Episode
Modern Marvels: Bathroom Tech
Overview
From tub to toilet to toothpaste, here's everything you ever wanted to know about the most used and least discussed room in the house. From the first home bathrooms in ancient India, Roman latrines, and bizarre Victorian-era bath contraptions, to modern luxurious master bathroom suites, we trace the history of bathing, showering, and oral hygiene. And we reveal the messy truth about what was used before toilet paper–brainchild of the Scott Brothers of Philadelphia–and why astronauts wear diapers.
Details
- Series
- Modern Marvels
- Season
- Season 11
- Episode
- Episode 14
- Air date
- 2004-04-21
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
Bathroom Tech is Episode 14 in Season 11 of Modern Marvels. It aired on 2004-04-21. The runtime is 44 min.
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Episode 13: The Power Grid
The largest manmade machine ever created, the electric power grid traverses the nation from California to Maine, Florida to Washington State. This huge complex of power plants, substations, and transmission lines continually supplies power to millions of customers. In an electrifying hour, we explore the grid’s origin, from Edison’s Pearl Street Station in New York to the post-WWII “Golden Age” to deregulation and restructuring that directly impacted California’s energy crisis in the 21st century.
Episode 15: Engineering Disasters 6
An in-depth look at the modern era's most complex, deadly, and controversial engineering failures. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic experts, and footage of disasters, we seek to understand what went wrong and how mishap led to remedy. Stories include: the Marines' AV-8 Harrier "Jump Jet"; the Ford Explorer/Firestone rollovers; fire on the Piper Alpha offshore oil rig; derailment of a high-speed train in Germany; and computer errors that brought the world to the brink of accidental nuclear war.
More episodes from this season
Episode 12: Bible Tech
Arguably the most influential book ever written, the Bible provides a glimpse into the origins of ancient technology and its uses. We examine the technological plausibility of biblical structures and machines–including the Tower of Babylon, the Temple of Jerusalem, ancient bronze and iron forging, and shipbuilding skills that might have been employed to build Noah’s Ark.
Episode 16: F-18 Hornet
One aircraft in the U.S. arsenal best typifies the will to win. Using the latest and most sophisticated computerized technology, the F-18 Hornet is now one of the foremost fighters of the 21st Century. Once a plane that nobody wanted, today it’s the principal Navy and Marine fighter-attacker–with a flick of a switch, it transforms from bomber to fighter. Interviews with pilots and crews, combined with archive film and color reenactments, take you inside the cockpit of this multi-role aircraft.
Episode 11: Nature's Engineers
Towering skyscrapers buzzing with life, intricate tunnels connecting entire communities, mighty dams that tame the wildest rivers–this is construction animal style! Take a walk on the wild side as we investigate common creatures seemingly designed to alter their habitat and remake the world. Our ability to learn and capacity for abstract thought may separate us from beavers, honeybees, birds, termites, and spiders, but these engineers of nature remind us that we’re merely the latest in a long line.
Episode 17: Hydraulics
The machines that helped build our world have been powered by hydraulics, a compact system of valves, hoses, and pumps that transmits forces from point to point through fluid. This basic concept of powerful force transmission through fluid provides the drive for most machines today. From the ancient Roman mastery of the aqueduct to Universal Studios, a veritable hydraulic theme park, we see how hydraulics power industry, keep planes flying, and make that 3-point-turn a U-turn.
Episode 10: Front Line Reporting
In March 2003, embedded civilian correspondents rolled along with the U.S. military convoy as it invaded Iraq. Equipped with satellite and video phones, digital cameras, and lightweight satellite uplinks, frontline reporters dispatched the news of war as it happened. Reports of war are as old as war itself; once the exclusive province of soldier-scribes like Julius Caesar, the accounts were usually written after the fact. Join us as we review the history and preview the future of frontline reporting.
Episode 18: The Subs of WWII
Episode 9: Command Central
“Centcom” in Doha, Qatar represents everything a modern military command post can be with the most sophisticated military information systems–from video-conferencing to real-time frontline satellite communication. From this forward command in the heart of the Middle East, the U.S. ran the Iraq War. But command posts have not always been so technologically advanced as we see when we delve into the history of military communication–from tattooed messenger to satellite technology.
Episode 19: Plane Crashes
When the most sophisticated machines fail, they do so horrifically, plunging to earth with a terrifying loss of life. From the beginning of manned flight, plane crashes have plagued the aviation industry and terrorized the public. But the truth is, passengers have never been safer because of the brightest minds, best technology, and billions of dollars focused on preventing air disasters. Using famous crashes like TWA Flight 800, we examine safety improvement and what still needs to be done.
Episode 8: Oil Fire Fighting
When a burning gusher shoots flames into the air, only a handful of men know how to snuff out the monster. Fighting fire with fire, they place explosives around the flames to blow it out, or douse it with tons of water. The modern world depends on these risk takers, yet their industry began less than 100 years ago. Join us for a scorching hour as we review the rich history of this “breed apart”, and look at modern heat-resistant clothing, new technology, and regulations that protect oil firefighters.
Episode 20: D-Day Tech
Modern Marvels shines the spotlight on the array of inventions that made the epic invasion possible, telling the stories of their development and following them into combat in the greatest invasion in history. From parachuting mannequins to pole charges, amphibious DUWKS trucks to Rhino Barges, D-Day tech is a fascinating look at the hardware that helped free Europe from Hitler's grasp.