Wicked Inventions

Like it or not, warfare, conflict and the need to explore the unknown is the catalyst for human progress in technology. The fact is that mankind is at it's most inventive when it's being destructive. It's the same with the field of space exploration. The desire of the superpowers to dominate each other lead them to look to space to gain the upper hand. From that enormous effort and expenditure - all with military and political gain as its primary purpose - came a gamut of inventions we now use in our everyday lives. This series of 30 half-hour shows explores, explains a whole range of surprising gadgets, toys and implements that were originally made for a very different purpose.