The period of over 125 years from the beginning of the 19th century saw the creation of some of the world's most remarkable feats of engineering. These are now celebrated as great wonders of the world - revealing as much about human creativity and the determination of the human spirit as they do of technological endeavour.
The Industrial Revolution changed the world in countless ways - and produced many technical wonders in the process. Seven of the most notable are described here, each one proving that human creativity is as much alive in the modern world as it was in ancient times.
The Great Ship
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's colossal ship, the Great Eastern, is the only wonder described here that has not survived to the 21st century. In the early 1850s, Brunel hoped the ship would be his masterpiece, and that it would provide an enduring link to even the most farflung parts of the empire.
'... his concept became the blue print for ship design for years to come.'At a time when most ships moored in the Thames were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Brunel's 'Great Ship' was almost 700 feet long, a floating island made of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel.
The Brooklyn Bridge
That same year, a brilliant engineer, John Roebling from Germany, won the contract to build the largest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was to stretch 1,600 feet, in one giant leap, across the wide and turbulent East River that separates New York from Brooklyn.
'At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous ...'The foundations were to sink 70 feet below the river. The two mighty towers would dwarf much of New York. At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous, and all to be built out of a new material - steel.
The Bell Rock
Robert Stevenson's Bell Rock Lighthouse was created off the east coast of Scotland between 1807 and 1811, when the world was very different from how it is today. Stevenson, the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, had dreamed for years of making his mark on the world, by bringing light to the treacherous Scottish coast. He aimed to take on the most dangerous place of all, the Bell Rock, a large reef 11 miles out to sea, dangerously positioned in the approach to the Firth of Forth.
'... the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.'In 1799, over 70 ships went down in a violent storm that raged along the coast, yet still the authorities opposed his plan. How could anyone build a lighthouse 11 miles out to sea, on a rock that was submerged by up to 16 feet of water for most of the day? Battling against the odds, Stevenson did eventually build his lighthouse, and to this day it shines out across the North Sea, the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.
The Sewer King
In the summer of 1858, while the Great Eastern was being fitted out for her maiden voyage, London was in the grip of a crisis known as the 'Great Stink'. The population had grown rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, yet there had been no provision for sanitation.
'... sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway ...'Three epidemics of cholera had swept through the city, leaving over 30,000 people dead. And sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway, in the cellars of houses in poor districts - and even seeping through cracks in floorboards.
The Panama Canal
With the growth in travel and trade, by the late 19th century shipping had become big business. Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, a Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal.
'The extravagant dream eventually stole over 25,000 lives ...'Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific. He knew that the long journey around South America's Cape Horn would then become unnecessary for ships carrying cargo across the world, and the world itself would seem a smaller place. Once out in the tropical heat of Panama, however, the French found themselves facing impenetrable jungle, dangerous mudslides and deathly tropical diseases, as the project proved to be an undertaking of nightmare proportions.
The extravagant dream eventually came true, but in the process it stole over 25,000 lives, and 25 years had to elapse before the oceans were finally united.
The Line
By the middle of the 19th century, the benefits brought by the host of advances of the industrial age were gradually beginning to reach America, which soon developed a spectacular achievement of its own - the Transcontinental Railway, reaching right across the continent.
'... they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.'With two teams, one building from the east and the other from California in the west, they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.
Yet in 1869, the two teams' tracks were joined, shrinking the whole American continent, as the journey from New York to San Francisco was reduced from months to days.
The Hoover Dam
As pioneers explored and found their way across the vast continent of America, they were frequently stopped by poor or hostile environments such as the desert regions of Arizona and Nevada.
'Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza ...'In the early 1900s, however, engineers began to realise that even here it would be possible to make the desert bloom, by building a dam across the Colorado River. Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Hoover Dam was soon to break all records.
At the height of the depression of the 1930s, poverty-stricken workers on the dam, earning just a few dollars a day, died from horrific explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning and heat exhaustion as it slowly came to fruition. The chief engineer, Frank Crowe, did nevertheless get it built ahead of schedule and under budget - notching up one more extraordinary piece of evidence for the ingenuity and tenacity of man.
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Thursday, May 22, 2014
* The Machine that Made Us (2008)
In this revealing documentary, Stephen Fry investigates the story of one of the most important machines ever invented - the Gutenberg Press.
The printing press was the world's first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world as dramatically as splitting the atom or sending men into space, sparking a cultural revolution that shaped the modern age. It is the machine that made us who we are today.
Stephen's investigation combines historical detective work and a hands-on challenge. He travels to France and Germany on the trail of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press and early media entrepreneur. Along the way he discovers the lengths Gutenberg went to keep his project secret, explores the role of avaricious investors and unscrupulous competitors, and discovers why printing mattered so much in medieval Europe.
But to really understand the man and his machine, Stephen gets his hands dirty - assembling a team of craftsmen and helping them build a working replica of Gutenberg's original press. He learns how to make paper the 15th-century way and works as an apprentice in a metal foundry in preparation for the experiment to put the replica press through its paces. Can Stephen's modern-day team match the achievement of Gutenberg's medieval craftsmen?
The printing press was the world's first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world as dramatically as splitting the atom or sending men into space, sparking a cultural revolution that shaped the modern age. It is the machine that made us who we are today.
