Modern Marvels

11,43

1993

8 / 10

Episodes

EP 1: Guns of the Russian Military

Forged in Europe’s shadow, Russian small arms were once dismissed as crude copies. Often lacking the finish of Western counterpart...

EP 2: The F-15

Built to put U.S. pilots back in charge of the skies, the F-15 Eagle proved its superiority in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Fr...

EP 3: The Submarines

...

EP 4: Pacific Coast Highway

For 25 years, construction crews dug, blasted, tunneled, and bridged their way up America's West Coast along the California, Orego...

EP 5: Gangster Guns

...

EP 6: Ship of Gold

...

EP 7: Racetrack Tech

A look at the “science of safety” as applied to Indy or NASCAR racing. From tires to roll-cages to hood flaps, we examine the incr...

EP 8: Oil Fire Fighting

When a burning gusher shoots flames into the air, only a handful of men know how to snuff out the monster. Fighting fire with fire...

EP 9: Command Central

“Centcom” in Doha, Qatar represents everything a modern military command post can be with the most sophisticated military informat...

EP 10: Front Line Reporting

In March 2003, embedded civilian correspondents rolled along with the U.S. military convoy as it invaded Iraq. Equipped with satel...

EP 11: Nature's Engineers

Towering skyscrapers buzzing with life, intricate tunnels connecting entire communities, mighty dams that tame the wildest rivers–...

EP 12: Bible Tech

Arguably the most influential book ever written, the Bible provides a glimpse into the origins of ancient technology and its uses....

EP 13: The Power Grid

The largest manmade machine ever created, the electric power grid traverses the nation from California to Maine, Florida to Washin...

EP 14: Bathroom Tech

From tub to toilet to toothpaste, here's everything you ever wanted to know about the most used and least discussed room in the ho...

EP 15: Engineering Disasters 6

An in-depth look at the modern era's most complex, deadly, and controversial engineering failures. With the aid of 3-D animation, ...

EP 16: F-18 Hornet

One aircraft in the U.S. arsenal best typifies the will to win. Using the latest and most sophisticated computerized technology, t...

EP 17: Hydraulics

The machines that helped build our world have been powered by hydraulics, a compact system of valves, hoses, and pumps that transm...

EP 18: The Subs of WWII

...

EP 19: Plane Crashes

When the most sophisticated machines fail, they do so horrifically, plunging to earth with a terrifying loss of life. From the beg...

EP 20: D-Day Tech

Modern Marvels shines the spotlight on the array of inventions that made the epic invasion possible, telling the stories of their ...

EP 21: A-10 Tankbuster

Nicknamed the 'Warthog', the A-10 Tankbuster is one of the U.S. military's most prolific air support fighters. Focuses on its desi...

EP 22: Rubber

The story of rubber is more than tires, toys, gloves, and gum–it’s imbedded in modern life, from the controversial Challenger O-ri...

EP 23: City Water

When you tap your faucet does clean, pure water flow? Can your city supply enough water for industry, firefighting, and street cle...

EP 24: Greatest Movies Gadgets

Cars that fly and drive themselves. Spiffy spy tools that see under doors and through walls. Water “Harleys” that fly above and be...

EP 25: Robots

...

EP 26: Nuclear Tech

Nuclear research ranges from well-known applications, such as bombs and reactors, to little-known uses in medicine, food preparati...

EP 27: Apollo 11

As mankind's greatest achievement of the 20th century, Apollo 11 stood as the apogee of science, exploration, flight, and technolo...

EP 28: World War I Tech

The first bombing airplanes and widespread use of chemical weapons…earliest tanks…submarines. When Industrial-Age technology and w...

EP 29: Distilleries

From water and grain…to mash…still…vat…barrel and bottle–the distilling of alcoholic spirits is a big business and near-sacred rel...

EP 30: Oil Tankers

The biggest moving objects ever built by man, oil tankers dominate the world’s waterways, both in size and numbers. Upwards of 10,...

EP 31: Athens Subway

Under Athens' bustling metropolis, an unique engineering project transformed the city, building a new underground Metro system, wh...

EP 32: Extreme Aircraft

Join us for a supersonic look at some of the most cutting-edge aircraft ever developed–from the X-1 that first broke the sound bar...

EP 33: Engineering Disasters 7

Engineers and architects reveal what went wrong in five engineering disasters, including Baldwin Hills Dam that suddenly gave way,...

EP 34: George Washington Bridge

When opened on October 25, 1931, the George Washington Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Today, standing as a...

