Modern Marvels

Got milk? Billions of pounds of milk are consumed worldwide on a daily basis. Milk is the basis for its own food group, and has been around since the dawn of mammals. Visit a farm with a milking parlor that looks more like a cow merry-go-round. Learn what pasteurization is really all about, and even milk a yak. Find out what those active cultures in yogurt are and discover if milk truly makes the body good. Wait until you discover just how many types of cows there truly are.

Carbon is the chemical basis of all known life and yet this simple element is also the foundation of modern technology. Carbon burns hotter, cuts deeper, insulates more thoroughly and absorbs more fully than any other material. See why carbon is the key both in heavy-duty industries, as well as in tools like the graphite pencil, the charcoal water filter, and the diamond saw blade.

The dot.com decade opened up the information superhighway and for the first time, people could shop, search, and surf online with the click of a mouse. Take a trip to the end of the 20th century and the beginning of today technologies.

Millions of drivers travel the world's superhighways each year. See a multi-billion dollar expansion project in Houston where a stretch of superhighway is being widened to 20 lanes & Take a ride atop the High-Five, a 12-story, five-level interchange that's become the latest Dallas tourist attraction. Then it's off to China's 28,000-mile National Trunk Highway System.

Witness some mind-blowing feats of strength starting with the world's most powerful elevators. Discover the world's strongest tire, the strongest mountain bike, the world's strongest land transport vehicle that carries the Space Shuttle & strongest home blender.

Discover microwave-like rays that make the enemy flee; laser weapons mounted on trucks & planes that can blow missiles out of the sky; non-lethal weapons include a B.B. machine gun; and a flashing device that may make you lose your lunch.

Visit some of the world's finest distilleries to see how each country brews this thousand-year old spirit. Go behind the scenes at Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Canadian Club Whiskey.

Takes a look inside the amazing ultra-modern world of high stakes commercial fishing where a wrong decision on the captain's part can cost not just the season's catch, but also the lives of his crew.

It's the basic source of nourishment for half the world. Bake it, roast it, slice it, or toast it, it's a wonder with three simple ingredients.

We're living in a gadget revolution. New and unimagined gizmos solve problems that we didn't even know we had. They emerge from cutting edge think tanks and tinkerers basement workshops. Will they usher in a techno utopia, or enslave us to pocket size technology?

Race through the French countryside at nearly 300 MPH on the fastest locomotive in the world. Ride on the little engines that could as they guide giant ships through the Panama Canal. Watch two locomotives crash head-on as the federal government monitors safety. Descend 700 feet below the earth's surface where mining locomotives move miners through a maze of tunnels. Then, it's a "jiffy lube" for locomotives inside America's largest maintenance shop. Finally, glide into the future with a locomotive that levitates on a cushion of air.

Feared by millions worldwide, rats are some of the most dangerous, destructive and useful animals on Earth.

Nikola Tesla's bizarre vision of the future brought him failure, but his genius electrified the world.

The axe is one of the world's oldest, most dangerous and efficient cutting tools. Visit one of the nation's largest axe manufacturers, take a swing with a Vikings' battle axe, then see which would win in a fight of sword vs axe. Learn why the tomahawk is making a comeback as a tactical weapon & see how the fireman's axe has evolved into a trailer full of high tech rescue tools.

Discover that the deadliest snakes, sports and weather events are closer and more treacherous than you think.

Explore the world of extreme temperatures.

A versatile yet toxic metal, lead has served mankind for 6,000 years.

Do you ever wonder what happens to your body after you die? You might be surprised to discover that the human body is host to a multitude of hidden secrets. Discover how coroners and forensic anthropologists use a body to both save lives and catch killers. Visit the University of Tennessee's famed "Body Farm," a crematorium, and one of the largest tissue banks in the United States.

From the gelato of Italy to the French Pot process of the 1800s to numerous assortments of frozen delights being served up today, learn the history of this delicious dessert.

The most used room in the home is the bathroom and it's full of tech. Visit Kohler and see the new digitally controlled uber-shower, complete with steam, music and LED chromatherapy. Check out American Standard's Champion 4--the supposedly "uncloggable" toilet. Learn all about the low-flow alternatives for showers and toilets. Touch-free fixtures and a futuristic toilet from Japan ensure a more hygienic restroom experience. Finally, what is New York City's latest hi-tech solution for going on the go?

Explore collisions that shake our world from the astronomic to the subatomic. Indy car racing; motorcycles; skydiving; meteorites; and subatomic particles.

From itchy woolen union suits to comfortable briefs and boxers learn how our undergarments have evolved over the last 100 years.

