Hundreds of years before steel and plastic, wood was the building block of America. But even today, it touches every aspect of our lives. It's underneath our feet and flying through the sky, propping up skyscrapers and making burgers fry -- from the historical, to the modern, to the timeless, we explore the surprising ways we cannot live without WOOD.

Fertilizer--without it two thirds of the world would starve. It makes our lawns grow greener and our crops grow taller. Take a tour of the places where the essential nutrients that feed the soil are harnessed. Dig deep in a phosphate mine, sniff around a sewage treatment plant, and get dirty in a trough teeming with seven million worms. Finally, learn about a war that was fought over the control of bat poop!

You know the old saying "dull as dirt"...wrong! In Las Vegas we'll see how thousands of tons of dirt transform a stadium into a Supercross course, and in New Jersey we'll slog into a secret bog to collect the special mud that every major league team relies on to give extra grip to baseballs. Then, we'll join in the down and dirty fun of mud wrestling at a state fair in Hawaii. In Tucson we'll see how modern adobe and stunning rammed-earth homes are made. To farmers, "dirt" is "soil," and in a teaspoon of healthy soil there are more living organisms than people on our planet. We'll find out where they came from at a sprawling potting soil facility in central California where huge earth moving equipment adds tons of dried kelp, bat guano, and other ingredients to dirt. At exclusive spas we'll watch patrons submerge in mud. Finally, we'll visit the Tide detergent factory--why? To get the dirt out, of course.

Discovered around 18,000 years ago, tobacco was first cultivated in the Andes. At a modern tobacco farm in North Carolina, a farmer will show us how the crop is harvested and cured, and we'll visit the Fuente cigar plantation in the Dominican Republic. While tobacco has brought pleasure to countless smokers the world over--it has sent millions to an early grave. In an interview with the Surgeon General, we will explore this leading public health issue. The show will also look at smokeless methods of consumption as well as explore the use of nicotine replacement therapy.

Join us for a highly charged hour as we see why Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite took on earthshattering dimensions as his product blasted out the natural resources that built our modern world.

It is the most widely produced chemical in the world and possibly the most dangerous. Take a look at the many uses of acid. See how the military harnesses acid to make the explosive "Comp B-4." Visit a sulfuric acid plant to see how acid can take the stain out of stainless steel and learn how it can be mixed to dissolve precious metal. At the Heinz vinegar plant discover why acid's sour taste is sweet. Finally, learn how acid loving bacteria in Yellowstone National Park may hold the key to a biological industrial revolution, and meet a mad scientist who will demonstrate how acid can hollow out a penny and turn a hot dog to sludge!

For over a century, our steel industry was a powerful symbol of the nation's industrial might. Steel helped explode the stock market into an overnight powerhouse, and transformed a country of farmers and merchants into a country of visionary builders. But, America's domination of the market would meet new challenges in the 1970s.

This useful metal was once considered more valuable than gold. Watch as aluminum is stretched, pounded, melted, and turned into foam. Did you know that aluminum is made out of a powder? Visit the widest rolling mill in the world where skins for the largest jets are made, then it's off to NASA to observe how aluminum is used to make reflective mirrors for telescopes. Discover the process of making aluminum foil, and learn why aluminum baseball bats are better than wood.

Hundreds of years before steel and plastic, wood was the building block of America. But even today, it touches every aspect of our lives. It's underneath our feet and flying through the sky, propping up skyscrapers and making burgers fry -- from the historical, to the modern, to the timeless, we explore the surprising ways we cannot live without WOOD.

Fertilizer--without it two thirds of the world would starve. It makes our lawns grow greener and our crops grow taller. Take a tour of the places where the essential nutrients that feed the soil are harnessed. Dig deep in a phosphate mine, sniff around a sewage treatment plant, and get dirty in a trough teeming with seven million worms. Finally, learn about a war that was fought over the control of bat poop!

You know the old saying "dull as dirt"...wrong! In Las Vegas we'll see how thousands of tons of dirt transform a stadium into a Supercross course, and in New Jersey we'll slog into a secret bog to collect the special mud that every major league team relies on to give extra grip to baseballs. Then, we'll join in the down and dirty fun of mud wrestling at a state fair in Hawaii. In Tucson we'll see how modern adobe and stunning rammed-earth homes are made. To farmers, "dirt" is "soil," and in a teaspoon of healthy soil there are more living organisms than people on our planet. We'll find out where they came from at a sprawling potting soil facility in central California where huge earth moving equipment adds tons of dried kelp, bat guano, and other ingredients to dirt. At exclusive spas we'll watch patrons submerge in mud. Finally, we'll visit the Tide detergent factory--why? To get the dirt out, of course.

