sought "their kicks on Route 66." By 1985, the abandoned roadway no longer "officially" existed, yet, it remains a destination for nostalgic travelers wishing to recapture a simpler, more adventurous era.
#9 - Titanic Tech
Modern Marvels - Season 10 - Episode 14
Welcome aboard the luxury liner Titanic, the world's largest ship and pride of the White Star Line. Watertight compartments and a steel-plated hull render it all but unsinkable. Nearly every technological breakthrough of the previous 50 years is employed onboard, providing comfort and safety for passengers and crew. But none of this will matter on April 15, 1912, when the ship bears down on an iceberg on her maiden voyage, sinking within hours with more than 1,500 lives lost. Learn the details of her construction and how the achievements of technology may have masked her vulnerabilities.
#10 - Lighthouses
Modern Marvels - Season 8 - Episode 10
From the earliest known lighthouses, such as the Pharos of Alexandria, to modern-day automated buoys and solar-powered lantern rooms, this history of lighthouses is rich with personal stories of lighthouse keepers, daring construction efforts, and ingenious optical discoveries.
#11 - The Wheel
Modern Marvels - Season 9 - Episode 11
One of the six simple machines and perhaps the most important invention in the history of mankind, the wheel has been essential in all aspects of life--from farming to fighting, traveling to trading.
#12 - Command Central
Modern Marvels - Season 11 - Episode 7
Located in the heart of the Middle East, 'Centcom' in Doha, Qatar represents everything a modern military command post can be with the most sophisticated information systems available-from video-conferencing to real-time frontline satellite communication.
#13 - Metal
Modern Marvels - Season 10 - Episode 47
They constitute the very essence of the modern world; the cadence of our progress sounds in the measured ring of the blacksmith's hammer. From soaring skyscrapers and sturdy bridges to jet planes and rockets, metals play a key role. Our journey begins before the Bronze Age and takes us into the shiny future when new metal structures--engineered at a molecular level to be stronger, lighter, and cheaper--shape human progress, as they have since man first thrust copper into a fire and forged a tool.