Season 2 (2005)
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Episodes 10
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
Read MoreWhat to Wear?
Mark Williams discovers how 19th-century hats were made of rabbit fur that had been shrunk in urine
Read MoreGas on Wheels
The use of gas to power the machines and inventions from the Industrial Revolution are explained by Mark Williams
Read MorePrint 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
Read MoreUnder 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
Read MoreBuilding 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.
Read MoreBright Sparks
How the electricity industry was created from scientific experimentation and entrepreneurial enthusiasm - becoming the world's main power source.
Read MoreHeavy Metals
The development of the Cornish mining industry, from pebble-picking in streams to the building of a honeycomb of mines below the sea
Read MoreCutting it Fine
How silk was instrumental in the invention of the binary code, which went on to inspire the computer revolution.
Read MoreMachine 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
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