He's caped, cowled and the coolest superhero of them all, because underneath that Batsuit, Batman only has his human strength and intellect to rely on. That and the greatest arsenal of crime fighting weaponry ever devised. But just where does comic book science fiction end and scientific fact begin? What technologies are behind the gadgets in Batman's utility belt? And just how plausible is the Batmobile? Get ready for a real life trip to the Batcave as we reveal the secrets behind Batman Tech.

Every 15 minutes, Americans insert over 3.5 million coins into vending machines. What are they buying? How do the machines work?

Rubber, plastic, nylon, aerosols, resins, solvents, & lubricants; none can exist without oil. If we stopped driving our cars tomorrow, America would still need 5 million barrels of oil a day.

How iron mined in Minnesota is made into steel; iron weapons revolutionize warfare; military metallurgists customize weapons and demonstrate their firepower; iron magnets.

It feeds the world. See how harvesting crews brave months on the road, cutting thousands of acres, tour a pasta plant to see how special kinds of wheat becomes everything from spaghetti to rigatoni. Watch as grain is mashed into a thirst-quenching brew and finally visit a company that transforms wheat into plastic-like products.

Dangerous roads throughout the world are examined, including Bolivia's "Death Road" and Highway 99 in California. Also: a visit to the Federal Highway Administration's safety-test laboratory.

Learn about fungal organisms that live within our bodies, grow beneath our feet, float in the air and help create some of the foods and beverages we consume.

They account for nearly 30% of all beverages consumed in the U.S. and have been quenching thirst for over a century.

America's aging infrastructure is in danger of collapse due to corrosion, according to engineers; technology for battling corrosion; harnessing the destructive power of decomposition.

Examining how frequently experts in various disciplines can hit their targets, including archers, sharpshooters and even a billiards player; the ancient world's ballista and trebuchet weapons; knife thrower; Cirque du Soleil's daring artists.

An inside look at the technology used for the Halloween traditions such as producing latex masks, professional monster makeup, carving jack-o-lanterns, making fake blood and a glimpse of a popular haunted house attraction.

A celebration of the horse, the animal that helped mankind change the world; the thoroughbred racing industry in Kentucky; how a Minnesota logging company uses real horsepower; a Colorado program pairs horses and prison inmates.

The turkey is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinners and one of the dumbest birds in the animal kingdom, but it has managed to survive since the dinosaurs; Butterball factory; turkey hunting; dining on turkey testicles and eggs.

It's the only rock we eat, and we need it to live. History has shown that those who have salt rule the world--and today, this versatile substance has 14,000 known uses.

The car wash's in America are a $25 billion dollars a year industry, with tunnel systems to in-bay automatics, we'll show you how America keeps it's cars clean. We'll visit the largest car wash, seven acres wide which includes a dog wash, chapel, and barber shop. And then to a wash which uses trained electronic eyes, auto conveyors, and mega vacuums which can hold up a bowling ball. We also show tips for cleaning a car at home. Plus we'll add tar, glue, egg, bird droppings, and a bucket full of sludge to a $160,000 Porsche, and then challenge a detailer to clean it off. Also, see how cars are built to survive a car wash.

Rummage around in your garage and you'll likely find remnants of gadgets past: a typewriter, analog TV, LPs, film cameras and brick-sized mobile phones. These products served us well and remember each one with nostalgic fondness. Take a trip down memory lane to examine how these oldies-but-goodies worked and find out how more advanced tech superseded them.

Whether humans have the ability to possess superpowers; a man can strap on an exoskeleton and lift hundreds of pounds with little effort; Mr. Cyborg can control machines with his thoughts; flying like Superman.

How do you weigh a whale? How does your speedometer work? Take a look at the five most common areas of measurement: distance, time, speed, weight, and temperature.

Some activities only occur when the world is dark; fishermen use lights to lure squid to their nets; finding night crawlers in Toronto; military night vision gear; police helicopter's Spectrolab spotlight; baseball stadium.

Fairgrounds fried classics such as funnel cakes and churros; frog legs; Twinkies and Coke; forging a cast iron frying pan; Kentucky's World Chicken Festival.

Preparing meals for large groups is examined. Included: a meal at a U.S. Naval base in Bangor, Wash.; aboard a nuclear submarine; for crowds at a Philadelphia Eagles game; and the after party of the American Music Awards. Also: airline meals in New York City.

Where in Washington DC is the nation's most incredible treasure chest? It's a library unlike any other in the world, the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Modern Marvels explodes the myth that this 200 year old institution is simply "where members of Congress borrow books". Viewers are taken beyond the magnificent Jefferson Building Great Hall into the secret vaults where more than 600 miles of shelves hold 130 million items, many of them priceless treasures - from George Washington's hand-written diaries to Galileo's first images of the moon to the original camera film of the movie Frankenstein. See how a staff of 4000 catalogues protects and preserves these treasures and distributes them globally via a new World Digital Library.