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January 10, 2005

Season 2

01. Bread and Beer

Comedian Mark Williams explains how 19th-century Britons drank beer as a healthy alternative to water because the fermentation process killed many harmful bacteria

30min
January 10, 2005

02. What to Wear?

Mark Williams discovers how 19th-century hats were made of rabbit fur that had been shrunk in urine

30min
January 17, 2005

03. Gas on Wheels

The use of gas to power the machines and inventions from the Industrial Revolution are explained by Mark Williams

30min
January 24, 2005

04. Print and Paper

In a look at the history of printing, Mark Williams discovers why early typesetters arranged lower-case letters according to their usage, with the most common being in the middle

30min
January 31, 2005

05. Under Pressure

Mark Williams visits a pub cellar and bridges across the Tyne, all powered by hydraulics, revealing how the beer pump started a power revolution

30min
February 7, 2005

06. Building a Revolution

Documentary exploring how the massive construction boom triggered by the Industrial Revolution forced the building industry to find new materials to cope with increasing demand.

30min
February 14, 2005

07. Bright Sparks

How the electricity industry was created from scientific experimentation and entrepreneurial enthusiasm - becoming the world's main power source.

30min
February 21, 2005

08. Heavy Metals

The development of the Cornish mining industry, from pebble-picking in streams to the building of a honeycomb of mines below the sea

30min
February 28, 2005

09. Cutting it Fine

How silk was instrumental in the invention of the binary code, which went on to inspire the computer revolution.

30min
March 7, 2005

10. Machine Tools

Mark Williams learns about Joseph Whitworth, the man who standardised the threaded screw. Plus, the total cost of wood required to build HMS Victory

30min
March 14, 2005