Modern Marvels

Careful design mixed with cutting-edge technology has made Las Vegas an intoxicating, neon oasis in the middle of a desert. Tour the magnificent casinos of Las Vegas' storied strip.

During the depths of the Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority was a massive public works project that took a 40,000 square mile river basin and turned it into a model of industrial progress.

It was called the "mother lode": a deposit of silver so massive that it would produce $300-million in its first 25 years of operation, establish Nevada as a state and bankroll the Union Army in the Civil War.

Construction of the second-longest suspension bridge in the Unites States took 25 million man-hours and 80,000 miles of cable to complete but the cost in human life proved high.

From the first well in Pennsylvania to the gushing Spindletop and modern supertankers, the story of oil is the story of civilization as we know it.

With California finally part of the United States, two rail companies raced to connect the monied East and the promising West. Along the way, fortunes would be made.

Chronicles one of the most incredible engineering feats of all time: construction of the 51-mile canal that took ten years to build and employed over 40,000 workers.

Landmark New York City skyscraper built during the Depression. Used 10 million bricks, 60,000 tons of steel and hot rivets, completed four months early.

The domed structure is one of the earliest forms of shelter. We explore how engineers have enlarged and transformed the ancient concept to build spectacular structures: domed sports stadiums.

Whether underwater, blasted through solid rock, or negotiating the shifting strata of earth's crust, we explore the design and engineering of famous tunnels-and the motivation behind them.

Thomas Edison registered over 1,000 patents, but his favorite invention was one of his first.

Thomas Edison's famous invention, the electric light, also included a groundbreaking delivery system, revolutionizing the world in 1878.

The complete story of the feuds, the mistakes, ingenuity, and successes that made movies possible--and kept Edison at the front of the inventor pack.

From Alexander Graham Bell's crude creation to today's high-speed wireless networks, explore the past, present and future of the telephone. Revisit the race between Bell and rival Elisha Gray.

Take a look at the inventions that have revolutionized society as we know it: computers! They began as behemoths which weighed over 2 tons.

A look at the history of photography beginning as early as the eleventh century, including the advancements by Niepce and Daguerre in the 19th century and George Eastman in the 20th century.

Advances in technology allow designers of roller coasters to test the limits of the human body.