Sioux Falls Scientists endorse Connections 3 for showing us
that history is filled with seemingly unrelated discoveries
that are actually connected in the most surprising ways.

Connections 3
Presented by James Burke

Connections 3 (1997) - 520 minutes
Connections 3 at Amazon.com

This humorous and upbeat science series shows that history is filled with seemingly unrelated discoveries that are actually connected in the most surprising ways. Host James Burke continues to delight viewers as he explores the effects and origins of inventions and events that shape the modern world.

• Disk 1
  • Feedback
    Electronic agents may be our servants using feedback mathematics that won World War II based on an idea from France's vineyards where the Humane Society began while a doctor in Michigan created cornflakes.
  • What's In A Name
    A breakfast leads to corn cob garbage used for "furfan" which creates resin for bonding that leads to inventing the tractor and diesel engine and to the creation of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
• Disk 2
  • Drop The Apple
    The benefactor of the Smithsonian discovered the mineral calamine that gives off electricity used to play records leading to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and the creation of the atomic bomb.
  • An Invisible Object
    Connect black holes with fast food by traveling along the Pony Express, looking into a Sultan's finances, and discovering why beer is chilled. Along the way, go to queen's party, see Buffalo Bill's show, and learn about a historical disaster.
• Disk 3
  • Life Is No Picnic
    Examine the interwoven histories of freeze dried coffee and soldier ration packs in WWII; The Star Spangled Banner and a Greek poem; and Europe's Romantic movement and Darwin's theory of evolution.
  • Elementary Stuff
    Explore histories intricate web of commonalities: spiritualism and the device that makes radio reception possible; Scottish oppression and the creation of turpentine; and the debate over modern literature and creation of Sherlock Homes.
• Disk 4
  • A Special Place
    Connections between historical events are revealed and explored. Featured are a 400-year trip through 20 locations; Swedish electricity, Dutch wind tunnels, and a new type of photography; and WWI fighter-aces and their eccentric uncles.
  • Fire From The Sky
    What does the majestic beauty of Iceland's geysers have to do with the destruction of the Allied fire-bombing of Hamburg in WWII? Stop by Stonehenge, chat with the mystical Cabalists, and interview Martin Luther and Mary Queen of Scots to find out.
• Disk 5
  • Hit The Water
    From the cockpit of a Tornado Fighter Bomber, dip into the history of margarine, dance at the ballet Copelia, and blow up a dam in Norway with a British commando team to find out how Hitler never harnessed heavy water and the A-Bomb.
  • In Touch
    An American scientist ponders the problem of nuclear fusion in 1951 and from the connections between the Eiffel Tower to modern oceanography, the Global Net is developed.

Connections 3
Presented by James Burke

Sioux Falls Scientists endorse Connections 3 for showing us
that history is filled with seemingly unrelated discoveries
that are actually connected in the most surprising ways.