Stephen's investigation combines historical detective work and a hands-on challenge. He travels to France and Germany on the trail of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press and early media entrepreneur. Along the way he discovers the lengths Gutenberg went to keep his project secret, explores the role of avaricious investors and unscrupulous competitors, and discovers why printing mattered so much in medieval Europe.
But to really understand the man and his machine, Stephen gets his hands dirty - assembling a team of craftsmen and helping them build a working replica of Gutenberg's original press. He learns how to make paper the 15th-century way and works as an apprentice in a metal foundry in preparation for the experiment to put the replica press through its paces. Can Stephen's modern-day team match the achievement of Gutenberg's medieval craftsmen?
* Seven Wonders of the Industrial World (2003)
The period of over 125 years from the beginning of the 19th century saw the creation of some of the world's most remarkable feats of engineering. These are now celebrated as great wonders of the world - revealing as much about human creativity and the determination of the human spirit as they do of technological endeavour.
The Industrial Revolution changed the world in countless ways - and produced many technical wonders in the process. Seven of the most notable are described here, each one proving that human creativity is as much alive in the modern world as it was in ancient times.
The Great Ship
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's colossal ship, the Great Eastern, is the only wonder described here that has not survived to the 21st century. In the early 1850s, Brunel hoped the ship would be his masterpiece, and that it would provide an enduring link to even the most farflung parts of the empire.
'... his concept became the blue print for ship design for years to come.'At a time when most ships moored in the Thames were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Brunel's 'Great Ship' was almost 700 feet long, a floating island made of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel.
The Brooklyn Bridge
That same year, a brilliant engineer, John Roebling from Germany, won the contract to build the largest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was to stretch 1,600 feet, in one giant leap, across the wide and turbulent East River that separates New York from Brooklyn.
'At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous ...'The foundations were to sink 70 feet below the river. The two mighty towers would dwarf much of New York. At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous, and all to be built out of a new material - steel.
The Bell Rock
Robert Stevenson's Bell Rock Lighthouse was created off the east coast of Scotland between 1807 and 1811, when the world was very different from how it is today. Stevenson, the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, had dreamed for years of making his mark on the world, by bringing light to the treacherous Scottish coast. He aimed to take on the most dangerous place of all, the Bell Rock, a large reef 11 miles out to sea, dangerously positioned in the approach to the Firth of Forth.
'... the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.'In 1799, over 70 ships went down in a violent storm that raged along the coast, yet still the authorities opposed his plan. How could anyone build a lighthouse 11 miles out to sea, on a rock that was submerged by up to 16 feet of water for most of the day? Battling against the odds, Stevenson did eventually build his lighthouse, and to this day it shines out across the North Sea, the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.
The Sewer King
In the summer of 1858, while the Great Eastern was being fitted out for her maiden voyage, London was in the grip of a crisis known as the 'Great Stink'. The population had grown rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, yet there had been no provision for sanitation.
'... sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway ...'Three epidemics of cholera had swept through the city, leaving over 30,000 people dead. And sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway, in the cellars of houses in poor districts - and even seeping through cracks in floorboards.
The Panama Canal
With the growth in travel and trade, by the late 19th century shipping had become big business. Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, a Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal.
'The extravagant dream eventually stole over 25,000 lives ...'Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific. He knew that the long journey around South America's Cape Horn would then become unnecessary for ships carrying cargo across the world, and the world itself would seem a smaller place. Once out in the tropical heat of Panama, however, the French found themselves facing impenetrable jungle, dangerous mudslides and deathly tropical diseases, as the project proved to be an undertaking of nightmare proportions.
The extravagant dream eventually came true, but in the process it stole over 25,000 lives, and 25 years had to elapse before the oceans were finally united.
The Line
By the middle of the 19th century, the benefits brought by the host of advances of the industrial age were gradually beginning to reach America, which soon developed a spectacular achievement of its own - the Transcontinental Railway, reaching right across the continent.
'... they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.'With two teams, one building from the east and the other from California in the west, they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.
Yet in 1869, the two teams' tracks were joined, shrinking the whole American continent, as the journey from New York to San Francisco was reduced from months to days.
The Hoover Dam
As pioneers explored and found their way across the vast continent of America, they were frequently stopped by poor or hostile environments such as the desert regions of Arizona and Nevada.
'Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza ...'In the early 1900s, however, engineers began to realise that even here it would be possible to make the desert bloom, by building a dam across the Colorado River. Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Hoover Dam was soon to break all records.
At the height of the depression of the 1930s, poverty-stricken workers on the dam, earning just a few dollars a day, died from horrific explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning and heat exhaustion as it slowly came to fruition. The chief engineer, Frank Crowe, did nevertheless get it built ahead of schedule and under budget - notching up one more extraordinary piece of evidence for the ingenuity and tenacity of man.
The Industrial Revolution changed the world in countless ways - and produced many technical wonders in the process. Seven of the most notable are described here, each one proving that human creativity is as much alive in the modern world as it was in ancient times.
The Great Ship
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's colossal ship, the Great Eastern, is the only wonder described here that has not survived to the 21st century. In the early 1850s, Brunel hoped the ship would be his masterpiece, and that it would provide an enduring link to even the most farflung parts of the empire.
