Episode
Modern Marvels: The Tool Bench: Power Tools
Overview
The history of civilization could easily be measured in terms of our ability to make, use, and improve tools–an activity that is at least 4 million years old! At the tip of our toolmaking timeline are power tools. We’ll examine today’s power tool industry, which is booming thanks to more powerful, lighter, and quieter cordless tools.
Details
- Series
- Modern Marvels
- Season
- Season 6
- Episode
- Episode 38
- Air date
- 1999-10-12
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
The Tool Bench: Power Tools is Episode 38 in Season 6 of Modern Marvels. It aired on 1999-10-12. The runtime is 44 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 37: Simulators
Though “simulations” date back to cave paintings, devices for interacting with “synthetic realities” are a recent invention. See how simulators are used as training tools for nearly every profession today where hands-on experience is too costly or dangerous–from the 1929 Link Pilot Trainer to simulated virtual realities.
Episode 39: The Tool Bench: Hand Tools
Well over two million years before the evolution of modern man, his primitive ancestors were making tools. The use of tools is thought to be one of the keys to human evolution itself and it permeates nearly every aspect of history. We even measure history according to our ability to craft tools; the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age.
More episodes from this season
Episode 36: Fireworks
Since the invention of gunpowder, fireworks have thrilled audiences around the world. We’ll view highlights of fireworks exhibitions throughout history, and go behind the scenes to explore how science and art mingle in this unique, ancient craft. The world’s preeminent fireworks families explain how they create their spectacles.
Episode 40: More Earthmovers.
Join us for a second look at the big earth-moving machines used to tackle the most challenging jobs on, under, and off Earth! We'll ride on specialized behemoth dump trucks, delve below sea level to view dredging equipment, and leave the planet altogether to explore earthmoving equipment in space.
Episode 35: Newspapers
Tracks the technological innovations that made newspapers what they are today, while exploring the stories of the publishing tycoons who became some of the most powerful men of the 20th century. From the invention of the printing press in the 15th century to computerized newsrooms to the Internet, we examine the history of the news.
Episode 41: Forts
The art of fortification evolved along with man’s need to defend his territory from attack. There was no other reason. From hills surrounded by branches and crude fences to intricate walled cities, to impenetrable castles – the strongholds of the past echo the history of great battles for territorial control.
Episode 34: Parachutes
The idea of floating to earth from great heights dates back centuries, and from the beginning parachutes combined entertainment with life-saving utility. The parachute has also played a vital role in modern warfare since WWI. We’ll see how parachute technology has made the world safer, and more fun!
Episode 42: Emergency Room
Emergency room medicine has only been a recognized specialty since 1989, and it took close to two millennia to get to this point. We’ll examine advances that led to the modern emergency room–from the Byzantine’s establishment of the first hospitals around 1050 A.D. to today’s telemedicine. The prognosis for its future looks good.
Episode 33: Crash Testing
Delves into the little-known, hugely important, multi-billion-dollar industry of product testing–where wrinkles get ironed out and goods are stripped of marketing and hype to see if they work. Meet product testers who serve as truth squads in an eccentric world of machines devised to “sneeze” at tissue paper and “sleep” on mattresses.
Episode 43: Motorcycles
Set the sedan’s safety brake and hop on your “hog” for a 2-hour high-speed history of the motorcycle–from the 1868 “steam velocipede” to the early 20th century, when they were a low-cost alternative to automobiles; from Harley-Davidsons preferred by Hell’s Angels and police to motocross riders who take bikes into the air and onto the dirt. We also look to the motorcycle’s future, featuring Jay Leno’s jet-propelled Y2K sportbike and Erik Buell’s bike-without-a-gas-tank creation.
Episode 32: New York Bridges
Much of New York City’s history can be viewed via its bridges–all 18 that connect Manhattan Island to its neighbors. Join us for a look at these architectural masterpieces from the age of iron and steel; and, see how they have changed destinies, linking some to opportunity, others to ruin.
Episode 44: Security Systems
Since civilization’s earliest days, man has sought protection from those who would rob him of riches, knowledge, and even life. This is the story of the evolving systems designed to safeguard our most precious possessions, and of the enduring psychological war between protectors and thieves, each intent on outfoxing the other.