Modern Marvels: Season 5

When “poliomyelitis” swept the nation, thousands died or were disabled before American ingenuity, trial and error, and blatant acts of desperation led to one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history. We’ll see how polio shaped the vision of FDR, and catapulted the young unknown doctor Jonas Salk to international celebrity.

The complete story of the feuds, the mistakes, ingenuity, and successes that made movies possible–and kept Edison at the front of the inventor pack. Includes rare early films from the Edison Studios.

Strong enough to survive their fiery launch into orbit, sophisticated enough to provide life-saving images or relay tens of thousands of phone calls at the same time. By monitoring weapons systems and troop movements, these "eyes in the sky" may be the difference between security and annihilation. From the futuristic visions of a British sci-fi writer to creations of a German rocket designer for the Nazi war machine to the Cold War technological race, we review the satellites that link our world.

To some it was a miracle. Others call it the triumph of illiteracy. Somewhere between adoration and scorn. Somewhere between the carrier pigeon and television. There was and is radio. We take radio for granted. Perhaps think of it as a second rate medium. A poor relation to our pride and joy, television. But fewer than a hundred years ago, the discovery that people could communicate over great distances without wires, galvanized the world to a degree that has been equalled.

Probably Thomas Edison’s best-known invention is the electric light. But the familiar light bulb is only the most obvious element of Edison’s accomplishment. He also created from scratch a delivery system for his light. His invention literally changed the world, putting the power of electricity at our fingertips. In 1878, Edison said: “The electric light is the light of the future. And it will be my light.” This is the story of how he and his team raced against competitors to make good his word.

Thomas Edison registered over 1,000 patents, but his favorite invention was one of his first. Rare photographs and early recordings show how the young inventor and his team outfoxed Alexander Graham Bell.

Viewer discretion is advised for those with vertigo! Featuring rare construction footage and interviews with steely-nerved iron workers who risked death to build them, we climb to the top of the world's tallest, most innovative, and most thrilling structures, including Seattle's Space Needle, Toronto's CN Tower, and Las Vegas's Stratosphere. The architects who designed these astounding buildings explain how each broke the boundaries of architecture at the time it was built.

Reviews the revolution in home improvement and glimpses the kitchen of tomorrow. Included: the development of the stove, sewing machine, refrigerated air, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, toaster, and mixer.

Examines the history of radar, focusing on its role in the Allies’ victory in WWII–from the Chain Home Network, rudimentary radar towers that ringed England’s eastern coast, to the role of Boston’s MIT in developing a smuggled English secret, the cavity of magnetron.

From Sherlock Holmes' examination of the physical evidence at a crime scene to today's DNA technology, we review the history of crime detection through the use of forensic science.

Welcome to the center of the American economy, where nearly $90-million changes hands each minute. Journey back to the wooden wall, built to hold back Indians, where early traders signed a pact creating the New York Stock Exchange; watch worldwide markets quake with the crash of 1929; and visit today’s computer-driven wonder.

Journey inside the top-secret headquarters of NORAD–the North American Aerospace Defense Command–a binational military command composed of the United States and Canada. Established in 1958 during the height of the Cold War, NORAD’S initial mission was air defense against a bomber attack by the Soviet Union. We see how its primary mission has changed through the years, and go inside the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, one of history’s most ambitious underground building projects.

Feel the earth move under your feet and dig into the fascinating history of earthmoving equipment–from invention of the simple spade to today’s powerful steam shovels. Meet the legendary giants like John Deere, Jerome Case, and the founders of Caterpillar, who helped forge America’s monolithic construction industry.

Everyday 3-million passengers board the 10,000 aircraft flying at any given moment. Go behind the scenes at international airports to see the inner workings that make commercial air travel possible–from ground control in air traffic towers, the plane's cargo holds and high-tech security, and back to earth at customs.

From hollow-reed snorkels to mini-submarines equipped with video cameras, curiosity compelled inventors to conceive of innovative devices to dive ever deeper into earth’s last frontier. Explore the ocean floor using the latest in technology, and examine biological and geological discoveries culled from the sea’s depths.

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.

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.

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".

It started as an idea at a French dinner party and became the symbol of the free world. The story of France's gift to the US reveals a 20-year struggle to design and build the world's largest monument–using paper-thin copper sheets.