Max Raphael
Language
English
Description
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...
4) 80s tech
Language
English
Description
"Remember "brick" cell phones, Pac-Man, Rubik's Cube, Sony Walkman, and the first music CDs? Remember all the new and exciting gadgets of the 1980s? Modern Marvels investigates the transition from Industrial to Information Age--a digital decade dedicated to ergonomics and entertainment. The microchip ushered in an era that revolutionized the way we work, play, and communicate. Tour Silicon Valley--birthplace of some of the greatest inventions from...
11) Doing da Vinci
Language
English
Description
Four builders and engineers take on one of history's greatest minds as they try to build Leonardo da Vinci's never-before-constructed inventions. With a contemporary team guiding the process, will these outrageous machines work? Or are the Renaissance master's genius ideas better left in the history books?
12) The Berlin Wall
Language
English
Description
Shows how the Berlin Wall was built and the role it played in the Cold War until it was demolished in 1989.
13) Milk
Language
English
Description
Explores how milk is produced and pasturized. Examines the menagerie of animals that provide milk. Also explores substitute milk products such as soymilk.
14) Deep sea salvage
Language
English
Description
The crushing weight of tons of water, a limited air supply, numbing cold and restricted visibility are just some of the hazards that make any effort deep below the ocean's surface among the most dangerous and technically demanding endeavors on the planet. Driven by the need for deep sea rescue and salvage capabilities, the US Navy Diving and Salvage Programs have gathered a highly skilled team of divers, scientists and engineers, who have been involved...
15) Renewable energy
Language
English
Description
Explains how air, water, earth, and fire are transformed into clean, reliable sources of heat, electricity, and even automobile fuel. Looks at a solar roof implementation by FedEx at a regional sort facility in Oakland, Calif., a wind power project in central New York using fewer, larger turbines, and the widespread use of geothermal energy in Iceland. Visits Lovecraft Biofuels in Los Angeles, an auto repair shop that converts diesel car and truck...
16) Cemeteries
Language
English
Description
Modern marvels takes a look at funeral customs throughout history, as well as the technological advances of the funeral industry today.
18) Custom cars
Series
Language
English
Description
"...takes you under the hood and down the road with some of the most unusual cars ever built. Ride with hot rodders and lowriders and visit the speed shops and paint shops where ordinary cars become art....Traces the history, technology, and cultural connections between successive generations who have turned the common car into an American art form."--Publisher website.
Series
Language
English
Description
Delves into complex and often-tragic engineering failures, including the 1987 failure of New York's Schoharie Creek Bridge; the 1996 partial destruction of the Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans by a runaway freighter; the roof collapse at the Rosemont Horizon Arena in Illinois in 1979; the deadliest grain-dust explosion on record; and the crash of the British R101 airship in the 1920s.
Series
Language
English
Description
"Examines the following five events: a deadly explosion in Cleveland that killed 128 people in 1944; the collapse of a skywalk that killed 114 people at a Kansas City dance competition; the riveting collapse of a San Francisco mansion into a massive sinkhole; the 1931 Yangtze River floods that killed 145,000 people; and the 'miracle mineral' that turned out to be an invisible killer"--Distributor Web site.