That slice of pizza you enjoy on Friday night is a tasty meal all right, but it’s also a cultural hodgepodge of different regional flavours and preferences. In fact, depending on what type of pizza you order, you could be devouring a healthy chemical blend of cleansing ingredients or a health-reducing fat bomb that sets your balanced diet back for days. This episode explores the combination of ingredients on your pizza, the evolution of this delicious food, and the technology involved in creating one of its most common ingredients – cheese.
Grade levels: Senior High (10-12)
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Tea
Take the most popular drink in the world – water – heat it up and add some dry leaves. Voila, you have the second most popular drink in the world – tea. The chemical process of drying, packaging and brewing tea pleases people from cultures all around the world. It also improves their health in a way no other liquid does. We look at the production of tea and the effect it has on our bodies.
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Bread
It’s the most common food in the world, subject to thousands of years of culinary evolution. It’s changed everything from diet to the way civilization has developed. It also may contain ingredients that hype up your kids. We’ll get the dish on dough and unlock the mystery of the Montreal bagel.
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Hamburgers
They are a staple of the Western diet. They are also a great source of protein, a potential breeding ground of E. coli and a receptor of dangerous carcinogens. This episode looks at hamburger production, from cattle breeding and butchering methods, to cooking that succulent hunk of beef on the barbecue. Find out what happens as the meat is treated and heated.
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MegaWorld: Argentina
Argentina makes some of the finest wines in the world, but it’s also quickly establishing itself as a technological giant in South America. The MegaWorld team will visit CONAE a civilian agency that builds and launches communication satellites for clients all over the world. We’ll get a rare, up close look at one of these huge communication devices and find out exactly what goes into manufacturing them. We’ll visit the world’s only factory that makes vintage aircraft from scratch and another firm that specializes in the manufacture and installation of artificial turf for South America’s largest football stadiums. We’ll feature the Syncrolift, a gigantic ship raising platform that can hoist a 55,000 ton ship off the ground for construction and maintenance, update the construction of new subway lines in Buenos Aires, and get up close with the world’s largest olive harvester….the Colossus.
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MegaWorld: Austria
There’s a lot more to Austria than Mozart and the Von Trapp singers. Travel to the top of the Austrian Alps to see how a ski resort protects itself from deadly avalanches, watch World Champion air racer Hannes Arch pull 12 Gs in his aircraft as he trains for the upcoming season, and witness armoured vehicles survive the most violent explosions. Other stories include the world’s most unique automobile assembly line, the largest and most powerful airport rescue vehicle, and a factory that makes the longest train rails in the world.
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MegaWorld: Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has a long history of innovative engineering. See how they are meeting the challenges of building Europe’s longest automobile tunnel right underneath the historic city of Prague. Go behind the scenes for exclusive access to the world’s largest castle in downtown Prague. Watch European Truck Racing champion David Vrecký attempt to break the 300 km/h barrier and set a new world speed record. Other stories include a Czech company that makes the best plastic explosives, the largest earth-moving excavator in Europe, and the biggest beer spa in the world.
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MegaWorld: Denmark
Denmark may be a small country, but it’s definitely big when it comes to engineering and technology. See how the Danes are harnessing the power of nature by building the largest offshore wind farms in the world. Find out how Copenhagen is experimenting with a revolutionary new underground parking technology and visit the famous LEGO toy company which produces 20 billion LEGO bricks per year or 600 pieces per second. Other stories include the Bang & Olufsen torture chamber for consumer electronics, maintaining the longest road and rail bridge in Europe, and an $850,000 super car that’s sure to turn heads.
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MegaWorld: Mexico
Mexico may be known for Tequila and Tacos, but it’s also home to the largest open air salt mine in the world, extracting 7.5 million tons of salt each year. We’ll visit this giant above ground mine that’s been created by tidal sea water coming onto the land and being evaporated into the sun. Huge dykes are used to create “salt pans” that trap the sea water. These man-made salt pans cover over 180 sq km. MegaWorld will go to new heights as the world’s tallest cable bridge is being built as part of a $1.2 billion, 230 km construction project that runs from the Mexican interior to the pacific coast. At 390 m (1280 feet), the Baluarte Bridge will be the highest bridge in North America and the highest cable stayed bridge in the world. And we’ll find out how a 62-kilometer tunnel might be the key to preventing Mexico City from sinking.
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MegaWorld: Norway
There’s more to Norway than fresh seafood and majestic fjords. A leader in shipbuilding, we’ll go behind the scenes to witness how the Norwegian company is changing the way ocean vessels are made. Ulstein X-Bow has developed a revolutionary new hull that’s designed to provide a smoother ride for cargo and a safer journey for the crew. Ski flying takes ski jumping to a whole new level, and construction crews are hard at work building the world’s highest, and most dangerous ski flying jump. The world championships are coming to Norway so the race is on to complete construction in time. Other stories include a test lab that destroys products to make them better, and an ammunitions plant that is one of the largest in the world.