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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:05,379 --> 00:00:09,344 WILLIAM SHATNER: Magnificent temples, monumental dams... 2 00:00:09,413 --> 00:00:11,931 and lofty spires 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,206 that reach out and touch the sky. 4 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:20,275 Why do we build? 5 00:00:20,379 --> 00:00:23,827 Huh? Is it just because we need roofs over our heads? 6 00:00:23,931 --> 00:00:26,448 Or is there another, even more profound reason 7 00:00:26,551 --> 00:00:31,000 why we create massive stone monuments... 8 00:00:31,103 --> 00:00:33,862 soaring cathedrals... 9 00:00:33,931 --> 00:00:37,448 and towering skyscrapers? 10 00:00:37,551 --> 00:00:40,000 Are we trying to prove something? 11 00:00:40,103 --> 00:00:41,827 Or perhaps even... 12 00:00:41,931 --> 00:00:43,793 play God? 13 00:00:43,896 --> 00:00:45,758 Well... 14 00:00:45,827 --> 00:00:48,241 that is what we'll try and find out. 15 00:00:48,344 --> 00:00:50,344 ♪ ♪ 16 00:01:10,827 --> 00:01:14,034 SHATNER: Experts working in the Acoustics Research Centre 17 00:01:14,103 --> 00:01:16,137 at the University of Salford, 18 00:01:16,241 --> 00:01:19,275 publish the results of a groundbreaking study 19 00:01:19,344 --> 00:01:21,206 on one of the most iconic 20 00:01:21,310 --> 00:01:23,344 ancient monuments in the world... 21 00:01:23,448 --> 00:01:25,689 Stonehenge. 22 00:01:27,310 --> 00:01:29,896 In their experiment, the scientists constructed 23 00:01:29,965 --> 00:01:33,034 a scale model 1/12 the actual size 24 00:01:33,103 --> 00:01:35,275 of Stonehenge... 25 00:01:35,344 --> 00:01:40,068 used speakers to shoot sound waves throughout the model... 26 00:01:40,137 --> 00:01:43,689 and measured how sounds reverberated 27 00:01:43,793 --> 00:01:46,344 through the miniature structure. 28 00:01:46,448 --> 00:01:47,620 Their conclusion? 29 00:01:47,689 --> 00:01:50,758 The massive blocks of Stonehenge 30 00:01:50,827 --> 00:01:53,068 were designed... 31 00:01:53,137 --> 00:01:55,379 to amplify sound. 32 00:01:57,413 --> 00:01:59,896 ANDREW COLLINS: Everybody knows about Stonehenge. 33 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,275 This is the most famous megalithic monument 34 00:02:02,379 --> 00:02:04,103 anywhere in the world. 35 00:02:04,172 --> 00:02:06,620 But who created this? 36 00:02:06,724 --> 00:02:08,344 Why would they have done it? 37 00:02:08,413 --> 00:02:11,931 What research is now beginning to suggest is that 38 00:02:12,034 --> 00:02:15,068 one of the possibilities is to enhance 39 00:02:15,137 --> 00:02:17,586 the generation of sound used in ritual. 40 00:02:18,793 --> 00:02:22,206 SHATNER: The idea that Stonehenge was used to amplify sounds 41 00:02:22,310 --> 00:02:26,103 made during rituals is intriguing. 42 00:02:26,172 --> 00:02:28,965 But it is just the latest in a long line of theories 43 00:02:29,034 --> 00:02:31,482 about this mysterious structure. 44 00:02:31,586 --> 00:02:34,758 After centuries of study and speculation, 45 00:02:34,827 --> 00:02:39,620 Stonehenge continues to inspire both fascination 46 00:02:39,724 --> 00:02:41,965 and intense debate as to how 47 00:02:42,034 --> 00:02:44,827 and why it was built. 48 00:02:44,931 --> 00:02:47,275 HUGH NEWMAN: Stonehenge is the most magnificent stone circle 49 00:02:47,379 --> 00:02:49,068 in the British Isles. 50 00:02:49,137 --> 00:02:51,724 It's unique, it's unlike any stone circle 51 00:02:51,793 --> 00:02:53,379 anywhere on the planet. 52 00:02:53,482 --> 00:02:56,758 It has lintels above it, it's perfectly circular. 53 00:02:56,862 --> 00:02:59,689 And it really stands out as the kind 54 00:02:59,758 --> 00:03:01,827 of symbol of ancient Britain. 55 00:03:01,896 --> 00:03:05,620 People are kind of obsessed by it because it's the only way 56 00:03:05,689 --> 00:03:09,344 they can get back to have some contact with their ancestors. 57 00:03:10,517 --> 00:03:13,758 SHATNER: Believed to be constructed in 3000 BC, 58 00:03:13,862 --> 00:03:17,068 Stonehenge has stood on the plains of Wiltshire, England 59 00:03:17,137 --> 00:03:20,068 for at least 5,000 years. 60 00:03:20,137 --> 00:03:23,827 With an outer ring of 30 four-ton stones 61 00:03:23,931 --> 00:03:26,551 surrounding five huge arches 62 00:03:26,620 --> 00:03:29,620 whose massive blocks weigh 25 tons each, 63 00:03:29,724 --> 00:03:33,206 Stonehenge's construction 64 00:03:33,310 --> 00:03:35,758 defies explanation. 65 00:03:37,034 --> 00:03:40,551 Such a project could not have been achieved haphazardly. 66 00:03:40,655 --> 00:03:43,206 LYNN PICKNETT: We know that some of the stones 67 00:03:43,275 --> 00:03:46,689 were actually imported from South Wales, 68 00:03:46,758 --> 00:03:50,137 which was something like 120 miles away. 69 00:03:51,206 --> 00:03:53,241 A bit tricky when you don't have 70 00:03:53,344 --> 00:03:56,344 flatbed trucks or decent roads. 71 00:03:56,413 --> 00:03:58,965 NEWMAN: Some of the stones at Stonehenge 72 00:03:59,068 --> 00:04:01,517 weigh between 50 and 70 tons. 73 00:04:01,620 --> 00:04:03,344 So how could you have moved them from Wales 74 00:04:03,413 --> 00:04:04,793 to construct Stonehenge? 75 00:04:04,862 --> 00:04:08,413 These are answers that have not been properly dealt with. 76 00:04:09,620 --> 00:04:11,827 PICKNETT: For part of the journey, it's been worked out 77 00:04:11,896 --> 00:04:14,689 that they would've floated them on boats. 78 00:04:14,758 --> 00:04:17,206 But then there would be quite a bit of land 79 00:04:17,275 --> 00:04:19,068 to drag them across 80 00:04:19,172 --> 00:04:22,172 and presumably they used greased rollers 81 00:04:22,275 --> 00:04:25,137 and an awful lot of manpower. 82 00:04:25,241 --> 00:04:27,758 But, again, we don't know. 83 00:04:27,862 --> 00:04:30,448 Once people have actually got the stones 84 00:04:30,517 --> 00:04:32,137 to the site at Stonehenge, 85 00:04:32,206 --> 00:04:33,931 the next major problem is 86 00:04:34,034 --> 00:04:35,310 how do you lift them up in the air? 87 00:04:35,413 --> 00:04:37,896 And the only way I can think 88 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,241 that you would do that is that you would make 89 00:04:40,310 --> 00:04:43,103 a ramp and you would drag them up the ramp, 90 00:04:43,172 --> 00:04:45,310 and then tip them off the end. 91 00:04:45,413 --> 00:04:48,068 That's a massive undertaking, 92 00:04:48,172 --> 00:04:50,827 so we're talking about thousands of people 93 00:04:50,896 --> 00:04:52,758 involved creating Stonehenge. 94 00:04:52,862 --> 00:04:55,758 And these people are working 150 miles apart. 95 00:04:55,827 --> 00:04:59,206 Just imagine how complex those logistics are. 96 00:04:59,310 --> 00:05:01,758 We may never really know how they did it. 97 00:05:03,206 --> 00:05:06,517 SHATNER: As if transporting, hoisting, and precisely balancing 98 00:05:06,586 --> 00:05:09,517 those giant stones wasn't incredible enough, 99 00:05:09,586 --> 00:05:13,310 scholars have observed that Stonehenge's entrance 100 00:05:13,379 --> 00:05:15,862 aligns perfectly 101 00:05:15,965 --> 00:05:18,896 with the rising sun on the summer solstice. 102 00:05:20,620 --> 00:05:22,551 The longest day of the year. 103 00:05:23,724 --> 00:05:27,896 COLLINS: It was almost like a marriage of heaven and earth together 104 00:05:27,965 --> 00:05:29,827 to get closer to heaven. 