EP 35: Building a Skyscraper: The Skeleton

What does it take to construct a building that will cover an entire city block? Try 13,000 tons of steel, 36,000 cubic yards of co...

EP 36: Building a Skyscraper: The Exterior

For two years, we’ve followed construction of the new California Department of Transportation headquarters in downtown LA–a massiv...

EP 37: Building a Skyscraper: The Human Environment

In hour three of our crash course on mega-skyscraper construction, we learn about the human element and development of systems tha...

EP 38: Building a Skyscraper: The Arteries

For two years, we’ve followed the construction of the new California Department of Transportation headquarters in LA to learn the ...

EP 39: The Sears Tower

Some 23,000 people walk through the Sears Tower’s domed entrances daily. 104 elevators (some double-decker), moving at speeds up t...

EP 40: St. Lawrence Seaway

The St. Lawrence Seaway is a monumental stairway in water, lifting massive ships hundreds of feet over thousands of miles. It’s th...

EP 41: Guns of WWII

...

EP 42: St. Lawrence Tech

...

EP 44: SOS Tech

A look at the technology that changed the serious game of Search and Rescue forever. At the mouth of Oregon’s Columbia River, we v...

EP 45: More of the World's Biggest Machines

The ultimate celebration of outsized equipment returns for a second sweep through a world where size is everything....

EP 46: Firefighting: The Arson Detectives

Meet crime fighters who take on fiery killers. In Houston, visit the site of a suspicious fire with Fire Marshall Lalo Torres as h...

EP 47: Guns of Israel

One of the youngest and smallest nations, Israel has produced some of the world’s fiercest weapons. In 1952, shortly after its War...

EP 48: Engineering Disasters 8

Join us for a devastating but enlightening hour as we delve into complex and often-tragic engineering failures that have shaped ou...

EP 49: Harvesting

Cutting, digging, picking, stripping, shaking, and raking–whatever the crop, there's a custom machine to harvest it. It all began ...

EP 50: Engineering Disasters 9

What happens when the calculations of builders and engineers prove wrong and their constructs come tumbling down? In this episode,...

EP 51: Guns of the Civil War

...

EP 52: Engineering Disasters 10

Disasters investigated include: the 1984 Union Carbide debacle in Bhopal, India, where a toxic chemical release killed 3,800 peopl...

EP 53: Presidential Movers

The vehicles that transport the President of the United States aren’t your ordinary planes, trains, and automobiles. They are top-...

EP 54: Gas Tech

Gas–it makes a balloon go up, cooks our food, and fills our lungs. But this invisible state of matter does far more, and has a ver...

EP 55: Engineering Disasters 11

Disasters profiled are a liquid natural gas explosion in Cleveland, the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt walkway, flooding of the...

EP 56: The World's Longest Bridge

Bridges are the lifeline of Japan. Since the 1930s, the island nation has dreamt of linking its many parts as a whole. But WWII di...

EP 57: Japanese Sub at Pearl Harbor

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a move of unprecedented aggression that shook the U.S. out of its peaceful slumber and int...

EP 58: M1 Abrams Supertank!

Join us as we penetrate the history of the world’s most sophisticated tank–the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. In the most radical dep...

EP 59: Engineering Disasters 12

In Milwaukee, 104 died after drinking contaminated tap water. At Texas A&M;, a tradition turned tragic when a pile of bonfire logs...

EP 60: Surveillance Tech

In the world of surveillance, Big Brother is not only watching, he’s also listening, analyzing, recording, scanning, and tracking ...

EP 61: Engineering Disasters 13

In this hour, death seeps out of the ground into a neighborhood sitting on a toxic waste dump at Love Canal in New York; soldiers ...

EP 62: Submarine Disasters

When the men and women aboard a modern submarine hear the command to dive, they can take a measure of comfort in the fact that no ...

EP 63: Engineering Disasters 14

In this hour, we examine a massive oil tanker explosion that killed nine; a subway tunnel cave-in that swallowed part of Hollywood...

EP 64: Movie Theaters

...

EP 65: Washington Monument

The US capital boasts many memorials, but none with a more bizarre history than the obelisk erected to America's first president. ...

EP 66: Engineering Disasters 15

A series of construction errors causes a devastating flood that brings Chicago to a standstill. A deadly accident traps hundreds i...

EP 67: Snack Food Tech

Extruders, molds, in-line conveyor belts. Are these machines manufacturing adhesives, plastics, or parts for your car? No, they're...

EP 68: More Dangerous Cargo!