'... his concept became the blue print for ship design for years to come.'At a time when most ships moored in the Thames were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Brunel's 'Great Ship' was almost 700 feet long, a floating island made of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel.
The Brooklyn Bridge
That same year, a brilliant engineer, John Roebling from Germany, won the contract to build the largest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was to stretch 1,600 feet, in one giant leap, across the wide and turbulent East River that separates New York from Brooklyn.
'At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous ...'The foundations were to sink 70 feet below the river. The two mighty towers would dwarf much of New York. At the time such a bold design seemed almost miraculous, and all to be built out of a new material - steel.
The Bell Rock
Robert Stevenson's Bell Rock Lighthouse was created off the east coast of Scotland between 1807 and 1811, when the world was very different from how it is today. Stevenson, the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, had dreamed for years of making his mark on the world, by bringing light to the treacherous Scottish coast. He aimed to take on the most dangerous place of all, the Bell Rock, a large reef 11 miles out to sea, dangerously positioned in the approach to the Firth of Forth.
'... the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.'In 1799, over 70 ships went down in a violent storm that raged along the coast, yet still the authorities opposed his plan. How could anyone build a lighthouse 11 miles out to sea, on a rock that was submerged by up to 16 feet of water for most of the day? Battling against the odds, Stevenson did eventually build his lighthouse, and to this day it shines out across the North Sea, the oldest offshore lighthouse still standing anywhere in the world.
The Sewer King
In the summer of 1858, while the Great Eastern was being fitted out for her maiden voyage, London was in the grip of a crisis known as the 'Great Stink'. The population had grown rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, yet there had been no provision for sanitation.
'... sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway ...'Three epidemics of cholera had swept through the city, leaving over 30,000 people dead. And sewage was everywhere, piling up in every gully and alleyway, in the cellars of houses in poor districts - and even seeping through cracks in floorboards.
The Panama Canal
With the growth in travel and trade, by the late 19th century shipping had become big business. Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, a Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal.
'The extravagant dream eventually stole over 25,000 lives ...'Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific. He knew that the long journey around South America's Cape Horn would then become unnecessary for ships carrying cargo across the world, and the world itself would seem a smaller place. Once out in the tropical heat of Panama, however, the French found themselves facing impenetrable jungle, dangerous mudslides and deathly tropical diseases, as the project proved to be an undertaking of nightmare proportions.
The extravagant dream eventually came true, but in the process it stole over 25,000 lives, and 25 years had to elapse before the oceans were finally united.
The Line
By the middle of the 19th century, the benefits brought by the host of advances of the industrial age were gradually beginning to reach America, which soon developed a spectacular achievement of its own - the Transcontinental Railway, reaching right across the continent.
'... they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.'With two teams, one building from the east and the other from California in the west, they battled against hostile terrain, hostile inhabitants, civil war and the Wild West.
Yet in 1869, the two teams' tracks were joined, shrinking the whole American continent, as the journey from New York to San Francisco was reduced from months to days.
The Hoover Dam
As pioneers explored and found their way across the vast continent of America, they were frequently stopped by poor or hostile environments such as the desert regions of Arizona and Nevada.
'Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza ...'In the early 1900s, however, engineers began to realise that even here it would be possible to make the desert bloom, by building a dam across the Colorado River. Some 60 storeys high, and of a larger volume than the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Hoover Dam was soon to break all records.
At the height of the depression of the 1930s, poverty-stricken workers on the dam, earning just a few dollars a day, died from horrific explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning and heat exhaustion as it slowly came to fruition. The chief engineer, Frank Crowe, did nevertheless get it built ahead of schedule and under budget - notching up one more extraordinary piece of evidence for the ingenuity and tenacity of man.
Friday, May 9, 2014
* The 800 Million Pound Railway Station (2007)
St Pancras station sits at the end of a massive £5.8 billion railway line - the first major British line to be built for over a century. This new series tells the story of the architects, engineers and spin doctors who entered a frantic two year race to make the Royal Opening on time. There were huge financial incentives, but many personal reputations at stake.
Episode 1: The Devil in the Detail
This episode tells the story of architect Alastair Lansley, whose expensive artistic vision unnerved the engineers.
Episode 2: Deadline
The engineers and builders are about to hit the biggest deadline on the project so far. The tracks which bring the trains into St Pancras must be moved from the east to the west side of the station, over the course of a single weekend. If they fail, the entire £5.8 billion project will be thrown off-schedule.
Meanwhile, Chief Architect Alastair Lansley receives some terrifying news that may prevent him from seeing the project through.
Episode 3: The Inspections
Engineers race to finish the base build of the station. Huge bonuses are at stake and if the engineers don't meet their deadline they could incur penalties of £50,000 a day until their work is finished. For 30 year old engineer Claire Clarr this is the biggest project of her career and a series of gruelling inspections will determine whether or not work on her section is signed off as complete. To add to the pressure Claire's boss Mark Allison delivers news which will change the course of her working life.
Episode 4: The Icon Men
With the base build complete, St Pancras must start its face lift. Commercial Director Mike Luddy dreams of creating a new style of station and of transforming St Pancras into a luxury destination in its own right.
