Pulling Back the Blinders On The Seemingly Ordinary...THE WORKS - New History Series Continues Thursday, July 17th at 9pm ET/PT

Take a closer look at the sneakers on your feet, the power tools in your garage, or that beer you're about to drink. You have no idea what you would actually find, until now! Putting the everyday under a microscope to reveal unseen secrets and history, and finding enough fascinating "did you know" type facts that would make anyone scratch their head in amazement, is THE WORKS, a new series premiering Thursday, July 10th at 9pm ET/PT on History™.

The simple facts and history of everyday life hide incredibly complex systems that are monuments to human ingenuity. The Works, with the help of robotics expert and jack of all trades Daniel H. Wilson, Phd., dissects a wide range of topics from power tools to sneakers to motorcycles, uncovering their history and the unimaginable intricacies of things we take for granted.

Upcoming episodes of The Works:

THE WORKS: BEER (Thursday, July 17 at 9pm ET/PT)
It's the most popular beverage on the planet - mankind's first recipe carved in stone ten thousand years ago, and today, beer still rules. Wilson sets out to find the timeless secret to beer's mystique - how it's made, how it's marketed, how new beers are invented and tested and how the giants jockey for global supremacy. Wilson even uncovers an ecological time bomb - a beerdemic threatening to make beer an endangered species!

THE WORKS: STEEL (Thursday, July 24 at 9pm ET/PT)
It truly is a miracle metal. Pound for pound, it is the lightest, toughest most flexible and inexpensive material on earth. And it's everywhere, in our buildings, our weapons, our roads, even in our bodies. 90% of the metal made on our planet is steel. Find out the secret that makes more than 3500 different kinds of steel possible as we explore its origins and its cutting edge use as a weapon in law enforcement, its application to music and its role in monumental art.

THE WORKS: POWER TOOLS (Thursday, July 31 at 9pm ET/PT)
Since the Egyptians invented them three thousand years ago, power tools have transformed the face of the earth. As we trace their evolution, we find out their hidden commonalities: from power tools that slice mountains in half to new breakthroughs in nanotechnology that enable them to literally split hairs. Follow the life of a power tool as it goes from an idea to our garage shelf as we discover how they're being used in surprising ways in sports, medicine and art.

THE WORKS: SNEAKERS (Thursday, August 7 at 9pm ET/PT)
They're everywhere, we take them for granted, but why are sneakers so essential to modern existence? We find out that some scientists believe sneakers may represent the next step in human evolution, see how biomechanical engineers perfect new designs as we uncover the story of a multi-billion dollar global industry that inspires music, movies & has its own subculture.

THE WORKS: GUNS N' AMMO (Thursday, August 14 at 9pm ET/PT)
Join a Buffalo stampede as we trace the evolution of guns on a cross-country odyssey that uncovers their incredible role in our everyday lives. Gun technology is all around us, from lighters, to a simple rubber band, to the meat in our freezer! Gunpowder, a centuries old invention still used today, has a key ingredient: urine! To experience the future we get an exclusive visit to a test facility where plasma, compressed gas and light powered guns are being perfected that can send projectiles into orbit!

THE WORKS: MOTORCYCLES (Thursday, August 21 at 9pm ET/PT)
Nothing combines human engineering with the tactile thrill of speed and power like the motorcycle. But what are the basic physics of the machine, and more importantly those experienced by the rider? From the first steam-powered bike to the latest in hybrid technology, we uncover the science behind the excitement as engineers unveil their latest creations. If you've always wanted to know what a power to weight ratio second to none is, look no further.

THE WORKS: TATTOOS (Thursday, August 28 at 9pm ET/PT)
Thomas Edison, Queen Victoria, Lady Churchill, The Rock, Kid Rock. What do they all have in common? Tattoos. From a 5000 year old tattooed mummy to the latest in flash tattoo technology, we experience an inside look at how tattoos are designed, applied, and where the latest inks and hardware are being developed. Surprising applications in law enforcement, mobile digital technology and medicine make the science of tattooing more than just a pretty picture.

THE WORKS: SKYDIVING (Thursday, September 18 at 9pm ET/PT)
Many of us have marveled to see a man whizzing to earth in free fall wondering how it's possible. Now, we're uncovering the physics, biology and technology behind skydiving. Its history in World War II aside, skydiving today has many surprising applications, from law enforcement to fire jumping, that few ever consider. Find out firsthand why free falling is so thrilling physiologically and how scientists are using skydiving to develop new technology for undersea, outer space and medical uses.

THE WORKS: ROBOTS (Thursday, September 25 at 9pm ET/PT)
They're building your car right now, keeping your office park secure at night, making the coffee in your kitchen and investigating bomb threats. Robots. They can crawl up walls, swim underwater and drop bombs from drone planes. But there is a whole other side to robots few have considered. Wilson has over a decade of experience studying artificial intelligence to create smart houses that anticipate our desires and automate the functions of our-day to-day life. He'll take us on an exclusive insider tour of the world of the home robot.

Daniel H. Wilson is a robotics engineer, author of five books, and columnist for Popular Mechanics magazine. Born in Oklahoma, he completed an M.S. in robotics, another M.S. in Machine Learning, and his Ph.D. in robotics in 2005 at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Wilson is the author of three books, Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived; How to Survive a Robot Uprising, which is currently in development at Paramount Pictures; and his latest book Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Rivalry, which was optioned by Nickelodeon Movies.