It comes in many deadly shapes and sizes, and the transportation of dangerous cargo is one of the most meticulously planned proced...

EP 69: Commercial Fishing

Battered and fried or simply raw–seafood is a popular dish, no matter how you serve it. Americans consume more than 5-billion poun...

EP 70: Ancient Discoveries (1)

...

EP 71: Ancient Discoveries (2)

...

EP 72: Ancient Discoveries (3)

...

EP 73: Engineering Disasters 16

Chaos in Guadalajara, Mexico, when the city streets explode; an airplane crash outside of Paris that ranks as one of the worst in ...

EP 74: Doomsday Tech

Doomsday threats range from very real (nuclear arsenals) to controversial (global warming) to futuristic (nanotechnology, cyborgs,...

EP 75: More Doomsday Tech

The second deadly hour examines more threats–both natural and manmade–that may endanger civilization. From the far reaches of spac...

EP 76: The Computer

...

Overview

HISTORY’s longest-running series moves to H2. Modern Marvels celebrates the ingenuity, invention and imagination found in the world around us. From commonplace items like ink and coffee to architectural masterpieces and engineering disasters, the hit series goes beyond the basics to provide insight and history into things we wonder about and that impact our lives. This series tells fascinating stories of the doers, the dreamers and sometime-schemers that create everyday items, technological breakthroughs and manmade wonders. The hit series goes deep to explore the leading edge of human inspiration and ambition.

  • en
  • Documentary,

Episodes >>

Guns of the Russian Military

Episode 1

Forged in Europe’s shadow, Russian small arms were once dismissed as crude copie...

The F-15

Episode 2

Built to put U.S. pilots back in charge of the skies, the F-15 Eagle proved its ...

The Submarines

Episode 3

...

Pacific Coast Highway

Episode 4

For 25 years, construction crews dug, blasted, tunneled, and bridged their way u...

Gangster Guns

Episode 5

...

Ship of Gold

Episode 6

...

Racetrack Tech

Episode 7

A look at the “science of safety” as applied to Indy or NASCAR racing. From tire...

Oil Fire Fighting

Episode 8

When a burning gusher shoots flames into the air, only a handful of men know how...

Command Central

Episode 9

“Centcom” in Doha, Qatar represents everything a modern military command post ca...

Front Line Reporting

Episode 10

In March 2003, embedded civilian correspondents rolled along with the U.S. milit...

Nature's Engineers

Episode 11

Towering skyscrapers buzzing with life, intricate tunnels connecting entire comm...

Bible Tech

Episode 12

Arguably the most influential book ever written, the Bible provides a glimpse in...

The Power Grid

Episode 13

The largest manmade machine ever created, the electric power grid traverses the ...

Bathroom Tech

Episode 14

From tub to toilet to toothpaste, here's everything you ever wanted to know abou...

Engineering Disasters 6

Episode 15

An in-depth look at the modern era's most complex, deadly, and controversial eng...

F-18 Hornet

Episode 16

One aircraft in the U.S. arsenal best typifies the will to win. Using the latest...

Hydraulics

Episode 17

The machines that helped build our world have been powered by hydraulics, a comp...

The Subs of WWII

Episode 18

...

Plane Crashes

Episode 19

When the most sophisticated machines fail, they do so horrifically, plunging to ...

D-Day Tech

Episode 20

Modern Marvels shines the spotlight on the array of inventions that made the epi...

A-10 Tankbuster

Episode 21

Nicknamed the 'Warthog', the A-10 Tankbuster is one of the U.S. military's most ...

Rubber

Episode 22

The story of rubber is more than tires, toys, gloves, and gum–it’s imbedded in m...

City Water

Episode 23

When you tap your faucet does clean, pure water flow? Can your city supply enoug...

Greatest Movies Gadgets

Episode 24

Cars that fly and drive themselves. Spiffy spy tools that see under doors and th...

Robots

Episode 25

...

Nuclear Tech

Episode 26

Nuclear research ranges from well-known applications, such as bombs and reactors...

Apollo 11

Episode 27

As mankind's greatest achievement of the 20th century, Apollo 11 stood as the ap...

World War I Tech

Episode 28

The first bombing airplanes and widespread use of chemical weapons…earliest tank...

Distilleries

Episode 29

From water and grain…to mash…still…vat…barrel and bottle–the distilling of alcoh...

Oil Tankers

Episode 30

The biggest moving objects ever built by man, oil tankers dominate the world’s w...

Athens Subway

Episode 31

Under Athens' bustling metropolis, an unique engineering project transformed the...