Instead of fast food outlets he wants to install gastro pubs and fine dining. The highlight will be the longest champagne bar in Europe and a nine metre high bronze statue which he hopes will be an iconic centrepiece for the station.
Episode 5: The Sharp End
A team of spin doctors and marketing gurus have to sell Commercial Director Mike Luddy's vision for St Pancras station. They need to convince press and public that a place synonymous with prostitution, drugs and violent crime has been transformed into the chic destination station for Europe.
But deadlines are slipping and the picture looks very different on the ground. The builders are behind schedule, the 60 shops may not finish work on time and there are critical problems with the cherry on the St Pancras cake - a 9 meter statue specially commissioned for the station. And with the station opening in just a few weeks time and Eurostar already selling tickets from their new destination will St Pancras be ready in time?
Episode 6: The Unveiling
The culmination of 11 years work and £5.8 billion of public and private money.
While the builders and engineers labour 7 days a week to try and finish major construction works Head of Marketing Jon Teeman is planning an enormous opening ceremony. A 1,000 seat arena is being erected and Her Majesty the Queen has agreed to open the station. With an invitation list boasting the great and the good and the eyes of the world's media upon them the opening night has to be a success.
Meanwhile the station is still not finished and the builders must complete works in order for Eurostar to start running. With an expected 50 million passengers per year due to start travelling from the station on November 14th the deadline must be hit at all costs.
Episode 1: The Devil in the Detail
This episode tells the story of architect Alastair Lansley, whose expensive artistic vision unnerved the engineers.
Episode 2: Deadline
The engineers and builders are about to hit the biggest deadline on the project so far. The tracks which bring the trains into St Pancras must be moved from the east to the west side of the station, over the course of a single weekend. If they fail, the entire £5.8 billion project will be thrown off-schedule.
Meanwhile, Chief Architect Alastair Lansley receives some terrifying news that may prevent him from seeing the project through.
Episode 3: The Inspections
Engineers race to finish the base build of the station. Huge bonuses are at stake and if the engineers don't meet their deadline they could incur penalties of £50,000 a day until their work is finished. For 30 year old engineer Claire Clarr this is the biggest project of her career and a series of gruelling inspections will determine whether or not work on her section is signed off as complete. To add to the pressure Claire's boss Mark Allison delivers news which will change the course of her working life.
Episode 4: The Icon Men
With the base build complete, St Pancras must start its face lift. Commercial Director Mike Luddy dreams of creating a new style of station and of transforming St Pancras into a luxury destination in its own right.
Instead of fast food outlets he wants to install gastro pubs and fine dining. The highlight will be the longest champagne bar in Europe and a nine metre high bronze statue which he hopes will be an iconic centrepiece for the station.
Episode 5: The Sharp End
A team of spin doctors and marketing gurus have to sell Commercial Director Mike Luddy's vision for St Pancras station. They need to convince press and public that a place synonymous with prostitution, drugs and violent crime has been transformed into the chic destination station for Europe.
But deadlines are slipping and the picture looks very different on the ground. The builders are behind schedule, the 60 shops may not finish work on time and there are critical problems with the cherry on the St Pancras cake - a 9 meter statue specially commissioned for the station. And with the station opening in just a few weeks time and Eurostar already selling tickets from their new destination will St Pancras be ready in time?
Episode 6: The Unveiling
The culmination of 11 years work and £5.8 billion of public and private money.
While the builders and engineers labour 7 days a week to try and finish major construction works Head of Marketing Jon Teeman is planning an enormous opening ceremony. A 1,000 seat arena is being erected and Her Majesty the Queen has agreed to open the station. With an invitation list boasting the great and the good and the eyes of the world's media upon them the opening night has to be a success.
Meanwhile the station is still not finished and the builders must complete works in order for Eurostar to start running. With an expected 50 million passengers per year due to start travelling from the station on November 14th the deadline must be hit at all costs.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
* Food Unwrapped (Series)
Season 1
Episode:
Season 2
Episode:
Season 3
Jimmy Doherty, Kate Quilton and Matt Tebbut present the food and science series that travels the world to lift the lid on what's really in the food we eat
Part 1:
Jimmy learns that there's more to traditionally-matured cheese than he imagined thanks to a microorganism that helps give the likes of pecorino their distinctive hard rinds. Matt talks to some researchers to learn why re-heating rice can make you ill. Kate is in Malaysia to learn how vanilla is grown and how vanilla extract is then made. Matt meets a team of researchers to examine why re-heating rice can make you ill, and discovers what makes the pre-cooked rice stocked in supermarkets safe to eat.
Part 2:
Jimmy travels to Iceland to find out why they supply most of the cod in our supermarkets, instead of our own British cod. Kate takes a look at why, unlike other popular fruits, British supermarkets seem to only stock one variety of bananas. Matt learns more about the methods used to make popcorn. Plus, Matt examines the methods used to make popcorn and discovers why eating bucketloads of popcorn might not satisfy your appetite, encouraging you to eat more than you should.
Part 3:
Kate is in France to learn if a glass of red wine a day keeps the doctor away. Venison is traditionally the meat of kings. This lean, healthy meat has become hugely popular over the last decade. Jimmy investigates why we seem to be importing some of it from New Zealand and discovers how to keep UK venison on our supermarket shelves. Matt finds out more about skimmed milk and learns how dairy farmers get exactly the right amount of fat in every pint of milk.
