Episode
Modern Marvels: Work Clothes
Overview
From the riveted blue jeans of the old ’49ers, working the gold mines of California, to the million-dollar suits astronauts wear in outer space, we see how “dressing for success” often means being able to get the job done. With the right work clothes, people have been able to go anywhere and do any job.
Details
- Series
- Modern Marvels
- Season
- Season 8
- Episode
- Episode 31
- Air date
- 2001-10-16
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
Work Clothes is Episode 31 in Season 8 of Modern Marvels. It aired on 2001-10-16. The runtime is 44 min.
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Episode 30: The House
If walls could speak…And in the next two hours they will, as we build a house literally from the ground up, step by step, room by room. We’ll pour the foundation, frame the walls, wire the electricity, install the heating, hang the drywall, tile the roof, and carpet the floors. All to show you how and why it’s done. We even take you back in time to see the bitter power struggles, accidental discoveries, and monumental breakthroughs behind today’s building methods and materials.
Episode 32: Bunkers.
From the earliest bunkers of WWI through the ultra-futuristic ones of tomorrow's wars, we trace the story of defensive fortifications. In the constant struggle to hold off ever more potent forms of attack, bunkers function in a variety of forms. Three mammoth block structures comprise a submarine bunker at Lorient, France, able to house 20 subs. We visit Churchill's Cabinet War Room and Hitler's Berlin bunker, as well as backyard Cold War bunkers and those that protect nuclear weapons themselves.
More episodes from this season
Episode 29: Diamond Mines
Half a mile below the earth’s surface, men mine for rough diamonds–a pure carbon substance. Brilliant when cut and polished, they are marketed as the most precious gem in the world. From the earliest mines of the 4th century BC to today’s technological wonders in South Africa, we explore the history and technology of the diamond mine.
Episode 33: Cemeteries.
More than 2-million people die in the U.S. each year. That works out to about 5,500 burials a day, with roughly 80 percent taking the long goodbye in a casket, and the remaining 20 percent electing to be cremated or finding some alternative method of crossing eternity's threshold. We take a look at dealing with the dead throughout the centuries, and at today's $20-billion funeral industry. Any way you look at it, it's a healthy business, with new generations of customers year after year!
Episode 28: Quarries.
Dynamite explodes hills to bits, drills divide sheer stone walls, 400,000-pound blocks are pulled from pits by giant cranes, and men work around the clock to wrest rock out of the earth. Not diamonds or gold…rock, the raw material of civilization! Without rock, modern society wouldn't exist. Roads, sewers, dams, bridges, buildings, paint, glue, make-up, antacids, and even chewing gum need crushed stone. From ancient days to the present, we explore the evolution of quarrying techniques.
Episode 34: War Games
Modern Marvels looks at how army maneuvers have changed from simple “hide and seek” games to extremely complex and sophisticated operations that use computer simulations.
Episode 27: West Point
For nearly 200 years, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, has trained students in the art of war. Located 50 miles north of New York City, its 25 buildings overlook the Hudson River on a 16,000-acre government reserve. During the Revolutionary War, West Point stood guard over the river, protecting it with artillery and a 136-ton chain! From humble beginnings, the academy grew with the nation, as each war forced changes to keep pace with America’s expanding world responsibilities.
Episode 35: Drive-Thru
Join us for a ride through the history of car-culture commerce from the first gas station to the drive-thru funeral parlors and wedding chapels of today. We chronicle the birth of the first drive-in restaurants that paved the way for a billion-dollar fast-food dynasty, and feature many lesser-known drive-thru venues, such as dry cleaners, flu-shot clinics, liquor stands, and drug stores. And we’ll take a journey to the future to see what products might be passing through the drive-thru of tomorrow.
Episode 26: Air Shows
From barnstormers to Blue Angels, antique aircraft to supersonic jets, each year there are an astonishing 425 air shows in America alone, entertaining over 18-million spectators. From futuristic festivals to billion-dollar expos, we explore the world of amazing aerobatics and their ever-evolving aircraft and see how aviation technology has affected air shows–and how air shows have advanced aviation. Find out why these high-flying events are second only to baseball as America’s favorite family event.
Episode 36: Times Square
The Crossroads of the World, New York City’s Times Square is the screaming marketplace of our culture and time. It’s urban life pushed to the limit–the most electrified, visceral, crowded, and vibrant area in the world’s most dynamic city. A unique district that forever changes its face, it sank into crime and sleaze in the 1970s, only to rehabilitate in the ’90s into a dubious family entertainment paradise. Join us for a trip to America’s Town Square at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue.
Episode 25: Nuclear Subs
The most priceless jewels in the arsenals of a handful of countries, some nuclear submarines carry more firepower than all the bombs dropped in history. Since the 1950s, these lethal steel sharks have been a cornerstone of U.S. defense policy. The Cold War launched an underwater race for supremacy with the Soviet Union. The result: engineering miracles, which roam 70% of the earth’s surface, providing deterrence to enemies, intelligence about adversaries, and an abiding sense of dread.
Episode 37: Los Angeles
Unruly and eclectic, Los Angeles is home to an array of engineering and construction marvels that rivals any city in the world. No single word can sum up the L.A. experience, but the five marvels we profile give a sense of the breadth and scope of the city’s achievements: the new Red Line Subway system that barrels through a mountain range; the freeway system; Los Angeles Colisseum, built in 1923; the billion-dollar Getty Center that houses the family’s artwork; and Disneyland, the first theme park.