Modern Marvels - Season 4

Previous Season Next Season

Episodes

America's Highways

Season 4Episode 160 min

America's Highways

In 1912, a headlight-maker and an auto magnate built the first cross-country road to spur the demand for new cars; 70 years and $125 billion later, the highway system had grown to 42,000 miles. Rare photographs and interviews tell the incredible story of the “paving of America”.

Season 4Episode 260 min

The Telephone

From Alexander Graham Bell’s crude creation, to today’s high-speed wireless networks, we’ll look into the past, present and future of the telephone. We’ll visit the AT&T archives to see how the very first telephone boxes wired together with telegraph cables have evolved into vast wireless networks. Enter into the inner workings of Los Angeles County’s 911 emergency dispatch center, as well as explore advancements made by Lucent/Bell Labs in phone-embedded GPS technology. With telephone privacy issues making headlines, witness a demonstration of how easy it can be for someone to illegally tap your phone. We’ll also look at a technology developed by NASA-Ames that might one day allow people to converse by merely thinking what they want to say.

Season 4Episode 360 min

Aqueducts

Many rivers quenched the thirst of millions in the American west and around the world. Without these aqueducts, some of the earth’s largest cities would turn into gigantic ghost towns. Their technology has been in use for over two thousand years. But today these engineering marvels cost billions of dollars to build, requiring thousands of men to toil for years on end. Aqueducts have made some men famous and others fabulously wealthy. In Los Angeles one man’s vision took one hundred thousand men to complete and a great city was truly born. In Northern California the most famous conservationist of our time waged the political fight of his life in an attempt to save one of nature’s most spectacular valleys from San Francisco’s demand for more water.

Television: Window to the World

Season 4Episode 460 min

Television: Window to the World

An exploration of the world’s most popular entertainment, from the boy genius who invented it to the RCA “General” who made it a reality.

Creation Of The Computer

Season 4Episode 560 min

Creation Of The Computer

A look at the inventions that have revolutionized society as we know it. They began as behemoths which weighed over 2 tons!

Season 4Episode 660 min

Captured Light

A look at the history of photography beginning as early as the eleventh century. Includes the advancements by Niepce and Daguerre in the 19th century and William Henry Fox and George Eastman in the 20th century.

Air Force One: A History

Season 4Episode 760 min

Air Force One: A History

A look at the F117 Stealth Fighter that led the pack for the Allies in Gulf Wars One and Two and virtually decimated Iraqi Air Defense. Find out how the technology allows it to approach its target without being detected by radar. Also, a look at the B2 Stealth Bomber.

Stealth Technology

Season 4Episode 860 min

Stealth Technology

Standing majestically for centuries, the world’s great pyramids have long inspired and mystified scholars. Leading experts and historians explore the engineering genius that created some of the largest structures on the planet. From ancient Egypt to Central America, we visit these technological masterpieces.

févr. 16, 1997

Pyramids: Majesty And Mystery

Season 4Episode 960 min

Pyramids: Majesty And Mystery

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?

Roller Coasters: Search for the Ultimate Thrill

Season 4Episode 1060 min

Roller Coasters: Search for the Ultimate Thrill

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.

Observatories: Stonehenge To The Space Telescopes

Season 4Episode 1160 min

Observatories: Stonehenge To The Space Telescopes

Winding 6,000 kilometers through undulating mountains, it is said to be visible with the naked eye from the moon. But who called for the Great Wall's construction and how was it accomplished? Historians, engineers, and scientists explore one of the wonders of the ancient world.

The Great Wall Of China

Season 4Episode 1260 min

The Great Wall Of China

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.

The Repair Shop

Running

The Repair Shop

The Repair Shop is a workshop of dreams, where broken or damaged cherished family heirlooms are brought back to life.

Furniture restorers, horologists, metal workers, ceramicists, upholsterers and all manner of skilled craftsmen and women have been brought together to work in one extraordinary space, restoring much-loved possessions to their former glory.

Many of these items have incredible stories behind them and a unique place in history: from an accordion played in the Blitz by a woman who is now in her 90s, to a beautifully crafted clock made by a father who was completely blind; a Pinball machine that is currently being used as a kitchen counter, and a Davenport desk with its trademark fake drawers which fooled burglars - and their crowbar.

The Repair Shop is an antidote to our throwaway culture and shines a light on the wonderful treasures to be found in homes across the country.

🍪 We use cookies to provide necessary website functionality and improve your experience. You can review our Cookies Policy to learn more. By using our website, you agree to these policies.