History Channel for gadgets and perspectives.

I've been spending a lot of time watching TV lately. I frequently happen upon a show on the history channel that takes some mundane item like power tools and gives a pretty interesting historical perspective. Things like the genesis of tools, various weapons, defenses, transports, etc.

I highly recommend the channel for such series as "modern marvels".

Daniel

I agree, it is very interesting. Every once in a while, the History Channel has something other than World War II.

Chuck

Oh, speaking of WWII, did you see the one about how Switzerland supplied the Nazis with materials for their war machine? The Swiss were supposed to be "neutral". It turns out that they were supplying the guns and ammo for Hitler. That is why it did no good to bomb the German factories.

Then, there was the part about how they were receiving the gold Nazis were stealing from conquered countries and the Jews. There was the part about 240 truck-loads of gold! Man that is hard to comprehend. To make it worse, the Swiss refused to let the Jews withdraw their own money from their own accounts. Only recently have they coughed up a fraction of the money they were holding.

And then, there was the part about how the Vatican helped Nazis escape at the end of the war. I think they referred to it as the "Black Line" or the "Odessa".

Man, that made me angry!

Chuck

I did used to wonder how they managed to be in the middle of things and still pull off the "we want no part of your war, don't involve us" thing...

money /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

they held both parties money /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Pablo
PS: its an oversimplification...

I loved the one about the invention of orange juice from concentrate during World War II. Yes, some interesting stuff on that channel sometimes.

Modern Marvels is one of my favorite shows /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Great shows about gadgets big and small. Loved the one about the Autobahn.

BTW, it wasn't just the Swiss playing both sides of the aisle. IIRC, either GM or Ford Motor Co. had ownership of some manufacturing firms in the Third Reich. Looks like money IS the root of (almost) all evil.

From what I seem to remember, it was probably Ford. I think that Hitler and Henry Ford had a mutual admiration for one another (Ford was a known anti-Semite). I believe that the 3rd Reich gave Ford the Iron Cross.

Ford's factory complex in the Ruhr was one of the only areas not bombed flat to the ground.The German MG-34 machine gun was largely based on a Swiss Solothurn design.

I found the autobahn to be a bit disapointing. I expected a super freeway with graceful curves that ran for miles. Instead, I saw a freeway that was not much different than what we have around here. Heck, 2 miles from my house is a freeway that's 6 lanes in one direction and 7 in the other.

I also saw a lot of speed limit signs on the autobahn. They appeared to be variable, since many were based on lghted signs.

I tend to like the engineering stories the best. The series on bridges show some true marvels.

Daniel