Discovered around 18,000 years ago, tobacco was first cultivated in the Andes. At a modern tobacco farm in North Carolina, a farmer will show us how the crop is harvested and cured, and we'll visit the Fuente cigar plantation in the Dominican Republic. While tobacco has brought pleasure to countless smokers the world over--it has sent millions to an early grave. In an interview with the Surgeon General, we will explore this leading public health issue. The show will also look at smokeless methods of consumption as well as explore the use of nicotine replacement therapy.

Join us for a highly charged hour as we see why Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite took on earthshattering dimensions as his product blasted out the natural resources that built our modern world.

It is the most widely produced chemical in the world and possibly the most dangerous. Take a look at the many uses of acid. See how the military harnesses acid to make the explosive "Comp B-4." Visit a sulfuric acid plant to see how acid can take the stain out of stainless steel and learn how it can be mixed to dissolve precious metal. At the Heinz vinegar plant discover why acid's sour taste is sweet. Finally, learn how acid loving bacteria in Yellowstone National Park may hold the key to a biological industrial revolution, and meet a mad scientist who will demonstrate how acid can hollow out a penny and turn a hot dog to sludge!

For over a century, our steel industry was a powerful symbol of the nation's industrial might. Steel helped explode the stock market into an overnight powerhouse, and transformed a country of farmers and merchants into a country of visionary builders. But, America's domination of the market would meet new challenges in the 1970s.

This useful metal was once considered more valuable than gold. Watch as aluminum is stretched, pounded, melted, and turned into foam. Did you know that aluminum is made out of a powder? Visit the widest rolling mill in the world where skins for the largest jets are made, then it's off to NASA to observe how aluminum is used to make reflective mirrors for telescopes. Discover the process of making aluminum foil, and learn why aluminum baseball bats are better than wood.

Hundreds of years before steel and plastic, wood was the building block of America. But even today, it touches every aspect of our lives. It's underneath our feet and flying through the sky, propping up skyscrapers and making burgers fry -- from the historical, to the modern, to the timeless, we explore the surprising ways we cannot live without WOOD.

Fertilizer--without it two thirds of the world would starve. It makes our lawns grow greener and our crops grow taller. Take a tour of the places where the essential nutrients that feed the soil are harnessed. Dig deep in a phosphate mine, sniff around a sewage treatment plant, and get dirty in a trough teeming with seven million worms. Finally, learn about a war that was fought over the control of bat poop!

You know the old saying "dull as dirt"...wrong! In Las Vegas we'll see how thousands of tons of dirt transform a stadium into a Supercross course, and in New Jersey we'll slog into a secret bog to collect the special mud that every major league team relies on to give extra grip to baseballs. Then, we'll join in the down and dirty fun of mud wrestling at a state fair in Hawaii. In Tucson we'll see how modern adobe and stunning rammed-earth homes are made. To farmers, "dirt" is "soil," and in a teaspoon of healthy soil there are more living organisms than people on our planet. We'll find out where they came from at a sprawling potting soil facility in central California where huge earth moving equipment adds tons of dried kelp, bat guano, and other ingredients to dirt. At exclusive spas we'll watch patrons submerge in mud. Finally, we'll visit the Tide detergent factory--why? To get the dirt out, of course.

Discovered around 18,000 years ago, tobacco was first cultivated in the Andes. At a modern tobacco farm in North Carolina, a farmer will show us how the crop is harvested and cured, and we'll visit the Fuente cigar plantation in the Dominican Republic. While tobacco has brought pleasure to countless smokers the world over--it has sent millions to an early grave. In an interview with the Surgeon General, we will explore this leading public health issue. The show will also look at smokeless methods of consumption as well as explore the use of nicotine replacement therapy.

Join us for a highly charged hour as we see why Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite took on earthshattering dimensions as his product blasted out the natural resources that built our modern world.

It is the most widely produced chemical in the world and possibly the most dangerous. Take a look at the many uses of acid. See how the military harnesses acid to make the explosive "Comp B-4." Visit a sulfuric acid plant to see how acid can take the stain out of stainless steel and learn how it can be mixed to dissolve precious metal. At the Heinz vinegar plant discover why acid's sour taste is sweet. Finally, learn how acid loving bacteria in Yellowstone National Park may hold the key to a biological industrial revolution, and meet a mad scientist who will demonstrate how acid can hollow out a penny and turn a hot dog to sludge!

For over a century, our steel industry was a powerful symbol of the nation's industrial might. Steel helped explode the stock market into an overnight powerhouse, and transformed a country of farmers and merchants into a country of visionary builders. But, America's domination of the market would meet new challenges in the 1970s.

This useful metal was once considered more valuable than gold. Watch as aluminum is stretched, pounded, melted, and turned into foam. Did you know that aluminum is made out of a powder? Visit the widest rolling mill in the world where skins for the largest jets are made, then it's off to NASA to observe how aluminum is used to make reflective mirrors for telescopes. Discover the process of making aluminum foil, and learn why aluminum baseball bats are better than wood.