United Stuff of America
How did a ticket to a boxing match seal the fate of notorious mobster Lucky Luciano? What does a farmer's seed planter have to do with making America a superpower? And how did an X-Ray machine give Teddy Roosevelt the keys the White House? Sometimes the biggest moments depend on the smallest details-and the most ordinary objects. Buried in attics, hidden in private collections, and secreted away in the rarely seen archives are artifacts, objects and curiosities that come together to tell the epic story of America. From the producers of Pawn Stars and featuring Rick Harrison, United Stuff of America is a cross-country treasure hunt that uncovers America's most fascinating stuff, and the unexpected stories it reveals about us and our most epic and notorious moments. This isn't history from a textbook; it's history that you can hold in your hands.
- 2014-2014
- 1 season
- History Channel
- Documentary
How did a ticket to a boxing match seal the fate of notorious mobster Lucky Luciano? What does a farmer's seed planter have to do with making America a superpower? And how did an X-Ray machine give Teddy Roosevelt the keys the White House? Sometimes the biggest moments depend on the smallest details-and the most ordinary objects. Buried in attics, hidden in private collections, and secreted away in the rarely seen archives are artifacts, objects and curiosities that come together to tell the epic story of America. From the producers of Pawn Stars and featuring Rick Harrison, United Stuff of America is a cross-country treasure hunt that uncovers America's most fascinating stuff, and the unexpected stories it reveals about us and our most epic and notorious moments. This isn't history from a textbook; it's history that you can hold in your hands.
Season 1 Episode Guide
7 Episodes 2014
Episode 1
Badass Presidents
Sat, Jun 14, 2014 42 mins
Is there a top tier of presidential toughness that sets some of our commanders in chief apart from all the rest? Everyday objects reveal the real stories behind some of the most amazing presidential feats, from the bottle-thick eyeglasses that turned one man into an unlikely war hero, to the wooden cane that took down a would-be assassin, and the coconut that saved Camelot.
Episode 2
American Firepower
Sat, Jun 21, 2014 43 mins
The U.S. Transforms itself from colony to superpower with the help of an engineering marvel: the gun. Trace the evolution of weapons technology as it shapes our history, from the colonial era Long Rifle to the high-powered Browning M2 Machine Gun and beyond.
Episode 3
The Mob's Secret Stash
Sat, Jun 28, 2014 42 mins
The American Mafia is one of the biggest and most lucrative secret societies in America's history. At its height, mob bosses made hundreds of millions a year in illicit business. Go inside the secret stash that reveals the story of their bloody rise to power, and the decades-long war with law enforcement that led to their downfall.
Episode 4
Ultimate Engineering
Sat, Jul 12, 2014 42 mins
The everyday objects that built America. How stuff as simple as a shovel, a birdcage, a drill bit, a railroad spike, and a video camera linked a nation from coast to coast and accomplished massive feats of engineering like the Hoover Dam, the Erie Canal and the skyscraper.
Episode 5
Snack Food Tech
Sat, Jul 19, 2014 42 mins
How small innovations like the pop top, TV dinner, microwave, sliced bread changed the way we eat. From homemade to hi-tech, the engineers and geniuses that started a food revolution.
Episode 6
Most Shocking Crimes
Sat, Jul 26, 2014 42 mins
The secret accomplices in America's most shocking crimes are everyday objects that you'd never suspect, from the handmade ladder that made tragic headlines to the clip-on tie that's the last witness to the DB Cooper mystery heist. TVPG
Episode 7
The 1980s
Tue, Sep 23, 2014
Various artifacts of American life dating back to the 1980's. They include a PATCO strike sign forcing Ronald Reagan to terminate the air traffic controllers, a Puckman (Pac-Man) arcade game, a Len Bias jersey, the first cell phone, and a rescue backboard to save Baby Jessica.