Extreme Aircraft

Episode 32

Join us for a supersonic look at some of the most cutting-edge aircraft ever dev...

Engineering Disasters 7

Episode 33

Engineers and architects reveal what went wrong in five engineering disasters, i...

George Washington Bridge

Episode 34

When opened on October 25, 1931, the George Washington Bridge was the longest su...

Building a Skyscraper: The Skeleton

Episode 35

What does it take to construct a building that will cover an entire city block? ...

Building a Skyscraper: The Exterior

Episode 36

For two years, we’ve followed construction of the new California Department of T...

Building a Skyscraper: The Human Environment

Episode 37

In hour three of our crash course on mega-skyscraper construction, we learn abou...

Building a Skyscraper: The Arteries

Episode 38

For two years, we’ve followed the construction of the new California Department ...

The Sears Tower

Episode 39

Some 23,000 people walk through the Sears Tower’s domed entrances daily. 104 ele...

St. Lawrence Seaway

Episode 40

The St. Lawrence Seaway is a monumental stairway in water, lifting massive ships...

Guns of WWII

Episode 41

...

St. Lawrence Tech

Episode 42

...

Police Pursuit

Episode 43

now-playing-animation

SOS Tech

Episode 44

A look at the technology that changed the serious game of Search and Rescue fore...

More of the World's Biggest Machines

Episode 45

The ultimate celebration of outsized equipment returns for a second sweep throug...

Firefighting: The Arson Detectives

Episode 46

Meet crime fighters who take on fiery killers. In Houston, visit the site of a s...

Guns of Israel

Episode 47

One of the youngest and smallest nations, Israel has produced some of the world’...

Engineering Disasters 8

Episode 48

Join us for a devastating but enlightening hour as we delve into complex and oft...

Harvesting

Episode 49

Cutting, digging, picking, stripping, shaking, and raking–whatever the crop, the...

Engineering Disasters 9

Episode 50

What happens when the calculations of builders and engineers prove wrong and the...

Guns of the Civil War

Episode 51

...

Engineering Disasters 10

Episode 52

Disasters investigated include: the 1984 Union Carbide debacle in Bhopal, India,...

Presidential Movers

Episode 53

The vehicles that transport the President of the United States aren’t your ordin...

Gas Tech

Episode 54

Gas–it makes a balloon go up, cooks our food, and fills our lungs. But this invi...

Engineering Disasters 11

Episode 55

Disasters profiled are a liquid natural gas explosion in Cleveland, the collapse...

The World's Longest Bridge

Episode 56

Bridges are the lifeline of Japan. Since the 1930s, the island nation has dreamt...

Japanese Sub at Pearl Harbor

Episode 57

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a move of unprecedented aggression that ...

M1 Abrams Supertank!

Episode 58

Join us as we penetrate the history of the world’s most sophisticated tank–the M...

Engineering Disasters 12

Episode 59

In Milwaukee, 104 died after drinking contaminated tap water. At Texas A&M;, a t...

Surveillance Tech

Episode 60

In the world of surveillance, Big Brother is not only watching, he’s also listen...

Engineering Disasters 13

Episode 61

In this hour, death seeps out of the ground into a neighborhood sitting on a tox...

Submarine Disasters

Episode 62

When the men and women aboard a modern submarine hear the command to dive, they ...

Engineering Disasters 14

Episode 63

In this hour, we examine a massive oil tanker explosion that killed nine; a subw...

Movie Theaters

Episode 64

...

Washington Monument

Episode 65

The US capital boasts many memorials, but none with a more bizarre history than ...

Engineering Disasters 15

Episode 66

A series of construction errors causes a devastating flood that brings Chicago t...

Snack Food Tech

Episode 67

Extruders, molds, in-line conveyor belts. Are these machines manufacturing adhes...

More Dangerous Cargo!

Episode 68

It comes in many deadly shapes and sizes, and the transportation of dangerous ca...

Commercial Fishing

Episode 69

Battered and fried or simply raw–seafood is a popular dish, no matter how you se...

Ancient Discoveries (1)

Episode 70

...

Ancient Discoveries (2)

Episode 71

...

Ancient Discoveries (3)

Episode 72

...

Engineering Disasters 16

Episode 73

Chaos in Guadalajara, Mexico, when the city streets explode; an airplane crash o...

Doomsday Tech

Episode 74

Doomsday threats range from very real (nuclear arsenals) to controversial (globa...

More Doomsday Tech

Episode 75

The second deadly hour examines more threats–both natural and manmade–that may e...

The Computer

Episode 76

...