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The Best Episodes of Modern Marvels

Every episode of Modern Marvels ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Modern Marvels!

The Best Episodes of Modern Marvels

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...
  1. Background image for Cranes
    9.0/10(15 votes)

    #1 - Cranes

    S9:E46

    One of the most useful machines ever created, the crane is a simple but important combination of the pulley and the lever. Though cranes have been helping us build civilization from at least the time of the Egyptian pyramids, the modern steel-framed construction cranes are a relatively recent development. Put on your work boots as we ride through the history of cranes from ancient days to skyscraper construction sites, ocean-freighter docks, and the International Space Station.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Banks.
    8.9/10(26 votes)

    #2 - Banks.

    S7:E19

    Backbones of worldwide economics, for centuries banks enabled the creation of wealth, and industry leaders became icons. But modern technology revolutionized the way banks do business, and the Internet insures they must adapt or disappear. From banking's early European origins to "e-banking", this is an hour you can't afford to miss!

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Concrete
    8.8/10(18 votes)

    #3 - Concrete

    S7:E12

    Modern Marvels explores how the basic formula of cement, aggregate and water has changed the world. Concrete has enabled us to create everything from roads and runways to buildings and bridges. The program will explore the history as well as the future of this humble material?from the ancient Romans, who pioneered its use in their vast system of aqueducts, to modern engineers developing a bendable concrete more resistant to the destructive power of earthquakes.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Plumbing: The Arteries Of Civilzation
    8.8/10(14 votes)

    #4 - Plumbing: The Arteries Of Civilzation

    S7:E37

    Join us as we take a peek at the plumbing hiding behind your walls and snaking under the floors of your house. We’ll also meet the plumbing students who undergo rigorous training programs in specialized classrooms designed to give them hands on installation experience. We’ll also check out the latest in plumbing technology from waterfall showers to water conserving toilets. This episode of Modern Marvels will examine the past, present and future of the arteries of our civilization; plumbing.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for The Manhattan Project.
    8.8/10(17 votes)

    #5 - The Manhattan Project.

    S9:E26

    At 5:30 a.m., July 16, 1945, scientists and dignitaries awaited the detonation of the first atomic bomb in a desolate area of the New Mexico desert aptly known as "Jornada del Muerto" (Journey of Death). Dubbed the Manhattan Project, the top-secret undertaking was tackled with unprecedented speed and expense–almost $30-billion in today's money. Los Alamos scientists and engineers relate their trials, triumphs, and dark doubts about building the ultimate weapon of war in the interest of peace.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Engineering Disasters 22
    8.8/10(17 votes)

    #6 - Engineering Disasters 22

    S17:E4

    They are catastrophic failures with deadly consequences. Caused by a single spark or a massive collapse, these disasters reveal one thing–the danger inherent in our most common industries. From a massive oil spill to refinery blaze to a downed plane, find out what went wrong… and how to prevent the next engineering disaster.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Dogs
    8.8/10(16 votes)

    #7 - Dogs

    S17:E5

    Man's best friend–fearless, faithful, determined and swift. They're our sharpest eyes, noses and ears–and among the bravest hunters, soldiers, rescuers, and protectors. From natural instincts to complex training, see what makes dogs a perfectly engineered Modern Marvel.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Private Planes
    8.7/10(11 votes)

    #8 - Private Planes

    S7:E14

    The plane’s on the runway and revving up for our flight of power and whimsy. The panorama reveals some amazing machines–from vintage aircraft to homemade winged wonders to posh private jets. It’s a tale that merges technological progress and the fantasies of an unique type of person, who refuses to be grounded by earth’s surly bonds.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for James Bond Gadgets.
    8.7/10(18 votes)

    #9 - James Bond Gadgets.

    S9:E8

    His movies are legend, his women beautiful, and his toys the best in the world. Whether James Bond is foiling villains in space-age flying machines or eavesdropping on his enemies with ultra-sophisticated spy gear, British Secret Agent 007 is always guaranteed to have the most outrageous and wonderfully creative gadgets ever to grace the silver screen. Bond had it all. But as we see in this exclusive look at his gadgets, it takes a lot to save the world!

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Axes, Swords and Knives.
    8.7/10(10 votes)

    #10 - Axes, Swords and Knives.

    S9:E23

    Blade implements have been a part of civilized man's arsenal since the Paleolithic Age, when sharp tools were chipped off of flint or obsidian. But with the discovery of metallurgy, people were able to forge stronger, more versatile blade implements. We visit an axe-throwing contest in Wisconsin for an introduction to the least subtle of the blade tools. Then we visit a swordsmith and an experienced swordfighter who work in traditional methods from ancient sources, and review the history of knives.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Drag Racing
    8.7/10(12 votes)

    #11 - Drag Racing

    S9:E25

    Legendary drivers lead us on a record-breaking race through a century-long search for sheer acceleration that began before World War One, when hot-rodders modified Model-T Fords to see how fast they could go. Today’s dragsters can cover a quarter-mile from a standing start in 4.5 seconds, hitting top speeds above 330 mph. Top driver Gary Clapshaw shows us how to put together a modern dragster and revolutionary designer Bob Norwood unveils his newest car.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Medical Imaging
    8.6/10(13 votes)

    #12 - Medical Imaging

    S6:E11

    The story of medical imaging, the technology that allows us to see inside the human body, is full of amazing stories. Learn how X-rays were discovered in 1895, completely by accident; how ultrasound was developed to locate enemy submarines, and how the CAT Scan might never have been built if it weren’t for The Beatles!

