Industrial Revelations

Season 2

2005 · 10 episodes · 5h 0m in all

Episodes

1. 1

   1. Bread and Beer

   10 Jan 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. 2

   2. What to Wear?

   17 Jan 2005 · 30 min

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

3. 3

   3. Gas on Wheels

   24 Jan 2005 · 30 min

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

4. 4

   4. Print and Paper

   31 Jan 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. 5

   5. Under Pressure

   7 Feb 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. 6

   6. Building a Revolution

   14 Feb 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. 7

   7. Bright Sparks

   21 Feb 2005 · 30 min

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

8. 8

   8. Heavy Metals

   28 Feb 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. 9

   9. Cutting it Fine

   7 Mar 2005 · 30 min

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

10. 10

    10. Machine Tools

    14 Mar 2005 · 30 min

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