About this season
An insider's look at the engineering and scientific miracles behind the things that form the modern world.
Episodes (20)
1. Fugu, Freight Trains, Scottish Tartan
Aired 3 June 2011 • 22 min
How do Japanese master chefs prepare the extremely poisonous puffer fish and avoid killing their customers? And how do Scots weave over 700 types of tartan for kilts?
2. Bowling Balls, Tower Bridge, Gummy Bears
Aired 10 June 2011 • 22 min
How do they design and produce the ultimate kingpin bowling ball? How do they raise and lower Tower Bridge? And how do they produce millions of gummy bears a day?...
3. Island Prison, Mailboxes, Jam
Aired 17 June 2011 • 22 min
How do they run Ryker's Island, one of the biggest jails in the world? How do they make the famous Royal Mail post box? And how do they turn fruit...
4. Brewery, Playing Cards, Gulfstream
Aired 24 June 2011 • 22 min
How do they make playing cards that can defeat a cheat? How do they brew a billion bottles of lager a year? And how do they make the world's most...
5. Swiss Cheese, Tanks, British Library
Aired 1 July 2011 • 22 min
How do they put the holes in Swiss cheese? How do they restore and improve a classic battle tank? And how do robotic librarians run one of the world's biggest...
6. Pretzels, Gondolas, Pearls
Aired 15 July 2011 • 22 min
How do they persuade an oyster to grow a perfect pearl? How do they put the twist in classic Pennsylvania pretzels? And how do they build Venice's traditional gondolas?
7. Roulette Tables, Olive Oil, Batmobile
Aired 22 July 2011 • 22 min
How do they make a perfectly unpredictable roulette wheel? How do they produce the world's purest olive oil? And how can a rusty wreck be transformed into a classic Batmobile?
8. Ice Rink, Car Plant
Aired 29 July 2011 • 22 min
How do they instruct robots to mass-produce cars, and how do they transform the world's biggest football stadium into its largest ice hockey arena? Find out.
9. Duck Calls, Wasabi, Accordions
Aired 5 August 2011 • 22 min
How do they craft accordions? How do they make the wasabi that puts a kick in Japan's raw fish? And how do they produce duck calls that can trick birds?
10. Toto Washlets, Fire Scout, Demolition Drills
Aired 26 August 2011 • 22 min
How do they make the Japanese toilets that treat you to a wash and blow dry? How has the US Navy built a helicopter that doesn't need a pilot?
11. 24 Hours of Daytona, Rum
Aired 18 October 2011 • 22 min
How do they keep the cars of Daytona on track for 24 hours of high speed racing, and how do they turn the sweetest sugar cane into world-renowned Caribbean rum?
12. Caviar, Porcelain, Soccer Cleats
Aired 19 October 2011 • 22 min
How do they farm sturgeon for caviar? How do they mould centuries of history into the finest Japanese porcelain? How do they make world-class football boots?
13. Bomb Squad, Cider, Husqvarna
Aired 27 October 2011 • 22 min
How do they find and defuse thousands of World War II landmines? How do they make crisp tasting cider? How do they clear undergrowth with a thin strip of nylon...
14. Circus, Guitars
Aired 1 December 2011 • 22 min
How do they set up a 1,700 seat circus tent in just 36 hours, and how do they turn Japanese maple and mahogany into the coolest instruments on earth -...
15. Taiko Drums, Green Factory, Pasta
Aired 8 December 2011 • 22 min
How is a 700-year-old tree made into a two tonne Japanese drum? How can a factory produce thousands of cars and stay green? And how do Italians make great tasting...
16. Frankfurters, Sniper Rifles, Casino Security
Aired 15 December 2011 • 22 min
How does the German city of Frankfurt produce their famous frankfurter sausages? How are the world's most accurate rifles manufactured? How do casinos stop card cheats?
17. Tsukiji, Cricket Bats, Parcels
Aired 29 December 2011 • 22 min
How are millions of parcels delivered around the world every day? How do they make cricket bats that can hit a ball at 150kmph?
18. Powerboats, Swiss Watches, Wallpaper
Aired 5 January 2012 • 22 min
How do they build powerboats that can go faster than sports cars? How do they produce Swiss watches? How do they create wallpaper fit for palaces?
19. Submarine Rescue, Subaru
Aired 12 January 2012 • 22 min
How do they rescue the crew of a sunken submarine? Submarine rescue specialists test the ability of the world's navies to respond to an underwater emergency.
20. Cruise Ship, Truffles, Asphault
Aired 19 January 2012 • 22 min
How do they guide the world's largest cruise ships under low bridges? How do they find Alba's famous white truffles? How do they mine Trinidad's natural asphalt lake?