Part 4:
Jimmy attempts to find out whether manuka honey has any medicinal properties. Kate finds out how some varieties of caviar are sold with a low price tag. Matt pays a visit to a Scottish distillery to find out the surprising truth about what gives whisky its distinctive flavour.
Part 5:
Jimmy takes a look at supermarket fish to find out how fresh the stock really is. Kate learns how asparagus can be grown all year round in one of the driest places on earth. Matt makes his way to a secret location to track down the only wasabi plants grown in the United Kingdom.
Part 6:
The presenters take a look back at some of their favourite food discoveries from the series.
Part 7: (Easter Special)
Is dark chocolate good for you? Could daffodils help treat Alzheimer's disease? Jimmy, Kate and Matt uncover remarkable secrets about the nation's favourite springtime produce. Chocoholic Kate heads on a pilgrimage to a cocoa farm in Ghana to find out if there's any scientific truth behind the widespread belief that chemicals in dark chocolate have health benefits. Jimmy investigates why rabbit is stocked in supermarkets on the continent, but not in the UK. Does our association with pet bunnies dampen demand from British shoppers? He gets rare access to a rabbit farm in Spain to learn more about the industry. Matt goes on a real-life egg hunt to find out more about double yolks. But with 1.5 million hens eggs laid every day at just one UK farm, he may need to use some special techniques to find the rare 'double-yolkers'. Jimmy also heads to Hampshire and discovers that the tender spring lamb served at Easter may be older than you think.
Episode:
Season 2
Episode:
Season 3
Jimmy Doherty, Kate Quilton and Matt Tebbut present the food and science series that travels the world to lift the lid on what's really in the food we eat
Part 1:
Jimmy learns that there's more to traditionally-matured cheese than he imagined thanks to a microorganism that helps give the likes of pecorino their distinctive hard rinds. Matt talks to some researchers to learn why re-heating rice can make you ill. Kate is in Malaysia to learn how vanilla is grown and how vanilla extract is then made. Matt meets a team of researchers to examine why re-heating rice can make you ill, and discovers what makes the pre-cooked rice stocked in supermarkets safe to eat.
Part 2:
Jimmy travels to Iceland to find out why they supply most of the cod in our supermarkets, instead of our own British cod. Kate takes a look at why, unlike other popular fruits, British supermarkets seem to only stock one variety of bananas. Matt learns more about the methods used to make popcorn. Plus, Matt examines the methods used to make popcorn and discovers why eating bucketloads of popcorn might not satisfy your appetite, encouraging you to eat more than you should.
Part 3:
Kate is in France to learn if a glass of red wine a day keeps the doctor away. Venison is traditionally the meat of kings. This lean, healthy meat has become hugely popular over the last decade. Jimmy investigates why we seem to be importing some of it from New Zealand and discovers how to keep UK venison on our supermarket shelves. Matt finds out more about skimmed milk and learns how dairy farmers get exactly the right amount of fat in every pint of milk.
Part 4:
Jimmy attempts to find out whether manuka honey has any medicinal properties. Kate finds out how some varieties of caviar are sold with a low price tag. Matt pays a visit to a Scottish distillery to find out the surprising truth about what gives whisky its distinctive flavour.
Part 5:
Jimmy takes a look at supermarket fish to find out how fresh the stock really is. Kate learns how asparagus can be grown all year round in one of the driest places on earth. Matt makes his way to a secret location to track down the only wasabi plants grown in the United Kingdom.
Part 6:
The presenters take a look back at some of their favourite food discoveries from the series.
Part 7: (Easter Special)
Is dark chocolate good for you? Could daffodils help treat Alzheimer's disease? Jimmy, Kate and Matt uncover remarkable secrets about the nation's favourite springtime produce. Chocoholic Kate heads on a pilgrimage to a cocoa farm in Ghana to find out if there's any scientific truth behind the widespread belief that chemicals in dark chocolate have health benefits. Jimmy investigates why rabbit is stocked in supermarkets on the continent, but not in the UK. Does our association with pet bunnies dampen demand from British shoppers? He gets rare access to a rabbit farm in Spain to learn more about the industry. Matt goes on a real-life egg hunt to find out more about double yolks. But with 1.5 million hens eggs laid every day at just one UK farm, he may need to use some special techniques to find the rare 'double-yolkers'. Jimmy also heads to Hampshire and discovers that the tender spring lamb served at Easter may be older than you think.
Friday, May 2, 2014
* The Virtual Revolution (2010)
This is a really great mini series, full of loads of information, especially about the early days of the internet, an area I am a little more familiar with as my Uni admission essay was on the ARPANET.
Though of course this does contain some faces we'd rather not see, but would expect to in a series that covers the World Wide Web. So do be prepared for faces such as Bill 'Depopulation' Gates, Al Gore and a few others. ~ Dunamis
“Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”
Twenty years on from the invention of the world wide web, this major new series takes stock of its profound impact – how, for better and for worse, the digital revolution is reshaping our lives.