105 00:05:29,896 --> 00:05:32,620 And it seemed to be bringing down the influence 106 00:05:32,689 --> 00:05:34,344 of the sky world 107 00:05:34,413 --> 00:05:36,724 on Earth itself. 108 00:05:36,827 --> 00:05:39,689 NEWMAN: It does seem that they wanted to influence 109 00:05:39,793 --> 00:05:43,137 and integrate the natural energies of the Earth. 110 00:05:43,241 --> 00:05:45,931 And these massive megalithic boulders 111 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,448 with cosmic energies from above 112 00:05:48,517 --> 00:05:50,103 to create this enchanted space 113 00:05:50,206 --> 00:05:51,655 where people could have ceremony. 114 00:05:53,655 --> 00:05:56,413 SHATNER: Were Stonehenge's megalithic boulders intended 115 00:05:56,517 --> 00:05:59,034 to be energetically linked to the power of the sun 116 00:05:59,137 --> 00:06:01,241 in some way? 117 00:06:01,344 --> 00:06:04,724 It's certainly a thought-provoking question. 118 00:06:04,793 --> 00:06:08,793 And it might help to explain yet another mystery. 119 00:06:08,896 --> 00:06:12,310 The burial sites that are all around Stonehenge. 120 00:06:12,379 --> 00:06:16,344 You can see hundreds of burial mounds. 121 00:06:16,413 --> 00:06:18,517 The kind of people that are buried there 122 00:06:18,620 --> 00:06:20,620 come from all over Europe. 123 00:06:20,724 --> 00:06:23,758 In other words, they were visitors there. 124 00:06:23,827 --> 00:06:25,965 It was a site that people were coming to 125 00:06:26,034 --> 00:06:28,241 from all over Europe. 126 00:06:28,310 --> 00:06:30,068 Now, why were they coming there? 127 00:06:32,137 --> 00:06:35,689 What's strange is that the archaeology suggests 128 00:06:35,758 --> 00:06:39,689 that many of these people had some long-term illness 129 00:06:39,758 --> 00:06:44,000 or disability, suggesting that they were going to Stonehenge 130 00:06:44,103 --> 00:06:46,413 in the hope of a cure. 131 00:06:47,758 --> 00:06:50,655 SHATNER: Stonehenge, a healing sanctuary? 132 00:06:50,758 --> 00:06:53,655 But why would people struggling with illness 133 00:06:53,758 --> 00:06:56,862 think that this stone circle could cure them? 134 00:06:56,965 --> 00:06:59,103 PHILLIPS: Some of the stones at Stonehenge 135 00:06:59,172 --> 00:07:01,275 are called bluestones. 136 00:07:01,379 --> 00:07:03,172 There's only one place that bluestone 137 00:07:03,241 --> 00:07:04,724 can be got in the British Isles, 138 00:07:04,827 --> 00:07:08,275 and that's the Preseli Hills in South Wales. 139 00:07:08,379 --> 00:07:09,896 We know that they moved those stones 140 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,379 all the way from South Wales to Stonehenge, 141 00:07:12,482 --> 00:07:13,827 but why would they do this? 142 00:07:13,896 --> 00:07:15,896 Why would they need those very specific 143 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:17,137 kind of stones? 144 00:07:19,517 --> 00:07:21,689 NEWMAN: In ancient traditions of 145 00:07:21,793 --> 00:07:23,482 the Preseli Mountains where the bluestones 146 00:07:23,551 --> 00:07:25,689 of Stonehenge originally came from, 147 00:07:25,793 --> 00:07:29,206 it states that if you poured water over the stones, 148 00:07:29,275 --> 00:07:32,000 and then you drank the water, it would have healing effects. 149 00:07:32,103 --> 00:07:35,034 And the idea was people would come from all over Europe 150 00:07:35,103 --> 00:07:37,413 and actually come to Stonehenge to be healed, 151 00:07:37,517 --> 00:07:39,896 not just using the energy of the stones, 152 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,620 but also the water that was poured 153 00:07:41,689 --> 00:07:43,517 over the stones and then drunk. 154 00:07:44,655 --> 00:07:46,034 SHATNER: Is it possible that the bluestones 155 00:07:46,137 --> 00:07:46,896 that make up Stonehenge 156 00:07:46,965 --> 00:07:50,620 actually have healing properties? 157 00:07:50,689 --> 00:07:53,931 For some, that sounds rather fantastical and hard to believe. 158 00:07:54,034 --> 00:07:56,655 But for others, it's one of the many intriguing theories 159 00:07:56,758 --> 00:07:58,517 that makes Stonehenge 160 00:07:58,586 --> 00:08:00,275 so fascinating. 161 00:08:01,793 --> 00:08:05,137 PHILLIPS: We may never know why they brought the bluestones 162 00:08:05,206 --> 00:08:08,586 from 150 miles away. 163 00:08:08,655 --> 00:08:11,931 We may never know why they built Stonehenge 164 00:08:12,034 --> 00:08:15,551 because they left no writing behind. 165 00:08:15,655 --> 00:08:18,758 But we do know that Stonehenge attracts 166 00:08:18,827 --> 00:08:21,379 over a million visitors every year. 167 00:08:21,482 --> 00:08:23,482 It attracts new-age travelers. 168 00:08:23,551 --> 00:08:25,137 It attracts occultists. 169 00:08:25,206 --> 00:08:27,655 It attracts ordinary, everyday people. 170 00:08:27,724 --> 00:08:29,827 There's something about Stonehenge 171 00:08:29,896 --> 00:08:32,206 that seems to act as a magnet. 172 00:08:34,551 --> 00:08:38,206 SHATNER: Stonehenge is evidence of humanity's desire to build 173 00:08:38,275 --> 00:08:42,689 a structure that was more than just a place of shelter. 174 00:08:42,758 --> 00:08:46,931 It is an early example of a primal urge within us 175 00:08:47,034 --> 00:08:50,862 to create something greater than ourselves. 176 00:08:50,965 --> 00:08:55,344 But what motivates this ambition in the first place? 177 00:08:55,413 --> 00:09:00,000 Well, perhaps a clue can be found a little later in history 178 00:09:00,068 --> 00:09:03,689 by examining the engineering of the ancient Greeks 179 00:09:03,758 --> 00:09:07,103 and the strange perfection 180 00:09:07,206 --> 00:09:09,068 of the Parthenon. 181 00:09:14,965 --> 00:09:17,413 SHATNER: High atop the Acropolis in Athens, Greece 182 00:09:17,517 --> 00:09:19,620 stands one of the most magnificent 183 00:09:19,689 --> 00:09:23,000 and most aesthetically pleasing structures in the world. 184 00:09:23,103 --> 00:09:25,241 The Parthenon. 185 00:09:25,344 --> 00:09:27,862 This 23,000-square-foot temple 186 00:09:27,965 --> 00:09:31,137 was constructed using 100,000 tons of radiant white marble. 187 00:09:31,206 --> 00:09:34,103 The exterior of the Parthenon is lined 188 00:09:34,206 --> 00:09:36,793 with 46 colossal columns... 189 00:09:36,896 --> 00:09:38,793 which strikingly appear to be laid out 190 00:09:38,896 --> 00:09:41,103 in the shape of an exact rectangle. 191 00:09:41,172 --> 00:09:44,172 And what's more astonishing is that the more than 192 00:09:44,241 --> 00:09:48,448 13,000 stone blocks used to assemble the Parthenon 193 00:09:48,517 --> 00:09:51,241 were precisely fitted together, 194 00:09:51,310 --> 00:09:54,103 without the use of mortar. 195 00:09:54,172 --> 00:09:55,896 Which begs the question... 196 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,793 how were the ancient Greeks able 197 00:09:58,896 --> 00:10:01,724 to build something that looks so... 198 00:10:01,827 --> 00:10:04,068 perfect? 199 00:10:04,137 --> 00:10:07,413 JONATHAN YOUNG: The Parthenon is an amazingly beautiful structure. 200 00:10:07,517 --> 00:10:10,724 The design, the spacing of each stone 201 00:10:10,827 --> 00:10:14,068 is so perfect that it inspires just to look at. 202 00:10:15,620 --> 00:10:17,862 The proportions are so exact. 