Season 13 |
| 490 :13x01 - Containers (Jan/04/2006) | | A history of containers includes a look at underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico that store the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. | |
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| 491 :13x02 - Fire (Jan/11/2006) | | Fire and how it is created, used and controlled is the subject. | |
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| 496 :13x07 - Weird Weapons: The Allies (Feb/08/2006) | | Examining unusual World War II weapons that were in the planning or testing stages for use by the Allies. Included: floating tanks; pigeon-guided missiles. | |
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| 497 :13x08 - Candy (Feb/14/2006) | | A history of candy includes stops at the Hershey Company in Pennsylvania; See's Candy in San Francisco; Schimpff's Confectionery in Jeffersonville, Ind.; and the Jelly Belly Candy Company in California. Also: saltwater taffy; Big Hunk and Abba-Zaba at the Annabelle Candy Company in Hayward, Cal. | |
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| 498 :13x09 - Weird Weapons: The Axis (Feb/21/2006) | | Examining unusual weapons that were in the planning or testing stages to be used by the Axis powers in World War II. Included: a rifle that could shoot around corners. | |
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| 500 :13x11 - Engineering Disasters: New Orleans (Feb/28/2006) | | Examining engineering failures during the devastation of New Orleans brought on by Hurricane Katrina and ways to prevent similar disasters in the future. Included: the levee and water-pumping systems; and design flaws in escape routes. | |
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| 501 :13x12 - Leather (Mar/08/2006) | | Sometime at the dawn of civilization, animal hides were rubbed down with animal fat, making them more flexible, durable, and malleable. By the 5th Century BC, this "tanning" process expanded to include vegetable and tree oil washes, creating what's now known as "leather"--one of man's most reliable and versatile products. Without advances in leather shoes, the Romans could never have marched to the Tigris; nor could the Pilgrims have survived winters in Plymouth. Today, leather is a staple of our daily lives. Modern tanners have devised techniques to make leather more versatile, colorful, and luxurious than ever. We visit modern tanneries of conventional cowhide leather, and explore the more exotic leathers made from alligator, snakes, and even sting-ray. And we'll examine the race of modern science to create synthetic leathers that are supposedly more convenient in today's fast-paced life. We'll see how leather binds us to the past in an unparalleled way. | |
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| 503 :13x14 - Insulation (Apr/26/2006) | | A history of insulation examines its development, materials and the many ways it is used. Included: how ancient Greek and Roman homes were insulated. | |
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| 505 :13x16 - Shovels (May/03/2006) | | The evolution of the shovel is chronicled. Included: William Otis's patent for the steam shovel in 1839; the robotic shovel on NASA's Phoenix Mars lander; a shovel that locates land mines in Third World countries. | |
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| 506 :13x17 - Drilling (May/10/2006) | | Drilling and drill technology are explored. Included: tunnel-boring, robotic and laser drills. | |
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| 507 :13x18 - '80s Tech (May/24/2006) | | Technology from the 1980s is remembered, including early cell phones and CD players; the Sony Walkman; and personal computers. Also: comments by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak; and a tour of the Computer History Museum in California. | |
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| 510 :13x21 - Assembly Lines (Jun/12/2006) | | The mass-production assembly line is the subject. Included: the industries that use it and the inventions that improve it. | |
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| 511 :13x22 - Heavy Metals (Jun/14/2006) | | Exploring heavy metals and their uses and storage. Included: copper, uranium, lead, zinc and nickel, as well as superalloys, such as steel combined with chromium and cobalt. | |
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| 512 :13x23 - Money (Jun/19/2006) | | Money and how it is made is explored during visits to the United States Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. | |
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| 513 :13x24 - Horsepower (Jun/21/2006) | | A history of horsepower examines the origin of the word and the many ways it's used. Included: the powerful diesel engine of a container ship; the harnessing of water power at Hoover Dam; the pumping units at the Edmonston Pumping Plant in California; hybrid cars; and hydroplane racing. | |
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| 514 :13x25 - BBQ Tech (Jun/28/2006) | | Barbecue technology is the subject. Included: a tour of Weber grill factories; and a visit to Arthur Bryant's barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, Mo. Also: fuels; barbecue sauces. | |
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| 517 :13x28 - World's Biggest Machines 5 (Jul/26/2006) | | The world's largest engineering feats are explored. Included: NASA's wind tunnel and flight simulator at the Ames Research Center in California; a continuous mining machine in Pennsylvania; the London Eye observation wheel in England. Also: the Claas Cougar lawn mower; and IMAX technology. | |