Over four themed episodes that criss-cross the globe, journalist and academic Dr Aleks Krotoski explores the meaning of a phenomenon that is transforming everything, from how we learn to how we shop, vote and make friends. With a quarter of the planet connected so far, this series examines what is in store for the remaining 75 per cent of the world's population as they come online.
Part 1: The Great Levelling
The wonder and walls of Wikipedia; the blogger media revolution; the price of peer-to-peer piracy... who really has power on the web? Is it the online crowd or the 'gatekeepers'? Is the web a platform for sharing or is it inequality writ large?
In the first in this four-part series, Aleks charts the extraordinary rise of blogs, Wikipedia and YouTube, and traces an ongoing clash between the freedom the technology offers us, and our innate human desire to control and profit. Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how it is reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by some of the web's biggest names - including the founders of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the web's inventor - she explores how far the web has lived up to its early promise.
Part 2: Enemy of the State
Is the web indestructable or can censorship, cybercrime or infrastructure attack bring it down? As the web trancends the barriers of the physical world the orthodox view is that the nation state will inevitably wither as the porous web of hyperlinks conquers the globe. But some states are fighting back.
Here, Aleks charts how the Web is forging a new brand of politics, both in democracies and authoritarian regimes. With contributions from Al Gore, Martha Lane Fox, Stephen Fry and Bill Gates, Aleks explores how interactive, unmediated sites like Twitter and YouTube have encouraged direct action and politicised young people in unprecedented numbers. Yet, at the same time, the Web's openness enables hardline states to spy and censor, and extremists to threaten with networks of hate and crippling cyber attacks.
Part 3: The Cost of Free
Free services, limitless information, endless opportunities for the user... the web seems to defy all the laws of economics. But are we trading our privacy for a 'free' web?
In the third programme of the series, Aleks gives the lowdown on how, for better and for worse, commerce has colonised the web - and reveals how web users are paying for what appear to be 'free' sites and services in hidden ways. Joined by some of the most influential business leaders of today's web, including Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), Chad Hurley (CEO of YouTube), Bill Gates, Martha Lane Fox and Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix), Aleks traces how business, with varying degrees of success, has attempted to make money on the web. She tells the inside story of the gold rush years of the dotcom bubble and reveals how retailers such as Amazon learned the lessons. She also charts how, out of the ashes, Google forged the business model that has come to dominate today's web, offering a plethora of highly attractive, overtly free web services, including search, maps and video, that are in fact funded through a sophisticated and highly lucrative advertising system which trades on what we users look for.
Aleks explores how web advertising is evolving further to become more targeted and relevant to individual consumers. Recommendation engines, pioneered by retailers such as Amazon, are also breaking down the barriers between commerce and consumer by marketing future purchases to us based on our previous choices. On the surface, the web appears to have brought about a revolution in convenience. But, as companies start to build up databases on our online habits and preferences, Aleks questions what this may mean for our notions of privacy and personal space in the 21st century.
Part 4: Homo Interneticus
Are we empowered, connected and enlightened with the world's knowledge at our fingertips? Or distracted and addicted with shorter attention spans> Are our skittering brains bombarded and stupified by the 'yuck and wow' of the web? Is the web really changing us - the way we think, the way we behave, the way relate to each other? And is it for better or for worse?
Dr Aleks Krotoski concludes her investigation of how the World Wide Web is transforming almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Al Gore and the neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, Aleks examines the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and asks how they are changing our relationships. And, in a ground-breaking test at University College London, Aleks investigates how the Web may be distracting and overloading our brains.
Though of course this does contain some faces we'd rather not see, but would expect to in a series that covers the World Wide Web. So do be prepared for faces such as Bill 'Depopulation' Gates, Al Gore and a few others. ~ Dunamis
“Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”
Twenty years on from the invention of the world wide web, this major new series takes stock of its profound impact – how, for better and for worse, the digital revolution is reshaping our lives.
Over four themed episodes that criss-cross the globe, journalist and academic Dr Aleks Krotoski explores the meaning of a phenomenon that is transforming everything, from how we learn to how we shop, vote and make friends. With a quarter of the planet connected so far, this series examines what is in store for the remaining 75 per cent of the world's population as they come online.
Part 1: The Great Levelling
The wonder and walls of Wikipedia; the blogger media revolution; the price of peer-to-peer piracy... who really has power on the web? Is it the online crowd or the 'gatekeepers'? Is the web a platform for sharing or is it inequality writ large?
In the first in this four-part series, Aleks charts the extraordinary rise of blogs, Wikipedia and YouTube, and traces an ongoing clash between the freedom the technology offers us, and our innate human desire to control and profit. Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how it is reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by some of the web's biggest names - including the founders of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the web's inventor - she explores how far the web has lived up to its early promise.
Part 2: Enemy of the State
Is the web indestructable or can censorship, cybercrime or infrastructure attack bring it down? As the web trancends the barriers of the physical world the orthodox view is that the nation state will inevitably wither as the porous web of hyperlinks conquers the globe. But some states are fighting back.
Here, Aleks charts how the Web is forging a new brand of politics, both in democracies and authoritarian regimes. With contributions from Al Gore, Martha Lane Fox, Stephen Fry and Bill Gates, Aleks explores how interactive, unmediated sites like Twitter and YouTube have encouraged direct action and politicised young people in unprecedented numbers. Yet, at the same time, the Web's openness enables hardline states to spy and censor, and extremists to threaten with networks of hate and crippling cyber attacks.