203 00:10:17,965 --> 00:10:20,758 For a large building, it is an amazing thing. 204 00:10:20,862 --> 00:10:23,137 And it lifts the spirit upward. 205 00:10:24,448 --> 00:10:27,275 SHATNER: Built beginning in 447 BC 206 00:10:27,379 --> 00:10:30,551 on the orders of the famed statesman and general Pericles, 207 00:10:30,655 --> 00:10:33,586 the Parthenon celebrates the Athenians' victory 208 00:10:33,689 --> 00:10:35,931 over Persian invaders... 209 00:10:36,034 --> 00:10:39,586 who had tried to conquer the city for 50 years. 210 00:10:39,689 --> 00:10:43,586 DORAN: Athens during the time of the building of the Parthenon 211 00:10:43,655 --> 00:10:47,620 is an incredible, cosmopolitan, vibrant city. 212 00:10:47,689 --> 00:10:52,344 It's producing art, literature, 213 00:10:52,448 --> 00:10:56,413 sculpture, architecture. 214 00:10:56,517 --> 00:11:00,068 It's the Manhattan of the fifth century BC. 215 00:11:00,172 --> 00:11:03,724 And I think if you're an Athenian citizen, 216 00:11:03,827 --> 00:11:06,137 walking, doing your everyday work, 217 00:11:06,206 --> 00:11:10,689 and then you see the Acropolis in the center of the city, 218 00:11:10,793 --> 00:11:13,034 this incredible shining hill, 219 00:11:13,137 --> 00:11:16,344 and then you see the Parthenon-- the gleaming marble, 220 00:11:16,448 --> 00:11:20,655 the biggest and most beautiful Greek temple that existed, 221 00:11:20,758 --> 00:11:23,724 at least in mainland Greece at this point-- 222 00:11:23,793 --> 00:11:25,896 you'd be filled with a sense of wonder. 223 00:11:28,068 --> 00:11:30,827 SHATNER: Although most of the interior of the Parthenon has decayed 224 00:11:30,931 --> 00:11:33,620 due to the ravages of time, 225 00:11:33,724 --> 00:11:36,448 the rectangular symmetry of its exterior 226 00:11:36,551 --> 00:11:40,000 looks flawless to this day. 227 00:11:40,103 --> 00:11:43,517 But strangely, for a temple that was clearly built 228 00:11:43,620 --> 00:11:45,862 with perfection in mind, 229 00:11:45,965 --> 00:11:49,689 what makes the Parthenon so fascinating 230 00:11:49,793 --> 00:11:52,275 is actually its imperfections. 231 00:11:53,310 --> 00:11:56,620 Not only were the Greeks masters of geometry, 232 00:11:56,724 --> 00:11:59,758 they were also masters of optical illusions. 233 00:11:59,827 --> 00:12:03,482 They knew the fact that your eye plays tricks on you. 234 00:12:03,551 --> 00:12:05,896 Therefore, they built the Parthenon 235 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,448 "slightly incorrectly," quote, unquote, 236 00:12:08,551 --> 00:12:10,000 to compensate for this 237 00:12:10,068 --> 00:12:13,137 so that the net result is perfection. 238 00:12:14,068 --> 00:12:17,034 DORAN: The Parthenon is a rectangle, 239 00:12:17,137 --> 00:12:20,482 but there are no right angles in the entire building. 240 00:12:20,586 --> 00:12:23,793 Everything is slightly off. 241 00:12:23,896 --> 00:12:26,344 The columns look straight from below, 242 00:12:26,448 --> 00:12:31,103 but they are slightly tilted toward each other. 243 00:12:31,206 --> 00:12:35,206 So if you were standing at the base of the Parthenon, 244 00:12:35,275 --> 00:12:39,827 and if the columns didn't stop after a certain number of feet, 245 00:12:39,931 --> 00:12:43,103 but they kept on going all the way up into the sky, 246 00:12:43,172 --> 00:12:46,137 you would see the columns meeting 247 00:12:46,206 --> 00:12:50,241 if they were long enough to actually meet. 248 00:12:50,310 --> 00:12:53,448 This is a very curious thing that the builders did. 249 00:12:54,793 --> 00:12:57,034 KAKU: It turns out that the Parthenon does not have 250 00:12:57,137 --> 00:12:59,344 straight parallel lines at all. 251 00:12:59,448 --> 00:13:03,172 The columns are not vertically cylindrical at all. 252 00:13:03,241 --> 00:13:07,965 They bulge by about an inch at the center of the cylinder. 253 00:13:08,068 --> 00:13:11,724 So, for example, the human brain, looking at a column, 254 00:13:11,793 --> 00:13:14,931 will actually think that the waist is pinched. 255 00:13:15,034 --> 00:13:17,482 Your eye thinks that the center of the cylinder 256 00:13:17,586 --> 00:13:19,482 is shrunk. 257 00:13:19,586 --> 00:13:21,000 To compensate for that, 258 00:13:21,103 --> 00:13:23,896 the columns of the Parthenon bulge. 259 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,655 There's no way this could have been an accident. 260 00:13:26,724 --> 00:13:30,655 SHATNER: But is that all the Greeks were trying to achieve-- 261 00:13:30,758 --> 00:13:33,310 an optical illusion? 262 00:13:33,413 --> 00:13:36,517 Or could they have had another purpose in mind 263 00:13:36,586 --> 00:13:38,965 when they built the Parthenon? 264 00:13:39,068 --> 00:13:42,000 COLLINS: Why do we create monuments like the Parthenon? 265 00:13:43,379 --> 00:13:45,000 And the answer is, 266 00:13:45,103 --> 00:13:49,620 we want to try and imitate the divine. 267 00:13:49,724 --> 00:13:52,517 The divine was seen as perfection. 268 00:13:52,586 --> 00:13:55,482 The gods are seen as perfection. 269 00:13:55,551 --> 00:13:58,137 And so sacred geometry 270 00:13:58,206 --> 00:14:01,310 has been incorporated into the Parthenon 271 00:14:01,379 --> 00:14:03,586 in the belief that it was now endowed 272 00:14:03,655 --> 00:14:05,931 with some kind of divine power. 273 00:14:06,862 --> 00:14:09,793 And this was done very specifically 274 00:14:09,896 --> 00:14:14,241 to connect the mundane with the divine 275 00:14:14,344 --> 00:14:18,551 to create the connection between this world and the next. 276 00:14:20,206 --> 00:14:22,517 SHATNER: Is the unique design of the Parthenon 277 00:14:22,586 --> 00:14:25,862 some kind of attempt to connect to a higher power? 278 00:14:25,965 --> 00:14:29,344 According to some researchers, the answer is yes. 279 00:14:29,413 --> 00:14:33,275 And they claim that the fact that the Parthenon still stands, 280 00:14:33,344 --> 00:14:36,758 and that it still looks perfect and pleasing to the eye, 281 00:14:36,827 --> 00:14:38,931 is a testament to what its architects 282 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,448 were striving to build: something eternal, everlasting 283 00:14:43,551 --> 00:14:46,931 and, perhaps, divine. 284 00:14:47,034 --> 00:14:49,413 Just like another extraordinary structure 285 00:14:49,517 --> 00:14:52,379 that was constructed more than a thousand years later, 286 00:14:52,482 --> 00:14:56,413 one that was built not just to represent the divine, 287 00:14:56,482 --> 00:14:57,448 but to make you feel 288 00:14:57,517 --> 00:15:01,413 like you were actually in the presence of God. 289 00:15:10,724 --> 00:15:12,862 SHATNER: For centuries, 290 00:15:12,965 --> 00:15:16,379 many have remarked on the strange power that Notre-Dame-- 291 00:15:16,448 --> 00:15:19,655 the historic cathedral that sits at the center of Paris-- 292 00:15:19,724 --> 00:15:21,862 has on people. 293 00:15:22,655 --> 00:15:25,000 But what exactly is this power? 