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| 519 :13x30 - Nuts (Aug/02/2006) | | A history of nuts and nut products includes the use of a walnut-shell powder as a cleanser; and a UNICEF program that uses a nut product in the fight against malnutrition. Also: growing-and-harvesting techniques and technology. | |
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| 528 :13x39 - Mummy Tech (Aug/23/2006) | | Mummy technology is examined, including the process of mummification and the techniques used to study mummies, such as scanners that examine the insides of specimens without unwrapping them. | |
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| 530 :13x41 - Levees (Aug/30/2006) | | From collapsing floodwalls in New Orleans to high-tech mechanical storm surge barriers in Europe, we'll explore the 2,500-year history of keeping rivers and tides at bay by erecting levees. To get a lesson on how levees are built and why they fail, we'll climb atop Sacramento, California's crumbling river levees to see evidence of erosion that portends a New Orleans-level disaster. In stark contrast are the ingeniously engineered levees and dikes holding back tidal waters in the Netherlands. Their success inspired other mechanized flood barriers on both the River Thames outside London and one currently under construction near the sinking city of Venice, Italy. We'll also take a look at the hard lessons learned when levees are breached. In New Orleans, we'll see what the US Army Corps of Engineers is doing to protect the Crescent City from future hurricane seasons. | |
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| 531 :13x42 - Water (Sep/06/2006) | | Water is examined as a natural wonder and as the substance that sustains life. Also studied is the technology it supports and which supports it. Included: irrigation systems; fountains; and the bottled-water industry. | |
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| 532 :13x43 - The Cola Wars (Sep/07/2006) | | A look at the history of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola and the rivalry between the two soft-drink companies. Included: comments from experts, including author Frederick Allen ("Secret Formula"). | |
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| 533 :13x44 - Copper (Sep/13/2006) | | A history of copper examines its characteristics, how it is mined and its uses, particularly in the electronics industry. Included: copper in plumbing; and in roofs and sculptures. | |
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| 535 :13x46 - Freight Trains (Sep/20/2006) | | A history of freight trains includes a tour of the Union Pacific Railroad's Bailey Yard in Nebraska. | |
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| 536 :13x47 - Renewable Energy (Sep/20/2006) | | Renewable energy, its development and the most reliable sources are examined. Included: geothermal energy; biofuels; and solar, wind and tidal power. | |
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| 539 :13x50 - World's Strongest (Oct/18/2006) | | Some of the strongest materials in the world are examined. Included: diamonds; rope made from Spectra fiber, a type of polyethylene more durable than steel; and Lexan, a polycarbonate that can withstand bullets. | |
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| 540 :13x51 - Tomcat Sunset (Nov/01/2006) | | The history of the F-14 Tomcat fighter, which was retired from service in September 2006, is explored by former Tomcat pilot Tom Deitz. Included: the final combat landing aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt; and the ceremonial last flight at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. | |
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| 542 :13x53 - The Supermarket (Nov/15/2006) | | A history of the supermarket includes store design; technological innovations, such as bar-coding; and trends. | |
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| 543 :13x54 - Breakfast Tech (Nov/28/2006) | | Breakfast-food technology is examined. Included: the technology aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis that helps keep its sailors fed; a tour of the Tyson Foods factory and the Sunkist orange-juice factory. Also: the making of a McDonald's McGriddle pancake is observed. | |
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| 544 :13x55 - Harvesting 2 (Nov/29/2006) | | The history of harvesting in America and the balance between mechanized and manual labor is explored. Included: a look at the work of an orchard manager and his ladder crew; a visit to a California fruit-packing house. Also: a cornfield in Nebraska; cranberry marshes in central Wisconsin; and a mushroom farm. | |
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| 545 :13x56 - Wine (Nov/29/2006) | | Wine history and technology are examined. Included: the use of aerial imaging and infrared photography in analyzing soil. Also: a tour of wineries, a historic wine cellar and the oldest restaurant in Paris. | |
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| 546 :13x57 - Engineering Disasters 20 (Dec/06/2006) | | Engineering disasters are recalled. Included: a 2005 explosion at a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas; the American Airlines flight 587 crash in 2001; the 1982 dioxin scare in Times Beach, Mo., where dioxin was found in oil used to keep down dust on the roads; and a 2005 fire at the Praxair plant in St. Louis. | |
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| 549 :13x60 - Tea (Dec/13/2006) | | An hour steeped in the history of tea includes a visit to the Lipton Tea plant in Suffolk, Va., the Charleston Tea Plantation in South Carolina and the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder, Colo.; a chronicle of the events that led to the Boston Tea Party; and a segment on gourmet teas. | |
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