Season 1
8 episodes
47 min. per episode
Where to watch
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Inventors confront ethical dilemmas and personal sacrifices, revealing the dark truths behind groundbreaking creations that reshape our world.
Episodes
What was Edison's controversial role in the invention of the electric chair? What's the little-known link between the Civil War and the Ouija board, or stockings and roller coasters? And how did an explosive guilt trip lead to the birth of the Nobel Peace Prize? We explore four chilling inventions, and reveal the stories of the inventors whose million-dollar ideas shook the world and created legacies still with us today.
They were four inventors who had extraordinary vision, and their innovations would change the way we looked at the world and the universe beyond it. In this episode, we show how a patent office worker's arthritis led to the photocopier, and a workplace revolution. We follow the pursuit to launch astronomer Lyman Spitzer's invention, the Hubble Space Telescope, into orbit, and the history books. We also meet the rally driver who gave us the speed camera, and tell the little-known story of the inventor of television: a 14-year-old farm boy.
How did one man's invention to save soldiers' lives set off an American crime wave? Which common household appliance first existed as a flattened chicken bone adorned with animal hair? And what's the connection between burglar alarms and the literary team of Holmes and Watson? We explore the origins of four inventions with criminal ties: the Tommy Gun, the home alarm, cash registers, and the toothbrush meet the brilliant minds willing to do anything to bring their innovations to the world.
They were four inventors who made lives safer for firefighters and police officers, surgery more comfortable for patients, and dreams of flying a reality for thrill- seekers. But before their revolutionary ideas of lightweight body armor, firefighter masks, modern anesthesia, and the wingsuit could be approved, they needed to be put to a life-and-death field test. Meet the men who set out to get rich or die trying, as we celebrate pioneers whose high-risk, high-reward innovations changed the world, and made millions.
How did a waffle iron change the world of running shoes forever? Find out this and other invention secrets.
What was Edison's questionable role in the development of the electric chair? Which household utensil came from the mind of a prisoner? How was the Maclaren baby buggy inspired by a fighter plane? Behind many million-dollar inventions are priceless stories of inspiration, controversy, triumph, and tragedy. Explore inventions large and small, lifesaving and life-taking, scary and playful, and meet the men and women who dedicated, and often risked, their lives to follow their vision and ultimately change the world.