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Go on a decade-by-decade voyage of discovery through life-changing inventions, like the radio that made the world smaller, the machine gun that made it more dangerous, or the parking meter that made it more expensive. Discover and bear witness to the most innovative century the world experienced.

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Episodes

1. 1900s

45m

The first decade of the 1900s ushers in crucial inventions that will help shape the rest of the century. Communication gets a boost as a voice is transmitted wirelessly by radio for the first time. The vacuum cleaner stops rugs and carpets from taking a beating, and the Wright Brothers apply their skills as bicycle mechanics to build and fly the world's first airplane.

2. 1910s

45m

Saving lives and taking lives are the hallmarks of the inventions of the 1910s. From charcoal to lightly browned, the quest for perfect toast is finally realized, and the Tommy Gun unleashes the fearsome power of the machine gun.

3. 1920s

45m

Mobsters, jazz, and turbulent economic times mark the 1920s. Silent film makes the transition to the talkies as sound comes to the silver screen. Criminals find that there is one less place to hide with the invention of the lie detector, and the Space Age is launched when a rocketeer who refuses to give up finally unlocks the secret of liquid fuel.

4. 1930s

45m

Though overshadowed by the Great Depression, there is no shortage of ingenuity in the 1930s. The two-way radio gets miniaturized, and the world's first portable walkie-talkie goes on the air. The electric guitar changes popular music forever, and commuters become a cash cow for cities when the parking meter is introduced.

5. 1940s

45m

War is the driving force behind much of the innovation in the 1940s. The microwave is born after a self-taught inventor realizes that military equipment is responsible for melting a chocolate bar in his pocket, and a sailor returns home and hits pay dirt with an invention that finally brings cats in from the cold: kitty litter.

6. 1950s

45m

The 1950s heralded the end of vacuum tubes and the rise of mobile technologies when two Japanese inventors shrink cabinet-size radios down to something small enough to fit in your pocket, and the space race officially begins when the Soviet Union launches a satellite called Sputnik.

7. 1960s

45m

The 1960s is a decade of both cultural and technological change. Home entertainment goes from the kitchen table to the TV screen when the video game console is unveiled, and the United States finally wins the decade-long space race, taking a giant step for mankind by landing astronauts on the moon.

8. 1970s

45m

The cell phone moves from the car console to the hand when an engineer is inspired by a science fiction series. The hybrid car is reborn as an answer to the concerns over fossil fuels and pollution thanks to a tenacious inventor and the Environmental Protection Agency. The invention of the digital camera is kept in the darkroom for 20 years.

9. 1980s

45m

The 1980s launch an unprecedented technological age that will continue into the next century. DNA profiling begins changing crime scene investigations for all time. Network computing gets a giant boost around the world with the advent of the Internet, and the MIR space station kicks off a new age of space science.

10. 1990s

45m

A new telescope named Hubble lets us see even further into the universe, revealing more of its majesty and mysteries. A young software engineer's wife gives birth to his daughter while he develops the camera phone in the waiting room, and Pathfinder safely bounces to a stop on Mars thanks to an airbag system that puts cars airbag system to shame.