Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

The First Long Distance Test Drive

In 1886, German inventor and engineer, Karl Benz, has his patent accepted for what is regarded as the world’s first automobile, but it’s a failure. Benz doesn't sell a single one for two years. Facing financial ruin he plunges into depression. Thankfully for humanity one person sees great potential in his "motor wagon" - someone who also knows how to create a bit of publicity, his wife Bertha.

The First Long Distance Test Drive

2m 48s

  • The Smartphone: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Smartphone

    S1 E6 - 54m 51s

    Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone, from its roots in Morse Code to 2007, when Apple unveiled the first-ever iPhone. Plus, see how the next generation of smartphones will allow us to communicate through them just by thinking.

  • The Rocket: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Rocket

    S1 E5 - 54m 51s

    Learn the explosive history of the rocket, from its origin in ancient China, to its use as a weapon of war, to how adding hydrogen allowed it to carry astronauts all the way to the moon.

  • The Car: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Car

    S1 E4 - 54m 51s

    Go for a ride through the 9,000-year history of the car, from its roots in dogsleds to Henry Ford’s affordable and assembly line-built Model T, and meet the scientists working on the next generation of self-driving automobiles.

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