Modern Marvels
Assembly Lines - how did they revolutionize the manufacturing process?
Banks - how does banking impact an economic system?
Coal Mines - coal is necessary to build any modern industrial economy. Where does coal come from and how is it extracted?
Concrete - the building block of civilization.
Engines - they greatly increase power output and make our daily lives easier. What are they, how do they work, and how are they applied in different parts of a modern industrial economy?
Failed Inventions - Henry Ford said, "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." What are some of the failed inventions that never made it past the prototype or the drawing board?
Famous Inventions that Changed the World - how have inventions changed our economic activity?
Farming Technology - American agriculture's efficiencies are easy to take for granted, but what type of work goes into producing the food we eat every day?
Freight Trains - America entered the industrial age on the back of railroads. Our economy would be crippled without them. What are they and how do they operate?
Gold Mines - how is this precious metal extracted and refined?
Iron - it is impossible to build a modern industrial economy without steel, and steel is comprised of iron. How much activity in our daily lives would be impossible without iron?
Logging Tech - what kind of housing would you live in without it?
Money - without easily transportable money, trade would become burdensome, slow and inefficient.
Power Plants - we take for granted electrical power, but before the 19th Century, a days work took a lot more personal energy to accomplish what electrical power permits us to accomplish today.
Salt Mines - how does salt get from the mine to your table top?
Secrets of Oil - how would your daily life change without the use of petroleum products?
Shipyards - they build the ships that make international trade possible.
The Cola Wars - competition breeds excellence. How does the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi play out in the American economy?
Welding - used in over 50% of all manufacturing and it makes it possible to build skyscrapers.