8.2/1022 votes#1 - America's Highways
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 9/2/1996
In 1912, a headlight-maker and an auto magnate built the first cross-country road to spur the demand for new cars; 70 years and $125 billion later, the highway system had grown to 42,000 miles. Rare photographs and interviews tell the incredible story of the “paving of America”.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1020 votes#2 - The Telephone
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 9/15/1996
From Alexander Graham Bell’s crude creation, to today’s high-speed wireless networks, we’ll look into the past, present and future of the telephone. We’ll visit the AT&T archives to see how the very first telephone boxes wired together with telegraph cables have evolved into vast wireless networks. Enter into the inner workings of Los Angeles County’s 911 emergency dispatch center, as well as explore advancements made by Lucent/Bell Labs in phone-embedded GPS technology. With telephone privacy issues making headlines, witness a demonstration of how easy it can be for someone to illegally tap your phone. We’ll also look at a technology developed by NASA-Ames that might one day allow people to converse by merely thinking what they want to say.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1010 votes#3 - Aqueducts
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/1996
Many rivers quenched the thirst of millions in the American west and around the world. Without these aqueducts, some of the earth’s largest cities would turn into gigantic ghost towns. Their technology has been in use for over two thousand years. But today these engineering marvels cost billions of dollars to build, requiring thousands of men to toil for years on end. Aqueducts have made some men famous and others fabulously wealthy. In Los Angeles one man’s vision took one hundred thousand men to complete and a great city was truly born. In Northern California the most famous conservationist of our time waged the political fight of his life in an attempt to save one of nature’s most spectacular valleys from San Francisco’s demand for more water.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1012 votes#4 - Television
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 10/20/1996
An exploration of the world’s most popular entertainment, from the boy genius who invented it to the RCA “General” who made it a reality.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1017 votes#5 - The Computer
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 11/24/1996
A look at the inventions that have revolutionized society as we know it. They began as behemoths which weighed over 2 tons!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1017 votes#6 - Captured Light
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 12/15/1996
A look at the history of photography beginning as early as the eleventh century. Includes the advancements by Niepce and Daguerre in the 19th century and William Henry Fox and George Eastman in the 20th century.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/1018 votes#7 - Stealth Technology
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 2/16/1997
A look at the F117 Stealth Fighter that led the pack for the Allies in Gulf Wars One and Two and virtually decimated Iraqi Air Defense. Find out how the technology allows it to approach its target without being detected by radar. Also, a look at the B2 Stealth Bomber.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1015 votes#8 - Pyramids: Majesty And Mystery
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 3/23/1997
Standing majestically for centuries, the world’s great pyramids have long inspired and mystified scholars. Leading experts and historians explore the engineering genius that created some of the largest structures on the planet. From ancient Egypt to Central America, we visit these technological masterpieces.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1017 votes#9 - Roller Coasters
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 4/13/1997
Since the turn of the 20th century, designers have competed to build them faster, taller, and steeper. But as technology pushes the envelope with flips, weightlessness, and more g-force than a jet, how many thrills can the human body take?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1013 votes#10 - Observatories: Stonehenge to Space Telescopes
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 6/8/1997
From Stonehenge to the Hubble Telescope, man has always been a species of stargazers. Unforgettable film footage and expert accounts reveal the facts of astronomy’s most mind-boggling discoveries.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.8/1039 votes#11 - The Great Wall of China.
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 6/22/1997
Winding 6,000 kilometers through undulating mountains, it is said to be visible with the naked eye from the moon. But who called for the Great Wall's construction and how was it accomplished? Historians, engineers, and scientists explore one of the wonders of the ancient world.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Modern Marvels Season 4
Every episode of Modern Marvels Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Modern Marvels Season 4!
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...
Genre:Documentary
Season 4 Ratings Summary
"America's Highways" is the best rated episode of "Modern Marvels" season 4. It scored 8.2/10 based on 22 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 9/2/1996. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "The Telephone".