VCR Alert

We've found a good reasonfor you to turn on your television tonight (Oct. 17). The History Channel is presenting a documentary on a topic that has been universally ignored by the electronic media: the story of the machines that built the modern world. We're talking about machine tools, machines that build machines.

This week's episode of the "Modern Marvels" series traces the history of machine tools from their primitive beginnings as hand-operated bow drills to computer-controlled machining centers that cut complex turbopump impellers for the space shuttle engines.

The documentary features some of the best historical film of America's industrial past you'll see on television. There is also first-rate footage of traditional machine tools in operation.

In the era of laptops, Internet cellphones, and online day-trading, the episode, titled "Machine Tools," offers an informative excursion to a time when a little dirt under the fingernails wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

You can catch "Machine Tools" on the History Channel's "Modern Marvels" series. It airs at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific times. See your local television listings for repeat times.