Watch Modern Marvels Season 9

Castles and Dungeons

Aired on Jan 07, 200343m

Designed like defensive machines, medieval castles represented the perfect fusion of form and function. Journey back to that unruly era to examine the complexity of their construction and many uses.

S9 E2

The Trans-Siberian Railroad

Aired on Jan 28, 200344m

It's the longest, most expensive, and most complicated railroad ever built. Ordered by the Czar in an effort to unify his country at the twilight of the 19th century, the Trans-Siberian Railroad nearly tore Russia apart.

S9 E3

Booby Traps

Aired on Feb 04, 200343m

All it takes to set off a booby trap is an unsuspecting victim and a harmless-looking object. Explore their history, from the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans to the modern War on Terror.

S9 E4

The Alcan Highway

Aired on Feb 11, 200343m

The 1,522-mile long Alaska Highway took 11,000 soldiers only eight months to build. Travel back to 1942 as they bulldoze their way into history while connecting the Lower 48 to the Alaskan Territory.

S9 E8

Bullet Trains

Aired on Mar 11, 200345m

Traveling between 135 and 190 miles per hour, bullet trains have an astonishingly high safety record. Discover new alternatives to electricity, including magnetic levitation that can move passenger trains 345 miles per hour and beyond!

S9 E9

Army Corps Of Engineers

Aired on Mar 18, 200344m

Made up of soldiers, civilians, scientists and specialists in a vast variety of fields, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was created over 200 years ago by Congressional mandate to respond, in peace and war, to the nation's engineering needs.

S9 E18

Dangerous Cargo

Aired on Jun 25, 200345m

Toxic traffic is everywhere! An average of 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials hit our highways and railways daily. From wooden crates filled with explosives to HAZMAT containers of nuclear waste, we shadow dangerous cargo.

S9 E20

Logging Tech

Aired on Jul 09, 200345m

Come into the woods and join us as we explore today's cutting-edge, controversial logging industry—a world striving to protect nature while also devouring it.

S9 E24

Breaking The Sound Barrier

Aired on Jul 16, 200345m

For decades, the sound barrier loomed as an impenetrable wall against manned flight. This is the dramatic story leading up to Oct. 10, 1947 when 24-year-old test pilot Chuck Yeager smashed through the sound barrier in a Bell XS-1 aircraft.

S9 E29

Bullets

Aired on Aug 13, 200344m

From "safe" bullets that stop hijackers but leave aircraft unscathed to bullets that chain-saw through steel and "smart" bullets computer-programmed to hit a target, examine the evolution of bullets, starting from their origin in the 1300s.

S9 E37

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Aired on Oct 15, 200345m

New Orleans’ Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is an engineering marvel: Two ribbons of concrete span the largest inland body of water in Louisiana, and at nearly 23.87 and 23.88 miles long, form the world's longest automobile bridge.

S9 E39

Machu Picchu

Aired on Sep 24, 200344m

The engineering marvel Machu Picchu sits perched on a ridge in the Peruvian Andes. Originally built by the Incas, this magnificent structure remains a mystery. Was it an observatory? Pleasure retreat? Fortress?

S9 E46

Extreme Trucks

Aired on Nov 12, 200347m

Hop into the cab for the ride of your life as we examine extreme trucks, including a 4-wheel-drive truck that can convert from mower to street sweeper to backhoe to snow blower in mere minutes.

S9 E49

Shipyards

Aired on Nov 05, 200344m

Examine the history of the shipyard from ancient days through the Industrial Revolution and Pearl Harbor. Will the craftsmanship and practical knowledge of ship-building disappear in the 21st century?

S9 E59

Toys

Aired on Dec 23, 200343m

All aboard the nostalgia express as we take a trip through the past to enjoy toys of our youth. We talk with collectors of antique and specialty toys and visit companies that make electric trains, Matchbox Cars, GI Joe action figures, and LEGO Bricks.