Modern Marvels

A Michigan company designs water bottles; the makers of bubble wrap share their secrets; workers conquer the challenge of packaging the world's largest crane; America's military goods and supplies are packaged.

High-flying workers who depend on rope to do their jobs safely; how window washers, rock climbers and bungee jumpers safely use ropes; dockworkers who rely on ropes around the clock; industrial chain links.

Brad Paisley and his crew of truckers on the road between Little Rock and Tulsa; the Ford F-150 tackles a devilish test course; the world's most nimble tow truck extracts a car from the tightest parking spot imaginable; Mack truck fanatic.

A computer-managed home in Colorado showcases the high-tech gadgetry destined to inhabit every wall in the future; a network of walls with cutouts and Plexiglas windows reveal how pests and creepy crawlies of all kinds can congregate.

A pilot who builds his own jet-powered glider; canoe makers in Montana; a knife maker in Washington; craftsmen keep alive the ancient art of weapon making; Skulls International in Oklahoma City; handmade special effects.

The assembly and surprising history behind the airboat; a wild ride on a big-tired swamp buggy; local delicacies that bring new meaning to acquired taste; a massive engineering project to divert the mighty Mississippi River; pythons and alligators.

Episode takes a look at the items found in peoples' pockets all across America; not cell phones, which everybody has, but more intimate items, personal things, both valuable and cheap.

Some machines built for sheer spectacle.

Chocolate-covered bacon; red and white Starlight Mints; the key ingredient that gives Lemonheads their sour punch; the surprising substance that puts the polish on Mike and Ike; the amount of sugar in cotton candy.

From elaborate elite training facilities to GPS-guided air drops, to revolutionary high-tech tents and fire-retardant uniforms, the episode explores the science and technology of building, operating and protecting a base in a war zone.

People have spent centuries battling foul odors, including those that arise from cesspools, rotting meat, landfills, stink bombs, cow farms, and bad breath.

From the beginning of time humans worked to protect themselves against the very element that keeps them alive: water; the episode explores the fight against ferocious weather and floods with state-of-the-art roofing, wraps, tarps, boats and more.

Hundreds of years before steel and plastic, wood was the building block of America; from the historical, to the modern, to the timeless, episode explores the surprising ways people cannot live without wood.

Every detail from a convenience store has been engineered to work fast; a look behind the scenes to see how favorite innovations, like slurpees, turbo ovens, and beef jerky, are made.

Tiny weapons may not sound impressive, but small can kill, and it can also be easily concealed; from a pocket pistol used by the police to a submachine gun wielded by a bodyguard, many of today's most effective weapons are smaller than ever.

Every aspect of live involves pressure; it's what puts the bubbles in soft drinks, propels shaving cream from its can, cools the contents of your refrigerator, and causes volcanoes to erupt; but rapid pressure changes can be as violent as explosions.

Shoes have come a long way from their humble beginnings as simple leather moccasins; Nowadays footwear is built to withstand any extreme environment where a foot can tread, from the heart of a burning building to the track of an Olympic stadium.

From brutal winters to bug-infested summers, survival in the unforgiving landscape of Alaska requires an array of technological innovations and creative solutions.