Curiosity Season 2, Episode 8: Mankind Rising

Plane Crash

Season 2 of Curiosity is getting things started with a bang. OK, it's more than a bang. A whole lot more. In a TV first, Discovery Channel remote control crashed a 727 plane. Yes, you read that right - CRASHED A PLANE. In the name of science, of course. The Boeing 727 passenger jet was deliberately crashed in a remote and unpopulated part of the Sonoran Desert, to recreate a serious, but survivable, passenger jet crash landing. Narrated by actor Josh Charles (THE GOOD WIFE), this episode takes viewers inside a full-size passenger airplane on its final flight. An international team of experts is using this amazing event to study the crashworthiness of the aircraft's airframe and cabin as well as the impact of crashes on the human body.

55 min

The Devil's Triangle

In December 1945, five U.S. Navy bombers set out on a training mission from south Florida, heading east over the Atlantic Ocean. After the planes and their crew failed to return to base, another plane was sent out to find the missing men. Neither the original planes nor the rescue plane were ever seen again. Magazines and newspapers reporting on this mysterious event began to refer to the area as the Bermuda Triangle. Over time, the name stuck, as members of the media continued to catalog other strange disappearances and mysterious happenings in that area. In the last hundred years, countless lives have been lost but nobody is really sure why. People have blamed everything from space aliens to sea monsters for the disappearances of ships and aircraft between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Miami.

55 min

I Was Mummified

From museums to monster flicks, we're all pretty familiar with mummies. But how much do we really know about them? Turns out, there's quite a bit of missing information -- particularly in regard to the actual process the Egyptians used some 3,000 years ago to preserve their dead. In this compelling episode, Curiosity follows a team of scientists and experts as they attempt to crack the ancient and arresting recipe, and perform a modern-day mummification.

Brainwashed

In this episode of Curiosity, we delve into an intriguing -- yet controversial -- topic. If you've read or seen the Manchurian Candidate, then you might be familiar with the big question Brainwashed is trying to answer: Could someone be brainwashed into being an assassin, going against his or her own natural will to commit murder? A team of scientists, with the help of world-renowned hypnotherapist Tom Silver, set out to discover whether we truly are in command of our own minds in this audacious experiment to see if ordinary people can be brainwashed and turned into assassins.

55 min

Battlefield Cell

As fall gives way to winter, we all know what that means ... tis the season! And we're not talking holidays -- we're talking flu season. Ever wonder what's going on inside your body when it's under attack? Just how does your body fight back to stop a virus from advancing. Every day, trillions of cells inside your body engage in a life and death struggle with viruses and a variety of enemy intruders. This episode of Curiosity presents that battle in all its surprisingly stunning glory as it explores the once invisible world of the human cell. Based on the latest scientific research -- combined with new imaging and CGI technologies -- we expose this world like never before by revealing a human cell's 48-hour battle to the death with a virus.

Sex in America

It's an all-American pastime. And if you watched the Season 1 episode hosted by Maggie Gyllenhaal, you know why it's so much fun. This season, we're tackling the topic again -- but this time in an even bigger way by looking at the largest national U.S. sex survey to see what sex in the 21st Century is all about. No questions were too bold for the Indiana University national survey. In fact, only one other survey has ever asked so many Americans such a wide range of questions about sex -- and that was conducted 60 years ago. Over the course of a decade, Alfred Kinsey and his research team conducted thousands of interviews questioning Americans about their most intimate sexual practices -- the results were revolutionary. But how dated has that research become -- and how much has sex in America changed in the last six decades? In “Sex in America,” airing Sunday, Nov.

55 min

Megastorm

One of the most treacherous weather events to hit the United States, Hurricane Sandy has affected millions. But how did this so called "frankenstorm" become so powerful? Using on-the-ground expert analysis and CGI and satellite imaging, Curiosity explores how distinct phenomena combined to create the perfect storm and how we can prepare for the next one. The episode also takes viewers inside the storm via on-the-ground camera and smartphone footage from Sandy survivors. Watch as they share their stories, some narrowly escaping the megastorm, and recount what it was like as Sandy engulfed their city.

Volcano Time Bomb

Millions of people live in the shadow of active volcanoes never knowing when their volatile neighbors could blow. In fact, predicting when a volcano will erupt is nearly impossible. But scientists around the world are getting closer to unlocking their deadly secrets. In this episode of Curiosity, you'll join the world's leading experts as they use state-of-the-art CGI compositing techniques to journey into the heart of these frightening powerhouses to demonstrate how they work and why they are so difficult to understand.

55 min

What Destroyed the Hindenburg?

There are dozens of theories about what caused the calamitous crash of the Hindenburg on May 6, 1937. But what really happened? In this episode of Curiosity, a team of aeronautical engineers sets out to see which theory is correct by building three perfectly accurate 50-foot replicas of the ill-fated airship. Those who tune in will get to see these experts put the leading theories to the test and find out what really destroyed the Hindenburg.

X-Ray: Yellowstone

With more than 2 million acres of some of America's most rugged, yet beautiful, terrain, Yellowstone Park is not only a national treasure, it's also home to hundreds of species. But beneath its breathtaking beauty lie many unsolved mysteries. In this episode, Curiosity -- with the help of some truly cutting edge imaging technology -- peels back the layers to reveal the invisible forces at work in this iconic place. From the race to predict a massive volcanic eruption and exposing other deadly forces at work to hunting a microscopic predator and seeing nature’s engineering marvels like never before, this is Yellowstone as you’ve never seen it.

Sun Storm

You probably already know that the sun is super old (4 billion years) and incredibly hot (10,000 degrees Fahrenheit). And you might even know that, since it's a giant ball of plasma, it's packed with energy (it will likely blaze for another 6 billion years). It's a friendly neighbor, too -- providing heat and light that make life here on Earth possible. But all isn't entirely rosy. Did you know our sun has a dark side? It's capable of massive destruction! On its surface, a massive storm is brewing -- one so large that it could knock out the power grid, crippling everything from communications systems to banking systems to our water supply. But how prepared are we for a massive solar storm? In this episode, Curiosity goes on a virtual expedition through the heart of the sun to see how these super solar storms form and more.

Monster Squid: The Giant is Real

Footage of where the giant squid lives is revealed.

Nefertiti - Mummy Queen Mystery

She’s the most celebrated first lady of the ancient world, an icon of power, beauty and mystery for 3000 years. But what became of her? Queen Nefertiti rose to great power in ancient Egypt and at the height of her power her face was everywhere. She may have ruled the most powerful empire on earth and may have been King Tut’s mother but all that is known fully is that at her height of her power she seemed to disappear completely. Now Curiosity is on a search for Ancient Egypt’s most mysterious woman and wants to finally answer the questions of her disappearance from history. Follow the team of experts led by Dr Zahi Hawas as they aim to find the mummy of Queen Nefertiti and solve the secrets of her life.

55 min