Part 3: The Cost of Free
Free services, limitless information, endless opportunities for the user... the web seems to defy all the laws of economics. But are we trading our privacy for a 'free' web?
In the third programme of the series, Aleks gives the lowdown on how, for better and for worse, commerce has colonised the web - and reveals how web users are paying for what appear to be 'free' sites and services in hidden ways. Joined by some of the most influential business leaders of today's web, including Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), Chad Hurley (CEO of YouTube), Bill Gates, Martha Lane Fox and Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix), Aleks traces how business, with varying degrees of success, has attempted to make money on the web. She tells the inside story of the gold rush years of the dotcom bubble and reveals how retailers such as Amazon learned the lessons. She also charts how, out of the ashes, Google forged the business model that has come to dominate today's web, offering a plethora of highly attractive, overtly free web services, including search, maps and video, that are in fact funded through a sophisticated and highly lucrative advertising system which trades on what we users look for.
Aleks explores how web advertising is evolving further to become more targeted and relevant to individual consumers. Recommendation engines, pioneered by retailers such as Amazon, are also breaking down the barriers between commerce and consumer by marketing future purchases to us based on our previous choices. On the surface, the web appears to have brought about a revolution in convenience. But, as companies start to build up databases on our online habits and preferences, Aleks questions what this may mean for our notions of privacy and personal space in the 21st century.
Part 4: Homo Interneticus
Are we empowered, connected and enlightened with the world's knowledge at our fingertips? Or distracted and addicted with shorter attention spans> Are our skittering brains bombarded and stupified by the 'yuck and wow' of the web? Is the web really changing us - the way we think, the way we behave, the way relate to each other? And is it for better or for worse?
Dr Aleks Krotoski concludes her investigation of how the World Wide Web is transforming almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Al Gore and the neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, Aleks examines the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and asks how they are changing our relationships. And, in a ground-breaking test at University College London, Aleks investigates how the Web may be distracting and overloading our brains.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
* Showdown of the Unbeatables (Series)
Each week, the very best American companies do battle with their prize products. Super strength bomb-proof glass faces off against the extremely powerful waterjet. A vacuum truck capable of pulling 360 cubic feet per minute tackles the 22,000 pound electro-lift magnet. Fireproof fabric takes on a scorching hot, military torch. Who will win the showdown each week?
Episode 4: Torch vs Chainsaw (2014)
This episode turns up the volume when Acoustiblok, a thin noise-reduction material that is as effective as 12 inches of solid concrete, takes on the Nathan Air Chime, a screaming train horn that produces the same decibel levels as a jet airplane. The next showdown sucks ? literally ? when a PVAC, a vacuum-powered climbing device that allows a person to quickly and safely scale any flat wall or surface, takes on world-champion rock climber Tori Allen in a race to the top of a 90-foot wall.
Season 1
This episode turns up the volume when Acoustiblok, a thin noise-reduction material that is as effective as 12 inches of solid concrete, takes on the Nathan Air Chime, a screaming train horn that produces the same decibel levels as a jet airplane. The next showdown sucks ? literally ? when a PVAC, a vacuum-powered climbing device that allows a person to quickly and safely scale any flat wall or surface, takes on world-champion rock climber Tori Allen in a race to the top of a 90-foot wall.
* Secrets of the Scammers (2013)
From the 'three cup trick' to the 'bogus cop' scam, to the sophisticated online computer scams that cost Britons an estimated £3.5 billion a year, it seems scammers are everywhere. This one-off special reveals the tricks of a trade so widespread that it represents a crime epidemic in the UK. Half the population was targeted by would-be scammers last year - on the street, in their homes and online. But not everyone has given up in the face of this scamming crime wave. This film features exclusive access to the police units targeting criminals on the streets of the capital, and to a group of 'scam baiters' - concerned citizens who make it their mission to waste the online scammers' time and resources in order to deter them from targeting others.
* Mighty Planes (Series)
Season 1
Season 2
Omega
This modified Boeing 707 is one of only two 707 tankers in the world that provide commercial air-to-air re-fueling to the American military.
P-3 Orion
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hurricane hunting WP-3D Orion aircraft fly where other planes refuse to venture.
Trump
Travel with Donald Trump aboard his luxurious Boeing 757 on a transatlantic flight to the U.K.
C-17 Globemaster
The newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the U.S. airlift force; The C-17 Globemaster III specializes in quick delivery of troops and all types of cargo.
Sofia 747 SP
The largest airborne observatory in the world, boasts a 17-ton telescope capable of making observations impossible for ground-based telescopes.
Blue Angels
Follow the Blue Angels through their unique, specialized training and delve into the physics of their spectacular aerobatic flying.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
* Google and the World Brain (2013)
Documentary which tells the story of the most ambitious project ever conceived on the internet and the people who tried to stop it. In 1937 HG Wells predicted the creation of the 'world brain', a giant global library that contained all human knowledge which would lead to a new form of higher intelligence. 70 years later the realisation of that dream was under way, as Google scanned millions of books for its Google Books website. However, over half those books were still in copyright and authors across the world launched a campaign to stop them, climaxing in a New York courtroom in 2011. A film about the dreams, dilemmas and dangers of the internet, set in spectacular locations in China, USA, Europe and Latin America.