294 00:15:25,068 --> 00:15:28,931 And could it actually be the presence of... 295 00:15:29,034 --> 00:15:31,103 God? 296 00:15:31,172 --> 00:15:33,413 DELL UPTON: What's extraordinary to me 297 00:15:33,482 --> 00:15:35,344 is that you've got a building 298 00:15:35,448 --> 00:15:37,655 that has been there for almost a thousand years, 299 00:15:37,758 --> 00:15:39,655 in one form or another, 300 00:15:39,724 --> 00:15:42,344 and even though it's important 301 00:15:42,448 --> 00:15:44,482 from an architectural historian's point of view 302 00:15:44,551 --> 00:15:47,862 in various ways, it also has this life in popular culture, 303 00:15:47,965 --> 00:15:50,448 which many buildings don't. 304 00:15:50,551 --> 00:15:53,000 Its role in the public view 305 00:15:53,068 --> 00:15:56,241 has to do with its subsequent reputation. 306 00:15:57,172 --> 00:15:59,586 AMIR HUSSAIN: You walk into Notre-Dame, 307 00:15:59,655 --> 00:16:01,103 and all of a sudden you realize 308 00:16:01,206 --> 00:16:02,896 the one human being is very small, 309 00:16:02,965 --> 00:16:04,724 and you're literally humbled by this, 310 00:16:04,793 --> 00:16:06,068 and almost falling to the ground, 311 00:16:06,137 --> 00:16:09,758 because it's such an impressive sort of structure there. 312 00:16:09,862 --> 00:16:12,413 YOUNG: The light coming through the windows, 313 00:16:12,517 --> 00:16:14,724 especially the rose windows, 314 00:16:14,827 --> 00:16:16,655 has an effect on our consciousness. 315 00:16:16,758 --> 00:16:18,931 This is something beyond words. 316 00:16:19,034 --> 00:16:22,551 This is the power of ritual and aesthetics to touch us 317 00:16:22,620 --> 00:16:24,620 on a spiritual level. 318 00:16:24,689 --> 00:16:27,172 It can't entirely be explained. 319 00:16:29,172 --> 00:16:31,448 PICKNETT: It's like there is a presence there. 320 00:16:32,551 --> 00:16:34,206 People go silent. 321 00:16:34,310 --> 00:16:36,241 You know, talking in whispers. 322 00:16:36,310 --> 00:16:38,413 And you say, "Well, of course they would be, 323 00:16:38,517 --> 00:16:40,241 it's a Christian cathedral." 324 00:16:40,344 --> 00:16:42,413 So that's what Christians take from it. 325 00:16:42,517 --> 00:16:44,310 It reinforces... 326 00:16:44,413 --> 00:16:45,448 their belief. 327 00:16:45,517 --> 00:16:48,758 But millions upon millions of visitors have felt it, 328 00:16:48,862 --> 00:16:50,551 whether they have any religion or not. 329 00:16:52,137 --> 00:16:54,448 SHATNER: In 1163 AD, 330 00:16:54,551 --> 00:16:57,586 Bishop Maurice de Sully authorized the construction 331 00:16:57,655 --> 00:17:00,034 of Notre-Dame Cathedral. 332 00:17:00,103 --> 00:17:04,758 The bishop wanted the majesty and splendor of Notre-Dame 333 00:17:04,827 --> 00:17:09,275 to show France's devotion to God. 334 00:17:09,379 --> 00:17:13,206 The massive building took over 180 years to complete, 335 00:17:13,275 --> 00:17:16,862 and features a 115-foot-high roof 336 00:17:16,931 --> 00:17:21,620 and two towers that stand 223 feet tall. 337 00:17:23,172 --> 00:17:25,241 The value system of a collective 338 00:17:25,344 --> 00:17:30,034 is reflected in the shrines and monuments they build. 339 00:17:31,068 --> 00:17:33,206 Notre-Dame was the tallest building in Paris 340 00:17:33,275 --> 00:17:35,241 for a very long time. 341 00:17:35,310 --> 00:17:37,310 The common people on the street would look up 342 00:17:37,379 --> 00:17:41,862 and see the cathedral towering above all other human activity. 343 00:17:41,965 --> 00:17:44,689 That was the message. 344 00:17:44,758 --> 00:17:46,896 A thousand years ago, when architects were building 345 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,310 bigger and bigger stone cathedrals, 346 00:17:49,379 --> 00:17:52,413 the problem was, sometimes they would collapse. 347 00:17:54,068 --> 00:17:56,068 So before they had steel, 348 00:17:56,172 --> 00:18:00,034 they had to use stone with weight on the outside, 349 00:18:00,103 --> 00:18:03,965 called the flying buttress, to support the roof. 350 00:18:04,034 --> 00:18:05,965 That's the reason why Notre-Dame, 351 00:18:06,068 --> 00:18:08,000 built a thousand years ago, 352 00:18:08,103 --> 00:18:10,620 can have thin walls and stained glass. 353 00:18:11,620 --> 00:18:14,896 BURROWS: Notre-Dame's builders wanted to inspire awe 354 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,517 when people came and looked at the cathedral. 355 00:18:17,586 --> 00:18:19,275 So, how did they do that? 356 00:18:19,344 --> 00:18:23,000 One of the main tricks is to allow light into the space 357 00:18:23,103 --> 00:18:26,172 so that you get this huge sense of height. 358 00:18:26,241 --> 00:18:28,000 You don't see the massive walls, 359 00:18:28,103 --> 00:18:31,137 and the building seems to be floating on air. 360 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,310 SHATNER: Historians and architects 361 00:18:34,379 --> 00:18:37,965 have also suggested that the power of Notre-Dame may come, 362 00:18:38,068 --> 00:18:41,000 not just from how it looks, 363 00:18:41,068 --> 00:18:43,896 but also how it sounds. 364 00:18:43,965 --> 00:18:46,379 HUSSAIN: So, one of the amazing things about Notre-Dame Cathedral 365 00:18:46,482 --> 00:18:49,034 is the sound, the acoustical properties. 366 00:18:49,137 --> 00:18:51,931 And the acoustics in there are just marvelous. 367 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,000 [men's choir singing gently in Latin] 368 00:19:01,827 --> 00:19:03,620 And that affects us. 369 00:19:03,724 --> 00:19:06,068 It physically, literally affects us. 370 00:19:06,172 --> 00:19:07,931 Our heart beats in a different kind of way. 371 00:19:08,034 --> 00:19:10,206 You know, we can feel it in our bodies. 372 00:19:13,482 --> 00:19:16,103 BURROWS: The great acoustics of Notre-Dame Cathedral came 373 00:19:16,172 --> 00:19:18,965 from practice and understanding geometry. 374 00:19:19,068 --> 00:19:20,793 So the people who did that, they understood 375 00:19:20,896 --> 00:19:24,724 that if you emit noise, a singing, at one location, 376 00:19:24,793 --> 00:19:27,103 through the shape of the ceiling you can bounce that noise 377 00:19:27,206 --> 00:19:29,724 down to another location, 378 00:19:29,793 --> 00:19:32,206 like a congregation inside the cathedral. 379 00:19:33,137 --> 00:19:35,689 SHATNER: Did the builders of Notre-Dame 380 00:19:35,793 --> 00:19:39,172 use clever engineering to create a sense of holiness 381 00:19:39,275 --> 00:19:42,137 and spirituality in the cathedral? 382 00:19:42,241 --> 00:19:43,586 Definitely. 383 00:19:44,448 --> 00:19:46,586 But there are some who argue 384 00:19:46,655 --> 00:19:49,034 that the site at which Notre-Dame stands 385 00:19:49,137 --> 00:19:51,931 already possessed a special power 386 00:19:52,034 --> 00:19:55,241 before the cathedral was built. 387 00:19:55,344 --> 00:19:59,068 The location of Notre-Dame is significant. 388 00:19:59,137 --> 00:20:03,137 Like many other cathedrals, it is a "temenos." 389 00:20:03,206 --> 00:20:06,000 That means sacred place, sacred ground. 390 00:20:06,103 --> 00:20:10,241 A place where we can be in touch with the transcendent energies. 391 00:20:12,068 --> 00:20:14,206 COLLINS: One of the little-known facts 392 00:20:14,310 --> 00:20:16,931 about the Cathedral of Notre-Dame 393 00:20:17,034 --> 00:20:20,068 is that if you go outside of it, 394 00:20:20,172 --> 00:20:23,137 there is a star on the ground 395 00:20:23,206 --> 00:20:28,241 that points towards every point in France. 396 00:20:28,310 --> 00:20:32,000 And it is from here that all of the measures 397 00:20:32,103 --> 00:20:34,724 for cartography are made. 398 00:20:34,793 --> 00:20:37,034 Which tells us that Notre-Dame 399 00:20:37,103 --> 00:20:39,965 was considered to be the absolute center, 400 00:20:40,068 --> 00:20:44,793 not just of France, but also of Paris itself. 