United Stuff of America

Is there a top tier of presidential toughness that sets some of our commanders in chief apart from all the rest? Everyday objects reveal the real stories behind some of the most amazing presidential feats, from the bottle-thick eyeglasses that turned one man into an unlikely war hero, to the wooden cane that took down a would-be assassin, and the coconut that saved Camelot.

The U.S. Transforms itself from colony to superpower with the help of an engineering marvel: the gun. Trace the evolution of weapons technology as it shapes our history, from the colonial era Long Rifle to the high-powered Browning M2 Machine Gun and beyond.

The American Mafia is one of the biggest and most lucrative secret societies in America's history. At its height, mob bosses made hundreds of millions a year in illicit business. Go inside the secret stash that reveals the story of their bloody rise to power, and the decades-long war with law enforcement that led to their downfall.

The everyday objects that built America. How stuff as simple as a shovel, a birdcage, a drill bit, a railroad spike, and a video camera linked a nation from coast to coast and accomplished massive feats of engineering like the Hoover Dam, the Erie Canal and the skyscraper.

How small innovations like the pop top, TV dinner, microwave, sliced bread changed the way we eat. From homemade to hi-tech, the engineers and geniuses that started a food revolution.

The secret accomplices in America's most shocking crimes are everyday objects that you'd never suspect, from the handmade ladder that made tragic headlines to the clip-on tie that's the last witness to the DB Cooper mystery heist.

It's the decade best remembered for big hair, big phones and big personalities. But go beyond the fluff and you'll find a decade that impacts us still today. An 18 month-old baby will forever change television news. One single phone call will ignite a technological revolution. And a video game character causes Americans to alter how we spend our free time. Pick up your Rubik's Cube and put on those leg warmers, it's time to re-examine the decade that changed everything--the 1980s.

This episode looks at eight of America's richest people, from John Jacob Astor to John Paul Getty to Warren Buffet. What drives some people to amass great fortunes and how do they do it? Is it a lust for money or is it the thrill of the game that gets them out of bed each morning? And once they've achieved their wealth, how do they live? Eight objects reveal the secret lives of America's billionaires.