A Polar Star Films & B.L.T.V Ltd production.
A Polar Star Films & B.L.T.V Ltd production.
* Engineering Giants (2012)
Engineering Giants The world's most enormous machines are stripped down and torn apart to discover their hidden secrets and to reveal out how each one has changed our world in its own unique way
Episode 1: Jumbo Jet
Engineer turned comedian Tom Wrigglesworth and Rob Bell, rising star of mechanical engineering, climb on board Victor X-ray, a 200 ton, £200,000,000 Boeing 747. This jumbo jet has flown over 36 million miles in its 14 year life with British Airways. Now it will be broken into tens of thousands of parts in the airline's maintenance hangar in Cardiff, before being painstakingly reassembled and certified fit to fly again. This is the first time this complex process has ever been filmed and it provides fascinating insights into just how a 747 works. Rob and Tom also visit the UK's largest plane salvage centre in the Cotswolds to discover what happens to a 747 when it reaches the end of its working life, and discover how valuable parts are stripped for resale before the carcass is torn apart to be recycled.
Episode 2: Gas Rig
Engineer turned comedian Tom Wrigglesworth and Rob Bell, rising star of mechanical engineering, tell the story as an entire North Sea Gas installation, the Lima Platform, is pulled from the sea by floating cranes, brought back to Newcastle, and then torn into tiny pieces for recycling. But the platform is not just thousands of tons of steel. It was once home to the men and women called the North Sea Tigers. They pioneered gas and oil exploration in the UK and now some of them are ending their careers as part of the decommissioning process. As the gas platform is stripped down, these engineers reveal the secrets of this vital part of our energy supplies, but they also reveal the emotional bonds to the engineering marvel that formed such an important part of their lives.
Episode 3: Ferry
Engineer turned comedian Tom Wrigglesworth and Rob Bell, rising star of mechanical engineering, climb on board the Pride of Bruges, a massive, 25,000 tonne North Sea ferry as it is brought into dry dock in Newcastle. It has been ploughing the route from Hull to Zeebrugge for over a quarter of a century and is now in need of the biggest overhaul of its life in an attempt to prolong its seaworthiness for another decade. Tom and Rob also travel to Europe's largest ship breaking yard in Belgium, to discover what happens to ships at the end of their lives. As they watch massive hulls being torn apart, they gain more insights into how a ship works and how their massive carcasses are recycled.
Episode 1: Jumbo Jet
Engineer turned comedian Tom Wrigglesworth and Rob Bell, rising star of mechanical engineering, climb on board Victor X-ray, a 200 ton, £200,000,000 Boeing 747. This jumbo jet has flown over 36 million miles in its 14 year life with British Airways. Now it will be broken into tens of thousands of parts in the airline's maintenance hangar in Cardiff, before being painstakingly reassembled and certified fit to fly again. This is the first time this complex process has ever been filmed and it provides fascinating insights into just how a 747 works. Rob and Tom also visit the UK's largest plane salvage centre in the Cotswolds to discover what happens to a 747 when it reaches the end of its working life, and discover how valuable parts are stripped for resale before the carcass is torn apart to be recycled.
Episode 2: Gas Rig
Engineer turned comedian Tom Wrigglesworth and Rob Bell, rising star of mechanical engineering, tell the story as an entire North Sea Gas installation, the Lima Platform, is pulled from the sea by floating cranes, brought back to Newcastle, and then torn into tiny pieces for recycling. But the platform is not just thousands of tons of steel. It was once home to the men and women called the North Sea Tigers. They pioneered gas and oil exploration in the UK and now some of them are ending their careers as part of the decommissioning process. As the gas platform is stripped down, these engineers reveal the secrets of this vital part of our energy supplies, but they also reveal the emotional bonds to the engineering marvel that formed such an important part of their lives.
Episode 3: Ferry
Engineer turned comedian Tom Wrigglesworth and Rob Bell, rising star of mechanical engineering, climb on board the Pride of Bruges, a massive, 25,000 tonne North Sea ferry as it is brought into dry dock in Newcastle. It has been ploughing the route from Hull to Zeebrugge for over a quarter of a century and is now in need of the biggest overhaul of its life in an attempt to prolong its seaworthiness for another decade. Tom and Rob also travel to Europe's largest ship breaking yard in Belgium, to discover what happens to ships at the end of their lives. As they watch massive hulls being torn apart, they gain more insights into how a ship works and how their massive carcasses are recycled.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
* Can Science Stop Crime? (2012)
What's the secret to stopping crime? David Pogue gives the third degree to scientists pushing the limits of technology, not only to solve horrific murders but also to try to prevent crimes before they even happen. Pogue learns the latest techniques, from unraveling the clues embedded in a decomposing corpse, to detecting lies by peering directly into a suspect's brain, to tracking the creation of a criminal mind. And we meet a genius crime-stopper who has made some terrifying discoveries, including how easy it is for a bad guy to highjack not just your laptop but your kids' toys, medical devices, even your car.
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