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The Worst Episodes of Modern Marvels

Every episode of Modern Marvels ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Modern Marvels!

The Worst 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 Cruise Ships
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    #1 - Cruise Ships

    S1:E4

    A large machine turned water city, cruise ships are exciting and new.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Las Vegas
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    #2 - Las Vegas

    S2:E3

    Rising from a stretch of desert with nothing but remoteness to recommend it, Las Vegas became a glittering wonderland for dreamers. We’ll take a look at the forces that made Las Vegas a place unlike any on earth.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Ocean Liners
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    #3 - Ocean Liners

    S2:E8

    With technological advances, our ancient struggle against the sea has turned into a luxurious holiday. Come aboard for a peek at the elegant life on these floating resorts.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Battlefield Engineering.
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    #4 - Battlefield Engineering.

    S5:E18

    Meet some of the most important, yet least-recognized, warriors–the battlefield engineers who lay the groundwork for oncoming conflicts. We'll cover combat engineering from ancient Rome to modern-day Iraq, and take a look at the "Next Big Thing".

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for The Atlantic Wall
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    #5 - The Atlantic Wall

    S6:E2

    The Atlantic Wall explores the construction of the shore fortifications built by the Nazis during World War II. We highlight the logistics of construction, types of fortifications, weapons, and obstacles used in the wall. The Nazis attempted to fortify 3,000 miles of occupied European coastline before the Allies launched thier attack on occupied Europe. Finally the Allied D-Day invasion planning and execution, with its associated propaganda and deception, are detailed.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Bombs
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    #6 - Bombs

    S6:E13

    Bombs…the most feared and powerful weapon in any nation’s arsenal. What began as incendiary devices in the 7th century has evolved into weapons that can literally blow the human race off the face of the earth! From the use of diseased carcasses flung over castle walls to Greek Fire to today’s smart bombs, we review the evolution of bombs.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Stereos
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    #7 - Stereos

    S6:E16

    The ability to transmit sound in stereo transformed the music of life into a rich symphony of sound. For over 100 years, enthusiasts and scientists have worked to create the ideal listening experience. From Thomas Edison’s early phonograph to today’s digital revolution, we examine this multi-billion dollar business.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Physical Fitness
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    #8 - Physical Fitness

    S6:E20

    Meet the Strong Men and Women who go beyond mere fitness to pursue major muscle mass–from ancient Greeks, to performers in the 1800s astounding audiences with feats of strength, to the body builders of California’s Muscle Beach! Lou Ferrigno and other stars share stories of the pursuit of muscle. Also looks at the effect of steroids.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Simulators
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    #9 - Simulators

    S6:E37

    Though “simulations” date back to cave paintings, devices for interacting with “synthetic realities” are a recent invention. See how simulators are used as training tools for nearly every profession today where hands-on experience is too costly or dangerous–from the 1929 Link Pilot Trainer to simulated virtual realities.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Emergency Room
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    #10 - Emergency Room

    S6:E42

    Emergency room medicine has only been a recognized specialty since 1989, and it took close to two millennia to get to this point. We’ll examine advances that led to the modern emergency room–from the Byzantine’s establishment of the first hospitals around 1050 A.D. to today’s telemedicine. The prognosis for its future looks good.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Lost Marvels
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    #11 - Lost Marvels

    S6:E48

    The very spirit that drives man to dream up ever more fantastic creations can also conceive changes that destroy old treasures. We look at great artistic and engineering feats that fell prey to the ravages of nature, the wastes of war, and the indifference of booming metropolises.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Bridges.
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    #12 - Bridges.

    S7:E6

    From amazing ancient Roman aqueducts and arch bridges, romantic Renaissance spans, 19th-century railroad crossovers, to monumental marvels of our time, bridges played a key role in the human quest to connect and unify. We'll trace the history of bridge types, including suspension, arch, beam, truss, and cantilever designs.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Assembly Lines
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    #13 - Assembly Lines

    S7:E29

    According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, an assembly line is an “industrial arrangement of machines, equipment, and workers for continuous flow of workpieces in mass production operations.” While the basic principles of the assembly line technique have not changed in one hundred years, the people and the products that exploit the technique have. Throughout the hour, we will hear from four generations of assembly line workers who will provide some perspective, heart and soul for this revolutionary production technique.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Suez Canal
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    #14 - Suez Canal

    S7:E30

    Since the ancient pharaohs’ time, the Isthmus of Suez has been the gateway to trade between East and West. It’s thought that the pharaohs could connect the Red Sea with the Mediterranean using a system of small canals; but the desert sands buried them. Not until mid-19th century did mankind readdress the problem. Since its completion in 1869, the Suez Canal has been a vital link in world trade and a point of controversy in geopolitics. Today, more than 20,000 ships transit the canal yearly.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for London Underground
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    #15 - London Underground

    S7:E31

    Deep beneath London runs a complex network of many miles of tunnels; and, while traffic congests the roads above, hundreds of trains run through these iron and concrete arteries, carrying millions of people into, around, and out of the City. Here is the story of the “Tube”, the world’s first underground railway, which holds London together–from its opening in January 1863, through its deep-level expansion and electrification, to the fully automated trains of the 21st Century’s Jubilee Line.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Power Plants.
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    #16 - Power Plants.