401 00:20:44,896 --> 00:20:46,620 HUSSAIN: There's a symbolism 402 00:20:46,724 --> 00:20:49,448 to the physical location of Notre-Dame. 403 00:20:51,827 --> 00:20:55,103 This idea that Notre-Dame radiates out, 404 00:20:55,172 --> 00:20:58,689 not just from the center of Paris to France, 405 00:20:58,758 --> 00:21:01,827 but from the center of Paris to the world. 406 00:21:10,275 --> 00:21:13,172 SHATNER: A fire breaks out at Notre-Dame. 407 00:21:13,241 --> 00:21:17,103 400 firefighters launch a valiant effort 408 00:21:17,206 --> 00:21:19,206 to fight the blaze, 409 00:21:19,275 --> 00:21:22,689 using water pumped directly from the Seine River. 410 00:21:22,793 --> 00:21:24,103 [indistinct chatter] 411 00:21:24,172 --> 00:21:26,862 Parisians watch in horror 412 00:21:26,965 --> 00:21:28,551 as the flames and smoke envelop 413 00:21:28,620 --> 00:21:30,206 the upper reaches of the cathedral 414 00:21:30,275 --> 00:21:34,310 and its 315-foot-tall spire... 415 00:21:36,137 --> 00:21:38,034 ...collapses. 416 00:21:38,103 --> 00:21:41,034 [panicked screaming] 417 00:21:41,137 --> 00:21:44,379 COLLINS: A fire began in its timber roof 418 00:21:44,482 --> 00:21:49,862 that spread quickly, causing the collapse of its spire 419 00:21:49,965 --> 00:21:55,689 and hundreds of tons of lead melted and poured down 420 00:21:55,758 --> 00:21:57,206 into the interior 421 00:21:57,310 --> 00:21:59,172 of the structure. 422 00:21:59,275 --> 00:22:03,758 And as much as a tragedy as this actually was, 423 00:22:03,827 --> 00:22:08,586 the response to it across the globe was remarkable. 424 00:22:12,310 --> 00:22:14,620 SHATNER: The reaction to the disastrous fire 425 00:22:14,724 --> 00:22:18,000 transcended national borders and faiths. 426 00:22:18,068 --> 00:22:20,758 In only two days, people around the world contributed 427 00:22:20,862 --> 00:22:22,689 nearly a billion dollars 428 00:22:22,793 --> 00:22:26,862 to rebuild and restore this beloved landmark. 429 00:22:28,137 --> 00:22:31,103 YOUNG: The outpouring of donations from within France 430 00:22:31,206 --> 00:22:35,551 and from all over the world tells us what a cathedral means. 431 00:22:35,620 --> 00:22:37,482 It's not just a tourist spot. 432 00:22:37,551 --> 00:22:41,551 If you enter a cathedral, something happens to you. 433 00:22:41,620 --> 00:22:43,517 People know they felt something. 434 00:22:43,586 --> 00:22:45,068 They are attached to that building. 435 00:22:46,103 --> 00:22:49,172 HUSSAIN: So, when you had the fire in Notre-Dame Cathedral 436 00:22:49,275 --> 00:22:51,275 and the rebuilding of that, 437 00:22:51,379 --> 00:22:53,724 that was extraordinary. 438 00:22:53,827 --> 00:22:57,241 The rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral shows the attachment 439 00:22:57,344 --> 00:22:59,655 that people have to the divine is infinite, 440 00:22:59,758 --> 00:23:02,793 and I think there's a power there. 441 00:23:06,931 --> 00:23:08,413 Can you explain it? 442 00:23:09,551 --> 00:23:14,931 That sensation you feel entering a historic cathedral. 443 00:23:15,034 --> 00:23:19,793 Ah. Do these cathedrals actually connect us to higher powers-- 444 00:23:19,862 --> 00:23:23,000 powers we might not fully understand? 445 00:23:24,034 --> 00:23:26,137 Perhaps the answer can be found 446 00:23:26,241 --> 00:23:30,586 by examining another vast man-made structure. 447 00:23:30,655 --> 00:23:34,689 One that was designed with another kind of power in mind. 448 00:23:35,620 --> 00:23:38,655 Power over Mother Nature. 449 00:23:49,172 --> 00:23:52,344 SHATNER: With the country in the grips of the Great Depression, 450 00:23:52,448 --> 00:23:54,206 President Franklin D. Roosevelt 451 00:23:54,275 --> 00:23:56,275 presides over the dedication ceremony 452 00:23:56,379 --> 00:23:59,931 of one of the most extraordinary engineering projects 453 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,206 in United States history-- 454 00:24:02,310 --> 00:24:04,724 the Hoover Dam. 455 00:24:06,586 --> 00:24:08,827 McBRIDE: There were thousands of people. 456 00:24:08,896 --> 00:24:14,862 And at that time, the people who came to listen to the president 457 00:24:14,931 --> 00:24:19,413 dedicate it understood that it was more than just a dam. 458 00:24:20,241 --> 00:24:23,000 They were standing on a structure 459 00:24:23,068 --> 00:24:27,586 that they had built with their own blood and sweat and tears. 460 00:24:28,551 --> 00:24:31,551 We are here to celebrate the completion 461 00:24:31,655 --> 00:24:35,482 of the greatest dam in the world. 462 00:24:35,586 --> 00:24:38,344 SHATNER: Named for President Herbert Hoover-- 463 00:24:38,413 --> 00:24:42,241 who was in office when construction began in 1931-- 464 00:24:42,310 --> 00:24:44,344 the Hoover Dam is located 465 00:24:44,448 --> 00:24:47,758 in the Black Canyon region of the Colorado River. 466 00:24:47,827 --> 00:24:50,586 Officials believed that a dam in this area 467 00:24:50,655 --> 00:24:53,344 could help manage flooding of the Colorado River, 468 00:24:53,448 --> 00:24:56,517 provide a much-needed reservoir of fresh water, 469 00:24:56,586 --> 00:25:00,137 and be a source of hydroelectric power. 470 00:25:00,241 --> 00:25:01,655 There was just one problem. 471 00:25:01,758 --> 00:25:05,724 In order to tame the Colorado River, 472 00:25:05,827 --> 00:25:09,344 the engineers would have to construct a more ambitious dam 473 00:25:09,448 --> 00:25:12,827 than had ever been created before. 474 00:25:12,931 --> 00:25:15,172 McBRIDE: Here you have the Colorado River-- 475 00:25:15,241 --> 00:25:19,551 one of the wildest and most untamed waterways in the world-- 476 00:25:19,655 --> 00:25:21,896 and you want to tame it. 477 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,000 You want to control it 478 00:25:23,068 --> 00:25:27,482 so that you can provide dependable water storage, 479 00:25:27,586 --> 00:25:30,655 hydroelectric power, irrigation. 480 00:25:31,724 --> 00:25:32,931 MICHAEL DENNIN: Well, when I think of the Hoover Dam, 481 00:25:33,034 --> 00:25:35,413 I'm impressed that we actually moved the river 482 00:25:35,482 --> 00:25:36,931 to build the dam. 483 00:25:37,034 --> 00:25:38,896 And they had to divert the river through tunnels, 484 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,413 through the mountainsides on either side, 485 00:25:41,517 --> 00:25:43,827 so you have a dry bed that you can build the dam on. 486 00:25:43,931 --> 00:25:46,137 And then bringing the river back just amazes me. 487 00:25:47,206 --> 00:25:49,586 SHATNER: Built in just five years-- 488 00:25:49,689 --> 00:25:52,413 two years ahead of schedule-- 489 00:25:52,517 --> 00:25:57,482 the Hoover Dam is a staggering 726 feet tall. 490 00:25:57,586 --> 00:25:59,517 At the time of its construction, 491 00:25:59,620 --> 00:26:02,482 it was the tallest dam ever built, 492 00:26:02,586 --> 00:26:05,689 the costliest water project ever undertaken, 493 00:26:05,758 --> 00:26:09,931 and home to the largest hydroelectric power plant 494 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,172 in the world. 