Episodes
1. Bread and Beer
January 10, 2005
30 min
Comedian Mark Williams explains how 19th-century Britons drank beer as a healthy alternative to water because the fermentation process killed many harmful bacteria
2. What to Wear?
January 17, 2005
30 min
Mark Williams discovers how 19th-century hats were made of rabbit fur that had been shrunk in urine
3. Gas on Wheels
January 24, 2005
30 min
The use of gas to power the machines and inventions from the Industrial Revolution are explained by Mark Williams
4. Print and Paper
January 31, 2005
30 min
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
5. Under Pressure
February 7, 2005
30 min
Mark Williams visits a pub cellar and bridges across the Tyne, all powered by hydraulics, revealing how the beer pump started a power revolution
6. Building a Revolution
February 14, 2005
30 min
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.
7. Bright Sparks
February 21, 2005
30 min
How the electricity industry was created from scientific experimentation and entrepreneurial enthusiasm - becoming the world's main power source.
8. Heavy Metals
February 28, 2005
30 min
The development of the Cornish mining industry, from pebble-picking in streams to the building of a honeycomb of mines below the sea
9. Cutting it Fine
March 7, 2005
30 min
How silk was instrumental in the invention of the binary code, which went on to inspire the computer revolution.