    S7:E35

    Mankind controls the environment in a variety of ways, whether by capturing the force of a river, harnessing the power in coal or oil, controlling a nuclear reaction, or transforming the light of the sun into electricity. From Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla to Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein, the world's greatest minds have enabled us to acquire our light, heat, and power with a simple flip of the switch. Join us for an electrifying hour as we review the foundation for all of this–power plants.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Proving Grounds
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    #17 - Proving Grounds

    S8:E2

    Where can you fire a missile without scaring the neighbors? Or lift millions of pounds in pursuit of a couple of ounces of gold? On a proving ground, of course, where performance is the only thing that matters. Because in the heat of battle or head-to-head competition, no excuses can be given. We’ll visit the US military’s Cold Regions Testing Center in Alaska and desert proving grounds in Arizona, the Olympic Complex in Colorado, and the now-defunct Packard proving grounds in Michigan.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Survival Technology
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    #18 - Survival Technology

    S8:E5

    In an historic survey of man’s adaptation to killer environmental conditions, we travel to the desert, the Arctic, the sea, jungle, and space, charting the body’s physiological responses to extreme circumstances such as frostbite, heatstroke, and hypothermia. We talk with military survival experts and learn about the latest cutting-edge survival gear, as well as the equipment aboard the space station, and look to the future, when nano-technology will create a new type of technology.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel
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    #19 - Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel

    S8:E6

    Named one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern age, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel connects Virginia proper with its easternmost landmass. Stretching 17 miles across the historic Chesapeake Bay, the structure represents a man-made boundary between the Bay and the Atlantic. The structure includes two 2-lane highways supported mostly by trestles, four man-made and one natural island, two truss bridges, and two revolutionary sunken tube tunnels.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Garage Gadgets
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    #20 - Garage Gadgets

    S8:E7

    The household garage serves as the at-home sanctuary for the modern American male. Most men consider themselves to be “handy around the house”. Fathers and husbands see it as their role to provide for and take care of the family’s home and possessions. From lawn care products to snow removal and outdoor cooking, the Garage Gadgets of Do-It-Yourselfers have evolved over decades to face the ever-changing challenges of maintaining a home.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Cannons.
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    #21 - Cannons.

    S8:E24

    Cannons have fired balls of iron and atomic bombs, changed the way wars are fought, and now come equipped with smart weapons. Beginning with 13th-century cannons that were designed to penetrate forts of the day, we'll see how cannons were first cast and later forged, and show how large cannons terrorized civilians and soldiers in WWI and WWII. Moving to the present, we feature the 40-ton self-propelled Crusader that launches 100-pound steel artillery shells more than 33 miles.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Bunkers.
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    #22 - Bunkers.

    S8:E32

    From the earliest bunkers of WWI through the ultra-futuristic ones of tomorrow's wars, we trace the story of defensive fortifications. In the constant struggle to hold off ever more potent forms of attack, bunkers function in a variety of forms. Three mammoth block structures comprise a submarine bunker at Lorient, France, able to house 20 subs. We visit Churchill's Cabinet War Room and Hitler's Berlin bunker, as well as backyard Cold War bunkers and those that protect nuclear weapons themselves.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Cemeteries.
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    #23 - Cemeteries.

    S8:E33

    More than 2-million people die in the U.S. each year. That works out to about 5,500 burials a day, with roughly 80 percent taking the long goodbye in a casket, and the remaining 20 percent electing to be cremated or finding some alternative method of crossing eternity's threshold. We take a look at dealing with the dead throughout the centuries, and at today's $20-billion funeral industry. Any way you look at it, it's a healthy business, with new generations of customers year after year!

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Firing Ranges
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    #24 - Firing Ranges

    S8:E39

    Discover how military and police personnel, as well as private citizens, hone their shooting skills with one of the oldest of training techniques when we review the history of firing ranges–from a simple knot on a tree, old bottles, rusted tin cans, and highway signs to high-tech targets and advances in weaponry.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Pleasure Boats
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    #25 - Pleasure Boats

    S9:E11

    As we power-up and unfurl the sails on a magical cruise through time, viewers meet the people who’ve devoted their lives to pleasure boating. Traveling throughout the U.S. and Europe, we delve into a world of luxury, adventure, and sport on spectacular vessels ranging from classic yachts to sports boats to the ultimate floating palaces. In this timeless pastime, technological wonders continue to evolve and enthrall.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Worst Episodes Summary

"Cruise Ships" is the worst rated episode of "Modern Marvels". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 3/20/1994. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Las Vegas".