495 00:26:14,655 --> 00:26:17,482 McBRIDE: Never before, ever in history, had there been 496 00:26:17,586 --> 00:26:22,172 that much concrete placed and poured in one spot. 497 00:26:22,241 --> 00:26:27,310 And enough concrete went into the construction of the dam, 498 00:26:27,413 --> 00:26:29,275 you could build a two-lane highway 499 00:26:29,379 --> 00:26:31,655 from San Francisco to New York. 500 00:26:32,965 --> 00:26:35,310 SHATNER: The Hoover Dam changed the face of the nation, 501 00:26:35,413 --> 00:26:38,551 allowing for the explosive growth of cities 502 00:26:38,655 --> 00:26:41,172 like Las Vegas and Los Angeles, 503 00:26:41,275 --> 00:26:44,000 and fueling the country's recovery 504 00:26:44,068 --> 00:26:45,862 from the Great Depression. 505 00:26:46,896 --> 00:26:49,827 But some have suggested that the Hoover Dam represents 506 00:26:49,896 --> 00:26:52,965 not just an engineering success story 507 00:26:53,068 --> 00:26:56,724 but also humanity's desire 508 00:26:56,793 --> 00:27:01,068 to bend the forces of nature to our will. 509 00:27:02,068 --> 00:27:04,586 McBRIDE: The construction engineer, Walker Young, 510 00:27:04,655 --> 00:27:07,379 was widely quoted at one time as saying, 511 00:27:07,482 --> 00:27:14,000 "The Lord put that canyon there, all we had to do was find it." 512 00:27:14,103 --> 00:27:19,551 That speaks to a very kind of Judeo-Christian philosophy 513 00:27:19,620 --> 00:27:26,034 that human beings were the paramount creatures, 514 00:27:26,103 --> 00:27:28,758 and so we're going to impose our needs on nature, 515 00:27:28,862 --> 00:27:30,655 and we're going to control nature. 516 00:27:33,896 --> 00:27:35,724 LYNNE McNEILL: The flooding power of rivers 517 00:27:35,793 --> 00:27:38,448 is something that humankind has been contending with 518 00:27:38,517 --> 00:27:40,551 since there has been humankind. 519 00:27:40,655 --> 00:27:43,862 And in a lot of ways, 520 00:27:43,965 --> 00:27:48,758 the more we're able to restrain what have often been understood 521 00:27:48,827 --> 00:27:51,034 as the unrestrainable forces of nature, 522 00:27:51,137 --> 00:27:55,689 the more we suspect that maybe something superhuman 523 00:27:55,793 --> 00:27:58,206 is taking place there. 524 00:27:58,275 --> 00:28:00,827 SHATNER: Was the construction of the Hoover Dam 525 00:28:00,896 --> 00:28:04,758 motivated by our need to harness, control, 526 00:28:04,827 --> 00:28:08,517 and ultimately have power over Mother Nature? 527 00:28:08,586 --> 00:28:12,137 There are many who believe that to be the case. 528 00:28:12,241 --> 00:28:15,724 And as evidence, they point to a curious memorial 529 00:28:15,793 --> 00:28:18,482 that was placed next to the dam. 530 00:28:18,551 --> 00:28:22,103 An intricate celestial star map, 531 00:28:22,172 --> 00:28:26,000 intended to send a message to future generations. 532 00:28:26,068 --> 00:28:30,620 McBRIDE: The celestial star map is an amazing piece of art deco, 533 00:28:30,724 --> 00:28:34,137 where laid into the ground, 534 00:28:34,206 --> 00:28:39,586 is a star map with brass discs named after certain stars. 535 00:28:39,689 --> 00:28:41,275 And the purpose of that 536 00:28:41,344 --> 00:28:43,344 was really just one thing: 537 00:28:43,413 --> 00:28:44,620 it was to fix, 538 00:28:44,724 --> 00:28:47,241 in astrological time, 539 00:28:47,310 --> 00:28:48,965 the very moment-- 540 00:28:49,034 --> 00:28:51,586 the month, the day, the minute, the second-- 541 00:28:51,689 --> 00:28:54,827 that Hoover Dam was-was dedicated. 542 00:28:55,862 --> 00:28:58,172 SHATNER: The builders of the Hoover Dam certainly believed 543 00:28:58,241 --> 00:29:01,172 that their creation would be an everlasting testament 544 00:29:01,275 --> 00:29:04,689 to their triumph over the Colorado River. 545 00:29:04,793 --> 00:29:08,965 But what happens when the forces of nature defy 546 00:29:09,068 --> 00:29:11,931 our attempts to control them 547 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,551 in ways that we can't foresee? 548 00:29:15,517 --> 00:29:19,689 McNEILL: Lake Mead is the man-made body of water 549 00:29:19,793 --> 00:29:22,344 created by the Hoover Dam. 550 00:29:22,413 --> 00:29:25,758 And what's interesting is that Lake Mead is actually 551 00:29:25,862 --> 00:29:29,482 one of the most deadly recreational areas 552 00:29:29,586 --> 00:29:31,206 that we have in this country. 553 00:29:31,310 --> 00:29:34,068 People drowned mysteriously. 554 00:29:34,137 --> 00:29:37,413 So many people end up dying there. 555 00:29:39,793 --> 00:29:41,482 One of the fascinating things about Lake Mead 556 00:29:41,586 --> 00:29:44,000 are these methane or gas pits. 557 00:29:44,103 --> 00:29:47,758 And methane basically comes when vegetation decomposes. 558 00:29:47,862 --> 00:29:50,413 Now, one of the things that Lake Mead did 559 00:29:50,482 --> 00:29:52,896 is cover up a lot of vegetation, 'cause you make a lake 560 00:29:52,965 --> 00:29:54,827 where there wasn't a lake before, 561 00:29:54,896 --> 00:29:56,482 and what you had before was stuff growing. 562 00:29:56,551 --> 00:29:59,172 So you can get these periodic releases 563 00:29:59,275 --> 00:30:00,862 of the methane gas 564 00:30:00,931 --> 00:30:02,931 that's been generated under the water 565 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,310 from the vegetation decomposing. 566 00:30:05,379 --> 00:30:07,517 BARA: When the methane bubbles up to the surface, 567 00:30:07,620 --> 00:30:10,620 what can happen is, if a boat is over that methane bubble, 568 00:30:10,724 --> 00:30:12,827 it basically will lose all buoyancy 569 00:30:12,896 --> 00:30:15,896 and just sink like a rock to the bottom of the lake. 570 00:30:15,965 --> 00:30:19,448 So by building the lake over this land, 571 00:30:19,517 --> 00:30:23,034 we may in fact have created a very dangerous situation, 572 00:30:23,137 --> 00:30:24,724 and sort of set up the lake itself 573 00:30:24,827 --> 00:30:26,965 to basically be a death trap. 574 00:30:27,034 --> 00:30:29,482 I think if you reflect back to when the engineers 575 00:30:29,586 --> 00:30:31,034 were making the Hoover Dam... 576 00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:35,310 ...it's often portrayed as trying to control nature. 577 00:30:35,379 --> 00:30:37,206 The focus was on the dam, 578 00:30:37,310 --> 00:30:39,413 and we probably weren't even asking questions 579 00:30:39,482 --> 00:30:41,000 about the larger impact on nature, 580 00:30:41,068 --> 00:30:42,482 'cause it would have been too hard 581 00:30:42,586 --> 00:30:44,551 to calculate or worry about. 582 00:30:44,620 --> 00:30:46,137 The challenge with engineering and science 583 00:30:46,206 --> 00:30:48,896 is always the unintended consequences. 584 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,034 For the most part, people are driven 585 00:30:52,137 --> 00:30:55,413 by this desire to make things better. 586 00:30:59,344 --> 00:31:04,137 Are the tragic deaths at Lake Mead a warning? 587 00:31:04,241 --> 00:31:07,482 That our relentless drive to build bigger, better, 588 00:31:07,551 --> 00:31:10,724 and grander has gone too far? 589 00:31:10,827 --> 00:31:13,793 If so, it's a warning that isn't being heeded. 590 00:31:13,862 --> 00:31:17,413 If anything, mankind's determination to build bigger, 591 00:31:17,517 --> 00:31:21,103 better, bolder is more evident than ever before. 592 00:31:21,206 --> 00:31:26,482 It seems not even the sky is the limit. 