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Forts
    8.6/10(16 votes)

    #13 - Forts

    S6:E41

    The art of fortification evolved along with man’s need to defend his territory from attack. There was no other reason. From hills surrounded by branches and crude fences to intricate walled cities, to impenetrable castles – the strongholds of the past echo the history of great battles for territorial control.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Police Technology
    8.6/10(14 votes)

    #14 - Police Technology

    S7:E10

    When police forces were born in the 1800s, British “bobbies” made due with a billy club. Public wariness and institutional resistance to change held back technological advances for much of the 20th century. But in the last decades, police have been swept up in a technological revolution that has transformed nearly all aspects of crime fighting.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Computers
    8.6/10(10 votes)

    #15 - Computers

    S8:E12

    From colossal devices designed to save the world to mind-expanding, world-shrinking machines, we trace the evolution of mice and menus. Learn about the world’s most powerful computer, IBM’s ASCI White, that operates at 12-trillion calculations a second. See how the first room-sized computers, such as ENIAC, changed the world. Bite into Apple’s history, the machine that made computers a household appliance. And peer through a microscope to see the molecular computers of the future.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Saloons
    8.6/10(13 votes)

    #16 - Saloons

    S8:E21

    From a computerized liquor-dispensing system in modern L.A., to a ladle and a tin cup in an 1850′s mining camp, MODERN MARVELS investigates the history and technology of the American saloon.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for The Police Car
    8.5/10(12 votes)

    #17 - The Police Car

    S6:E9

    More than the gun, more than the billy club, it is the critical weapon in law enforcement’s arsenal. But for decades, police have struggled to stay ahead of well-equipped bad guys. Rare photos and interviews tell the story of their battle for high-tech horsepower.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Apollo 11
    8.5/10(15 votes)

    #18 - Apollo 11

    S11:E27

    As mankind's greatest achievement of the 20th century, Apollo 11 stood as the apogee of science, exploration, flight, and technological prowess. In scarcely 10 years, America went from rocketing monkeys to landing a man on the moon. Leaving Earth on July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Mike Collins pushed the limits of skill and endurance. See and experience the flight of Apollo 11 through the eyes of the astronauts, mission controllers, engineers, and designers who made it happen.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for More Engineering Disasters.
    8.4/10(25 votes)

    #19 - More Engineering Disasters.

    S6:E45

    Throughout history the same builders and engineers that paved man's path out of the caves and into the modern world also caused some of mankind's worst disasters. Often a huge calamity is traced back to a tiny cause, insignificant in itself, but triggering a domino effect. We'll revisit notable disasters and search for probable causes.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Traffic
    8.4/10(16 votes)

    #20 - Traffic

    S7:E16

    In less than a century, the world went from dirt tracks to highways, from propeller planes to space travel, from sailboats to supertankers. And in the process, we have created a glut of traffic on roadways, railways, airways, and seaways–traffic that must be controlled, managed, and regulated. We’ll see how it’s done.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Private Jets
    8.4/10(26 votes)

    #21 - Private Jets

    S9:E7

    From today’s ultra chic, state-of-the-art private jets to Lockheed’s 1957 Jetstar, this 2-hour special investigates the history, the luxury, and technology of America’s corporate jets. We meet a few of the men and women who pioneered them–Bill Lear, Clyde Cessna and his nephews, Walter and Olive Beech. Actor Michael Dorn explains what it takes to buy a previously-owned jet. And, we see the latest in kit jets and look into the new must-have of the super rich–jets the size of commercial airliners.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Rube Goldberg
    8.4/10(12 votes)

    #22 - Rube Goldberg

    S13:E31

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for The Maginot Line
    8.3/10(25 votes)

    #23 - The Maginot Line

    S7:E24

    The Maginot Line, a defensive string of large and small forts built during the years between World War I and World War II, was intended to forestall another invasion by aggressive Germany. Despite the Treaty of Versailles, France saw that it was only a matter of time before Germany would rise again and threaten France. News of northern neighbor Belgium’s neutrality left France with an exposed flank, which would ultimately be the Maginot Line’s weak point-the Germans were able to outflank the line almost entirely, readily conceding the Line’s impregnability while conquering the country.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for West Point
    8.3/10(24 votes)

    #24 - West Point

    S8:E27

    For nearly 200 years, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, has trained students in the art of war. Located 50 miles north of New York City, its 25 buildings overlook the Hudson River on a 16,000-acre government reserve. During the Revolutionary War, West Point stood guard over the river, protecting it with artillery and a 136-ton chain! From humble beginnings, the academy grew with the nation, as each war forced changes to keep pace with America’s expanding world responsibilities.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Plane Crashes
    8.3/10(11 votes)

    #25 - Plane Crashes

    S11:E19

    When the most sophisticated machines fail, they do so horrifically, plunging to earth with a terrifying loss of life. From the beginning of manned flight, plane crashes have plagued the aviation industry and terrorized the public. But the truth is, passengers have never been safer because of the brightest minds, best technology, and billions of dollars focused on preventing air disasters. Using famous crashes like TWA Flight 800, we examine safety improvement and what still needs to be done.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"Cranes" is the best rated episode of "Modern Marvels". It scored 9/10 based on 15 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/8/2002. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Banks.".