Modern Marvels

From professional sports to the playground, balls have been around for generations. We'll explore the research, development, technology and performance of balls as they spin through our lives.

On this Mega Top Ten Countdown episode: awe-inspiring machines, featuring the top ten mightiest, strangest and most unique innovations from our archives.

Since 200 BC, when Greek philosopher Archimedes created a device for lifting water, the pump has been synonymous with transporting Earth's most precious resource. That's still true today.

We'll explore how Earth's ice originated and recount how ice age glaciers sculpted North America-and still offer us a window into the past. And we'll learn about the dynamics and dangers of icebergs.

From the unimaginable power of nuclear bombs to microscopic anthrax spores, we reveal who possesses these nightmare weapons and explore the danger posed by terrorists with deadly technologies.

Their revolutionary weapons, transportation and tools reveal that Barbarians and technology aren't such a contradiction after all.

Look at the construction and demolition of dams as well as their impact on the environment. Explore embankment and Hydroelectric dams such as Three Gorges, Hoover, and Grand Coulee are explored.

Soldiers, machines and supplies are only effective if they arrive at the battlefield in time. Explore the history and the technology behind the machines that do the heavy moving in times of war.

Driven by the need for deep sea rescue and salvage capabilities, the U.S. Navy Diving and Salvage Programs have gathered together a highly skilled team of divers and engineers.

More than 50% of all U.S. products require some form of welding. From the Las Vegas strip to oil platforms hundreds of feet below the sea, discover how welders forge the backbone of civilization.

The 1970s were a decade of excess. Dust off your mirror ball, put on your leisure suit and rediscover the technology and gadgets of the era, from PONG to Polaroid to the Concorde.

Catering to more than twenty million truckers a year, truck stops are now bigger and better than ever. We'll tour some of the world's most tricked-out.

Fertilizer: without it, two thirds of the world would starve. It makes our lawns grow greener and our crops grow taller. Take a tour of the places where fertilizer is harnessed.

From cheddar to brie, Parmesan to blue, take a look at both ancient techniques and new technologies behind some of the world's most popular cheeses.

Sink your teeth into the razor sharp world of saws. Cut across the centuries to discover how this essential tool has been used for construction, destruction, surgery, torture and more.

This useful metal was once considered more valuable than gold. Watch as aluminum is stretched, pounded melted and even turned into foam.

From Velcro hooks to Gecko feet, making things that stick is no easy task. Come revel in electrostatics, sticky rubber and even a roll of tape so strong it sticks together skyscrapers.

Americans eat over three and a half billion pounds of chocolate each year. Take a tour through the wide world of this sweet treat's harvesting and production.

We spend one-third of our lives in the bedroom. Explore the technologies that help to ensure we wake up on the right side of the bed.

Vacuums aren't just for cleaning floors. There are giant vacuums that clean up after disasters like Hurricane Katrina and underwater vacuums that save coral reefs.

Gotcha! Traps are a device designed to capture and kill, but they don't always harm their prey. Check out some high-tech versions straight out of action movies.

Batteries make our tech, tools and toys surge with energy. Visit the world's most powerful battery in Fairbanks, Alaska, then see how the Energizer facility churns out one million D-cells every day.

More extreme aircrafts are profiled. Among them the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, the B-1B Lancer (a supersonic bomber), the DC-10 Supertanker, drones and personal aircraft vehicles.

Take a look at the technology of keeping things cold. From your home refrigerator to Arctic vaults that store millions of different seeds and even places where cadavers are kept on ice.

It is the most widely produced chemical in the world and possibly the most dangerous. Take a look at the many uses of acid.