Modern Marvels (1993)

S8E28 Quarries.

Explosives shatter entire hillsides, drills carve through solid rock faces, and massive cranes lift 400,000-pound blocks from deep pits as teams labor day and night to extract stone from the earth. This isn't about precious gems or metals—it's rock, the essential building block of modern life. Without crushed stone, we'd lose our roads, sewers, dams, bridges, and buildings—not to mention paint, glue, cosmetics, antacids, and even chewing gum. From ancient hand tools to today's industrial machinery, we trace how quarrying techniques have transformed over the centuries.