TV Guide: Modern Marvels

Listing: Police Pursuit

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:00:00 -0500

Sat Dec 5 07:00 PM HIST The technology of police pursuits is examined, including communication and airborne assistance.

Listing: Doomsday Tech 1

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Fri Dec 4 01:00 PM HIST Part 1 of a two-part examination of current and proposed technology that could potentially lead to the destruction of civilization and Earth. Included: nuclear power; hydrocarbon-based-energy technology; and nanotechnology.

Listing: Fast Food Tech

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Thu Dec 3 11:00 PM HIST A history of the fast-food industry follows the steps needed to sell the food, including harvesting, processing, packaging and preparation. Among the places featured are McDonald's, Wendy's, Carl's Jr. and Jack in the Box. Also: a visit to a potato-processing plant; and a segment on Taco Bell.

Listing: The Winchester

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Wed Dec 2 07:00 AM HIST A history of the famed rifle of the American West, the Winchester repeating rifle, includes its use on the frontier and in the Civil War. Also: collectible rifles.

Listing: Coffee

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Fri Nov 27 11:00 PM HIST A history of coffee. Included: roasting and packaging; the creation of U.S. coffee companies; the invention of instant coffee and freeze-dried coffee.

Listing: The Telephone

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Fri Nov 27 01:00 PM HIST Exploring the history of the telephone and its possible future innovations. Included: a look at AT&T archives; a visit to Lucent Bell Laboratories; and an exploration of the inner workings of the Los Angeles County 911 center.

Listing: More Snackfood Tech

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Thu Nov 26 11:00 AM HIST A history of snack food and the technology that makes it all possible includes the handmade snacks of early civilizations, and modern mass-production techniques and tools.

Listing: Snackfood Tech

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Thu Nov 26 10:00 AM HIST Snack-food technology is examined. Included: Utz Quality Foods in Pennsylvania; Masterfoods USA, which produces Snickers and Milky Way candy bars; and Tootsie Roll Industries.

Listing: The Turkey

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Wed Nov 25 11:00 PM HIST The turkey's role in American traditions and history is examined. Included: a tour of the Butterball factory in North Carolina; and a visit to a turkey restaurant in Indiana. Also: turkey recipes.

Listing: Coin Operated

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Wed Nov 25 01:00 PM HIST The history of coin-operated machines is examined. Included: pinball machines; a gumball machine that holds 40,000 gumballs; and Coinstar. Also: a trip to Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, Mich.

Listing: Harvesting

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Wed Nov 25 07:00 AM HIST The history of harvesting and the tools used by farmers, from the sickle to modern technology.

Listing: More Bond Gadgets

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Tue Nov 24 01:00 PM HIST A look at “Bond gadgets” includes footage taken on the set of “Thunderball.”

Listing: Cheese

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Mon Nov 23 11:00 PM HIST A history of cheese includes a visit to dairy farms in Wisconsin and cheese factories in California. Also: cheese varieties during the Roman Empire; and changes in the making and packaging of cheese during the industrial revolution.

Listing: James Bond Gadgets

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Mon Nov 23 01:00 PM HIST A look at some of the best gadgets featured in James Bond films. Included: the jetpack from “Thunderball”; the Aston Martin DB5 from “Goldfinger”; and the lethal attaché case from “From Russia with Love.”

Video: The Lumberyard

Hulu — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 15: At the center of the American Dream is the home -- and at the center of its creation or renovation - is the Lumberyard. During America's earliest history, it was little more than a bustling warehouse by the docks or the railway center.

Video: Nuts

Hulu — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 14: They can be as small as a pea or as large as a bowling ball. Nutritional, durable, and versatile, Nuts have been a staple of our diet since the dawn of time, and archaeological evidence places them among our earliest foods.

Video: The Pig

Hulu — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 16: A curious creature some say is as smart as a three-year-old human, but our primary goal is to eat him. We'll visit the massive Tyson bacon plant and at Burger's Smokehouse in Missouri, we'll watch the pig transform into ham.

Video: Snow

Hulu — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 17: Take a close look at one of nature's most delicate and fascinating creations... The Snowflake. And yes, it's safe to say that no two snow flakes are the same.

Video: The World's Biggest Machines

Hulu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 9: Welcome to superlative central, the show with the biggest, baddest, heaviest, tallest, longest , loudest, meanest machines on the planet. The scale of these monsters is beyond belief, but we'll put it in perspective.

Video: Copper

Hulu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 12: Copper brings music to our ears and beauty to our eyes. From the Stone Age to the Information Age this versatile red metal has enabled man to thrive.

Video: Deep Sea Salvage

Hulu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 10: Driven by the need for deep sea rescue and salvage capabilities, the US Navy Diving and Salvage Programs have gathered together a highly skilled team of divers, innovative scientists and engineers.

Video: Barbarian Battle Tech

Hulu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 13: The bow that nearly brought down Rome, and the suspension system that revolutionized the chariot. It is the ingenuity of an outcast culture that transformed Europe.

Video: Failed Inventions

Hulu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 11: A gun that fires rocket-powered projectiles underwater and in outer space, a television system that is nothing more sophisticated than spinning wheels and flashing light bulbs. These and more failed inventions will be showcased on Modern Marvels.

Video: Tea

Hulu — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 7: The Modern Marvel episode about Tea features a visit to one of the largest tea-bagging factories in the world, the Lipton's plant in Suffolk, VA. Here, an astonishing million teabags an hour - 24 million a day since the operation is 24/7.

Video: Ben Franklin Tech

Hulu — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Season 1, Episode 6: You may know him as man of great wit and wisdom, who reminded us that a penny saved is a penny earned. But on Modern Marvels: Ben Franklin Tech, you will get to know Dr. Franklin as the late 18th Century's foremost scientist and inventor.

Video: Corn