593 00:31:37,620 --> 00:31:41,517 SHATNER: After five years of construction, Burj Khalifa, 594 00:31:41,620 --> 00:31:45,620 the tallest building in the world, is officially completed. 595 00:31:45,689 --> 00:31:47,896 To celebrate this record-breaking achievement, 596 00:31:47,965 --> 00:31:49,896 the United Arab Emirates 597 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,517 throws an extravagant opening ceremony 598 00:31:53,620 --> 00:31:56,896 which features a massive fireworks display 599 00:31:56,965 --> 00:31:59,034 and an elaborate light show 600 00:31:59,137 --> 00:32:00,965 projected onto the gleaming tower. 601 00:32:06,275 --> 00:32:08,931 KAKU: It's an incredible engineering feat. 602 00:32:09,034 --> 00:32:10,620 The tallest building on the Earth. 603 00:32:10,724 --> 00:32:12,344 It sticks out like a needle. 604 00:32:13,310 --> 00:32:15,482 Everything else is pretty much flat, 605 00:32:15,551 --> 00:32:17,103 and you have this needle 606 00:32:17,172 --> 00:32:20,724 sticking right out of the desert. 607 00:32:20,793 --> 00:32:22,241 SCOTT JOHNSON: The Burj Khalifa 608 00:32:22,344 --> 00:32:24,620 is an exceptional building on many levels. 609 00:32:24,724 --> 00:32:26,724 Most obvious is its height. 610 00:32:26,827 --> 00:32:29,068 It's taller than any building in the world, 611 00:32:29,172 --> 00:32:31,172 and it's taller by a whole lot. 612 00:32:31,241 --> 00:32:34,206 SHATNER: At over a half a mile high, 613 00:32:34,275 --> 00:32:38,241 Burj Khalifa bests the second tallest building in the world, 614 00:32:38,310 --> 00:32:40,586 China's Shanghai Tower, 615 00:32:40,689 --> 00:32:45,241 by a whopping 644 feet, 616 00:32:45,310 --> 00:32:49,551 and is a masterpiece of contemporary engineering 617 00:32:49,620 --> 00:32:52,034 and architectural prowess. 618 00:32:54,034 --> 00:32:56,103 HUSSAIN: The fact that the largest building 619 00:32:56,172 --> 00:32:58,241 is now in the Arab world, in Dubai, 620 00:32:58,344 --> 00:33:01,344 is a great source of pride to people there. 621 00:33:01,413 --> 00:33:04,482 So, there's really interesting connections 622 00:33:04,586 --> 00:33:06,896 with the Burj Khalifa and Islam, 623 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,137 not just simply because you've got 624 00:33:09,206 --> 00:33:11,724 the building built in a Muslim-majority country, 625 00:33:11,793 --> 00:33:14,068 but also, you have an ancient connection 626 00:33:14,172 --> 00:33:19,172 that the largest mosque in the world used to be in Iraq, 627 00:33:19,241 --> 00:33:24,206 a ninth-century mosque built by the caliph Al-Mutawakkil, 628 00:33:24,310 --> 00:33:26,793 the Great Mosque of Samarra, from the ninth century. 629 00:33:26,896 --> 00:33:29,413 And what was really impressive about it was 630 00:33:29,482 --> 00:33:33,068 the sort of winding staircase kind of minaret, 631 00:33:33,172 --> 00:33:37,379 and that's what they've duplicated in the Burj Khalifa. 632 00:33:39,137 --> 00:33:41,793 And so, I think for people in the Arab world, 633 00:33:41,896 --> 00:33:44,206 it's almost a nationalistic competition-- 634 00:33:44,310 --> 00:33:47,517 who can build the tallest building in the world? 635 00:33:47,620 --> 00:33:50,793 JOHNSON: Nation states have discovered that a tall building 636 00:33:50,862 --> 00:33:53,034 can become a cultural symbol. 637 00:33:54,034 --> 00:33:56,000 A symbol of pride, 638 00:33:56,103 --> 00:33:58,793 a symbol of an ascendant economy, 639 00:33:58,896 --> 00:34:02,241 a place in global states, 640 00:34:02,344 --> 00:34:06,206 and a tall building seems to resonate with that. 641 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,827 BURROWS: We're currently in a race 642 00:34:08,896 --> 00:34:11,344 to build the tallest structures on Earth. 643 00:34:12,172 --> 00:34:13,965 And the question for me is, 644 00:34:14,034 --> 00:34:17,413 what is the limit to how high these things can go? 645 00:34:17,482 --> 00:34:20,413 McNEILL: Human beings have always strived 646 00:34:20,517 --> 00:34:23,068 to break their own records, 647 00:34:23,137 --> 00:34:28,344 and when we can achieve an architectural feat 648 00:34:28,448 --> 00:34:30,896 that is breaking all of the records 649 00:34:30,965 --> 00:34:32,896 of any previous architectural feat, 650 00:34:32,965 --> 00:34:35,724 we are saying something 651 00:34:35,827 --> 00:34:38,586 about our ability to overcome limitations. 652 00:34:39,965 --> 00:34:42,379 SHATNER: At 481 feet, 653 00:34:42,448 --> 00:34:45,241 the Great Pyramid of Giza stood as the tallest structure 654 00:34:45,344 --> 00:34:48,482 in the world for over 4,000 years... 655 00:34:50,724 --> 00:34:54,000 ...until it was surpassed by the old St. Paul's Cathedral 656 00:34:54,068 --> 00:34:57,586 in London in the 13th century. 657 00:34:57,689 --> 00:35:02,103 But it wasn't until steel was invented 658 00:35:02,206 --> 00:35:07,034 that the first skyscraper was erected in Chicago in 1885, 659 00:35:07,137 --> 00:35:10,517 and a new kind of building boom began. 660 00:35:10,620 --> 00:35:13,862 One that saw the completion of the Empire State Building 661 00:35:13,931 --> 00:35:18,862 in 1931, and shows no sign of slowing down. 662 00:35:18,931 --> 00:35:21,965 HUSSAIN: For human beings to go up 663 00:35:22,068 --> 00:35:25,241 isn't just to go up and be able to see commanding views. 664 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,793 Why do we build these buildings? 665 00:35:27,896 --> 00:35:30,482 Because we want to get up into the heavens 666 00:35:30,551 --> 00:35:33,000 because the heavens are the divine realm. 667 00:35:33,103 --> 00:35:34,758 It's being able to go up and see 668 00:35:34,827 --> 00:35:38,241 what would God's-eye view look like? 669 00:35:39,137 --> 00:35:43,965 SHATNER: To see things as God does? 670 00:35:44,068 --> 00:35:45,965 But is that a good idea? 671 00:35:46,068 --> 00:35:49,103 After all, there's a famous story from the Bible 672 00:35:49,172 --> 00:35:55,896 that serves as a cautionary tale against doing just that. 673 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,551 In Genesis, chapter 11, you have the story 674 00:35:58,655 --> 00:36:00,586 of the Tower of Babel. 675 00:36:01,827 --> 00:36:05,517 Human beings are united, they speak the same language, 676 00:36:05,620 --> 00:36:10,896 and they build this tower to go up into the heavens, 677 00:36:10,965 --> 00:36:13,620 and you have God saying, "Wait a minute, 678 00:36:13,689 --> 00:36:14,724 "what are these people doing? 679 00:36:14,827 --> 00:36:16,206 "They're gonna build this 680 00:36:16,275 --> 00:36:18,379 and they're gonna come up to where I am." 681 00:36:18,482 --> 00:36:21,517 And so, God basically confounds these people 682 00:36:21,586 --> 00:36:24,275 by having them speak different languages, 683 00:36:24,344 --> 00:36:26,482 so they're not able to understand each other. 684 00:36:26,586 --> 00:36:28,068 So they're not able to build this thing 685 00:36:28,172 --> 00:36:29,724 because now all of a sudden, 686 00:36:29,827 --> 00:36:32,241 they don't speak the same language. 687 00:36:32,344 --> 00:36:34,793 McNEILL: The Tower of Babel is a story 688 00:36:34,896 --> 00:36:38,137 of trying too hard to go too far, 689 00:36:38,206 --> 00:36:41,137 and paying the price for that. 690 00:36:41,206 --> 00:36:43,896 And it's interesting for us to look at our modern 691 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,137 architectural marvels, 692 00:36:46,206 --> 00:36:50,827 as potentially containing that warning, or that threat. 