Modern Marvels

Dotting the Interstates, they're overlooked by some and longed for by others. They're truck stops, and today they're bigger and better than ever. Modern Marvels: Truck Stops explores how these mega pit stops have catered to heavy haulers since the "Mom and Pop" stops of the 1920s all the way to today's high-tech travel centers.

They have the sharpest teeth known to man, but only bite on command. They brought down the forests and built up the pyramids. Some have used them to torture, others to cure. They're a cut above for construction, salvage, demolition - and they even make music.

At one time, it was more valuable than gold, but now it helps define modern life. In Modern Marvels: Aluminum we'll stretch it, pound it, melt it, and even make a foam from it. We'll see how aluminum is made from a powder and molted into massive 30,000 pounds ingots.

It's America's favorite flavor. We eat over three and a half billion pounds of it each year. It satiated the ancients and built modern-day empires. From the equatorial fields, to the factories of moguls, and the kitchens of artisans.

Think vacuums are just for sweeping floors? Think again. On this episode of Modern Marvels we'll see giant-sized vacuums that clean up after disasters like 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. Beneath the blue Hawaiian sea we'll meet The Super Sucker, an underwater vacuum that saves coral reefs by suctioning up invasive alien algae.

They're designed to capture...and often kill. But they don't always harm their prey; traps are often necessary to the survival of a species. Modern Marvels: Traps is the exploration of a device as old as humanity itself. We'll trap 400 lbs. Black Bears with West Virginia Division of Natural Resources biologists.

Extreme flying machines are redefining our skies. We'll pull serious G's in the U.S. military's latest fighter jet: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. And we'll see what its pilot sees through the visor of the futuristic Helmet Mounted Display. Riding shotgun in the Air Force's lethal B-1B Lancer we learn why it's a bomber that thinks it's a fighter.

Since its discovery in the 19th Century, modern welding has allowed us to `dream big.' Whether via electricity, flammable gases, sonic waves, or sometimes just raw explosive power, welding creates powerful bonds between metal unmatched by any other joining process.

Batteries. Mixtures of metals and caustic chemicals that make our tech, tools and toys surge with energy.

From the giant cheese factories of Wisconsin to the goat farms of Northern California, Modern Marvels: Cheese reveals how this amazing commodity (whether sliced from a pungent, moldy block, or sprayed from a can) is made.

Humans flush it, cows dump it, and two million ton machines scoop it from the ground. Without it one third of us would starve. Modern Marvels: Fertilizer tours the places that harness the vital nutrients that enrich the soil...that grow the crops...that feed us.

Forget everything you thought you knew about the cold because Modern Marvels: Deep Freeze is taking the technology of cold to the extreme. Think your home freezer is "cool"? How about a 12-story unit filled with 135 million pounds of ice cream? We'll see arctic vaults that store the millions of different seeds and learn how scientists have mastered temperatures of -200? F... and below.

What does it take to rate as "the world's strongest"? You'll find out on this episode of Modern Marvels. We'll be in the line of fire with life-saving boron carbide body armor, strong enough to stop high caliber rifle bullets at close range. We'll go airborne with MegaFly, a giant ram air parachute with the strength to deliver record-shattering payloads with pinpoint accuracy.

It feeds on metal, dissolves skin and bone, and packs a punch in nearly every military explosive. It's perhaps the most dangerous substance known to man. Yet it's the most widely produced chemical in the world. Modern Marvels: Acid gets a rare peak at how the military harnesses acid to make the explosive `Comp B-4'.

What is the world's sharpest? For severing through an enemy warrior, it's the Katana blade of the Samurai. We'll craft one of these swords from scratch to reveal the secret of its legendary cutting ability. Then we'll put it to the test. We'll also visit Cutco Cutlery, where professionals there hone steel to an edge they claim is the sharpest for chopping food in your kitchen.

Fast food joints dominate the American landscape to the tune of $150 billion dollars in annual sales. They churn out meals for the masses with the mantra "fast, consistent, inexpensive". We'll watch as hundreds of burgers, fries and shakes fly across counters and drive-thru windows at Carl's Jr., Jack in the Box, Wendy's...and of course, the Mac Daddy of fast food...McDonald's.