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Inventions That Shook the World Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
10 Episodes 2011 - 2011
Episode 1
1900s
46 mins
The first decade of the 1900s ushers in crucial inventions that will help shape the rest of the century. Communication gets a boost as a voice is transmitted wirelessly by radio for the first time. Shaving gets a new edge with the appearance of the safety razor blade. The first air conditioner takes the misery out of extreme heat and humidity. The vacuum cleaner stops rugs and carpets from taking a beating, and two brothers, the Wright Borthers, apply their skills as bicycle mechanics to build and fly the world's first airplane.
Episode 2
1910s
46 mins
Saving lives and taking lives are the hallmarks of the inventions of the 1910s. The umbrella supplies the inspiration for a new device that lets airplane pilots parachute to safety. Sonar navigation comes to the aid of ships at sea; and a garment manufacturer develops the first safety hood to protect firefighters inside burning buildings. From charcoal to browned, the quest for perfect toast is realized. And, the Tommy Gun unleashes the fearsome power of the machine gun.
Episode 3
1920s
46 mins
Mobsters, jazz, and turbulent economic times mark the 1920s. Silent film makes the transition to the talkies as sound comes to the silver screen. The refrigerator gets a makeover from the smartest man in the world; and pverty inspires a desperate inventor to come up with a winner called television. Criminals find that there's one less place to hide with the invention of the lie detector. And, the Space Age is launched when a rocketeer who refuses to give up finally unlocks the secret of liquid fuel.
Episode 4
1930s
46 mins
Though overshadowed by the Great Depression, there is no shortage of ingenuity in the 1930s. The two-way radio gets miniaturized, and the world's first portable walkie-talkie goe on the air. The electric guitar changes popular music forever, and commuters become a cash cow for cities when the parking meter is introduced. Copying by hand and mimeographs go the way of the Dodo with the invention of Xerography. The airplane gets a nimble little brother in the air as the helicopter makes its debut.
Episode 5
1940s
45 mins
War is the driving force behind much of the innovation in the 1940s. In a desperate attempt to secure aerial supremacy, the British win the race to develop the jet engine. Under the Reich, a German engineer builds what is now recognized as the world's first true computer. In the United States, the microwave is born after a self-taught inventor realizes that military equipment is responsible for melting a chocolate bar in his pocket. A U.S. Air Force doctor is ordered to stop experimenting on himself, and so he duplicates himself, giving us the first crash test dummy. And, a sailor returns home and hits pay dirt with an invention that finally brings cats in from the cold: kitty litter.
Episode 6
1950s
Wed, Jul 27, 201143 mins
The 1950s heralds the end of vacuum tubes and the rise of mobile technologies when two Japanese inventors shrink cabinet-size radios down to something small enough to fit in your pocket. An intrepid crime scene photographer puts boozy breath to work, busting drunk drivers with the roadside breathalyzer. Aircraft crash investigators get a foolproof witness that rides in a Black Box with the crew. A cushion of air opens the way for a brand new land/sea hybrid that changes the face of transportation. And, the space race officially begins when the Soviet Union launches a satellite they call Sputnik.
Episode 7
1960s
46 mins
The 1960s is a decade of both cultural and technological change. A weather satellite that can save lives by tracking weather patterns and predicting hurricanes is launched into orbit. Robots begin to appear in the workplace, taking over some menial tasks, freeing up workers to focus on more complicated jobs. Home entertainment goes from the kitchen table to the TV screen when the video game console is unveiled. The taser is introduced, giving police forces a non-lethal way of using electricity to shut down the bad guys. And, the United States finally wins the decade-long space race, taking a giant step for mankind by landing astronauts on the moon.
Episode 8
1970s
46 mins
The future comes to bomb disposal safety when a remote-controlled robot takes the human equation out of the picture. The cell phone moves from the car console to the hand when an engineer is inspired by a science fiction series. Paper notes no longer blow off the desk in a breeze when two scientists collide on a project and the Post-It is born. The hybrid car is reborn as an answer to the concerns over fossil fuels and pollution thanks to a tenacious inventor and the Environmental Protection Agency. The invention of the digital camera is kept in the darkroom for 20 years.
Episode 9
1980s
46 mins
The 1980s launch an unprecedented technological age that will continue into the next century. DNA profiling begins changing crime scene investigations for all time. Smokers find a helpful hand in kicking the habit through the nicotine patch. Network computing gets a giant boost around the world with the advent of the Internet. A teenager sees his future during a colonoscopy and develops the capsule endoscopy. And, the MIR space station kicks off a new age of space science.
Episode 10
1990s
46 mins
A new telescope named Hubble lets us see even further into the universe, revealing more of its majesty and mysteries. The wind up radio brings the outside world to the smallest villages in Africa. The Neurotrophic Electrode helps those with locked in syndrome get out through a computer interface. A young software engineer's wife gives birth to his daughter while he develops the camera phone in the waiting room. Pathfinder safely bounces to a stop on Mars thanks to an airbag system that puts cars airbag system to shame.