693 00:36:50,931 --> 00:36:52,896 So many people have made a likeness 694 00:36:52,965 --> 00:36:55,620 between the Burj Khalifa and its shape... 695 00:36:57,724 --> 00:36:59,379 ...and the Tower of Babel. 696 00:36:59,482 --> 00:37:01,896 The Tower of Babel as we remember it 697 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:03,896 was supposed to be a spiraled tower 698 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:05,275 that was going to reach to the heavens 699 00:37:05,379 --> 00:37:07,448 so that people could see God. 700 00:37:07,551 --> 00:37:09,482 That was considered inappropriate 701 00:37:09,551 --> 00:37:12,206 and too much hubris. 702 00:37:12,310 --> 00:37:14,517 I think we're operating within the constraints 703 00:37:14,620 --> 00:37:16,241 of engineering science, 704 00:37:16,310 --> 00:37:18,896 but somewhere out there is a limitation, 705 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,827 and I think we're approaching a limit. 706 00:37:21,896 --> 00:37:25,172 SHATNER: As we seek to build ever higher, 707 00:37:25,241 --> 00:37:28,379 is there a danger that what we think of as ambition... 708 00:37:29,310 --> 00:37:31,758 ...may in fact be hubris? 709 00:37:31,862 --> 00:37:35,620 Or is it simply an attempt to reach for the sky, 710 00:37:35,689 --> 00:37:41,689 to see how high we can climb and how far we can go? 711 00:37:41,793 --> 00:37:46,413 Perhaps even to the stars? 712 00:38:02,827 --> 00:38:06,068 SHATNER: The first module of the International Space Station 713 00:38:06,172 --> 00:38:09,241 is launched into orbit on a Russian rocket... 714 00:38:11,724 --> 00:38:14,862 ...beginning arguably the most groundbreaking 715 00:38:14,931 --> 00:38:18,379 engineering project in human history. 716 00:38:19,172 --> 00:38:21,310 The International Space Station 717 00:38:21,413 --> 00:38:23,586 is really a marvel of engineering. 718 00:38:23,655 --> 00:38:28,034 It took 42 flights to build this thing over ten years... 719 00:38:29,655 --> 00:38:32,137 ...and it was sent up module by module, 720 00:38:32,206 --> 00:38:34,862 with astronauts and cosmonauts living on board 721 00:38:34,931 --> 00:38:39,137 and adding to it as it became a larger and larger space. 722 00:38:39,206 --> 00:38:41,931 TOM SPILKER: It has a set of solar arrays, 723 00:38:42,034 --> 00:38:47,206 and from tip to tip, each one of those eight wings is 239 feet. 724 00:38:47,310 --> 00:38:51,586 So it is 357 feet long. 725 00:38:51,689 --> 00:38:54,448 NASA likes to say it's one yard short 726 00:38:54,551 --> 00:38:56,931 of being an American football field 727 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,103 including the end zones. 728 00:39:01,344 --> 00:39:03,206 TEITEL: The International Space Station 729 00:39:03,310 --> 00:39:06,241 is the symbol of how incredible 730 00:39:06,344 --> 00:39:09,724 human ingenuity and engineering really is. 731 00:39:09,793 --> 00:39:11,379 That we've been able to not only 732 00:39:11,482 --> 00:39:13,000 build the International Space Station 733 00:39:13,068 --> 00:39:14,862 but keep it alive for 20 years 734 00:39:14,931 --> 00:39:17,275 and learn so much in the process, 735 00:39:17,379 --> 00:39:21,586 is really an incredible outlet of what humans can do. 736 00:39:22,517 --> 00:39:24,724 SHATNER: The idea of a space station 737 00:39:24,793 --> 00:39:26,310 suitable for human habitation 738 00:39:26,379 --> 00:39:29,034 started with the vision of one man, 739 00:39:29,137 --> 00:39:31,068 Dr. Wernher von Braun, 740 00:39:31,172 --> 00:39:33,724 the German-born aerospace engineer 741 00:39:33,793 --> 00:39:38,482 who designed the Saturn V rocket that took Americans to the Moon. 742 00:39:41,103 --> 00:39:45,448 In 1952, nearly a decade before the first manned spaceflight, 743 00:39:45,517 --> 00:39:49,965 von Braun's concept for a 250-foot wheel-shaped station 744 00:39:50,034 --> 00:39:53,034 captured the world's imagination. 745 00:39:53,103 --> 00:39:54,655 SPILKER: Von Braun envisioned 746 00:39:54,758 --> 00:39:58,172 this rotating space station to provide 747 00:39:58,241 --> 00:40:00,379 a certain amount of artificial gravity. 748 00:40:00,482 --> 00:40:02,344 It could be used for monitoring Earth, 749 00:40:02,448 --> 00:40:05,103 weather, for military purposes. 750 00:40:05,206 --> 00:40:08,689 Also as a way station for docking a spacecraft 751 00:40:08,793 --> 00:40:10,379 that would be going somewhere else in space, 752 00:40:10,448 --> 00:40:12,724 to the Moon or to Mars. 753 00:40:13,827 --> 00:40:15,620 TEITEL: So the International Space Station 754 00:40:15,689 --> 00:40:17,000 isn't quite that. 755 00:40:17,068 --> 00:40:19,275 But it's the proof of concept, 756 00:40:19,379 --> 00:40:21,827 and starting to help us understand the technology 757 00:40:21,896 --> 00:40:24,758 such that maybe down the line, the next generation 758 00:40:24,862 --> 00:40:27,379 or the generation after the next, 759 00:40:27,482 --> 00:40:30,586 we will eventually get that giant city in orbit. 760 00:40:32,379 --> 00:40:35,965 SHATNER: A giant city in space? 761 00:40:36,068 --> 00:40:38,241 It's a marvelous and inspiring idea, 762 00:40:38,344 --> 00:40:40,827 one that raises a profound question: 763 00:40:40,931 --> 00:40:45,379 have we achieved all that we can on our home planet? 764 00:40:45,482 --> 00:40:48,275 And are we destined to leave our mark 765 00:40:48,344 --> 00:40:52,517 not just on Earth but far beyond it? 766 00:40:52,620 --> 00:40:56,413 So many of our iconic structures on this planet 767 00:40:56,517 --> 00:40:59,931 are reaching beyond, stretching up from the surface, 768 00:41:00,034 --> 00:41:02,413 trying to get us somewhere else. 769 00:41:03,379 --> 00:41:05,103 Once we're in space, 770 00:41:05,206 --> 00:41:07,000 what form will our structures have 771 00:41:07,103 --> 00:41:08,448 and what role will they play? 772 00:41:08,517 --> 00:41:11,379 Not just pragmatically as shelter for us, 773 00:41:11,482 --> 00:41:13,275 but as symbols for us? 774 00:41:13,344 --> 00:41:15,965 And what will we reach for 775 00:41:16,034 --> 00:41:18,931 if we're already off of this planet? 776 00:41:20,758 --> 00:41:26,827 Whether it's the giant stone monuments of the ancient world 777 00:41:26,896 --> 00:41:31,620 or the awe-inspiring cathedrals of the Middle Ages 778 00:41:31,724 --> 00:41:35,137 or modern feats of engineering that are all around us, 779 00:41:35,206 --> 00:41:39,551 humans possess an incredible ability and desire 780 00:41:39,655 --> 00:41:42,413 to build and to make us wonder. 781 00:41:42,517 --> 00:41:45,551 So, where do we go from here? 782 00:41:45,655 --> 00:41:48,103 What are we going to build next? 783 00:41:48,172 --> 00:41:49,586 Well, that, my friends, is something 784 00:41:49,689 --> 00:41:52,379 that is only limited by our imagination 785 00:41:52,448 --> 00:41:56,862 and our determination to impose order on Mother Nature. 786 00:41:56,965 --> 00:41:59,689 And our desire to explain... 787 00:42:01,034 --> 00:42:03,379 ...the unexplained. 788 00:42:03,482 --> 00:42:05,896 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS 62425

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