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Eastern
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Central
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Mountain
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Pacific
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7-8pm
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Engineering An Empire
For over 4000 years, the world's greatest empires have come and gone--only China has survived the test of time. Century after century, China's regal emperors mobilized immense peasant armies to accomplish engineering feats unparalleled in human history. Among the groundbreaking innovations were the world's longest canal and a naval fleet mightier than all those of Europe combined. However, none can compare to the colossal 4,000-mile wall that stands as the most ambitious construction project ever built. From such heights came spectacular death spirals, as dynasty after dynasty, consumed by vanity and greed was stripped of power by the people it had ruled. Peter Weller hosts.
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8-9pm
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Rats
Feared by millions worldwide, rats are some of the most dangerous, destructive and useful animals on Earth. Ride along with a Terminix exterminator to get face to face with the creepy creature in a near rat infestation and see the great lengths we take to get rid of the pesky pest. Tour the Hacco Inc. rodenticide plant to see how tasty poisons are concocted. At the Taconic rat breeding facility, we'll see how hundreds of thousands of rats are bred and raised in high-tech and controlled environments. Watch rodents compete in the Xtreme Rat Challenge at the annual American Fancy Rat show. We'll trace their history and role as a vector of deadly diseases, but also explore how they have saved countless lives as lab rats. Scientists will show us how a remote controlled rat could be your savior in the near future.
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9-10pm
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The Pig
It is said that the pig is as smart as a three-year-old human. The pancreas, heart valve and intestines of the pig have been transplanted into human bodies, yet the primary use of the pig is for food. Watch the pig transform into bacon, ham, ribs and sausage, using a high tech water knife, at Burger's Smokehouse in Missouri. Then Chef Chris Cosentino re-creates old world dishes from pig parts and culinary artisans attempt to duplicate long-vanished pork specialties like prosciutto and acorn-fed pigs.
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10-11pm
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Crashes
Explore collisions that shake our world from the astronomic to the subatomic. Discover breakthroughs that could make the deadly sport of professional auto racing safer and visit a motorcycle crash test facility and examine two-wheeled accidents in detail. Meet a skydiver who survived a crash to earth from 11,000 feet. An asteroid crashing to earth could destroy our planet--watch as NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Tracking team hunt down dangerous asteroids. Finally learn about scientist's who are creating crashes with colliding subatomic particles in the world's largest machine. Will they unlock the secrets of the universe--or accidentally open a black hole?
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