Sliced

Coin operated games have been around for nearly 50 years. Since the beginning, players found tricks to beating the odds and keeping their quarters. Manufacturers have countered with special features to stop cheating. Host John McCalmont dissects a pinball machine, a slot machine and a pool table to determine if it's still possible to cheat games--or if the cheat is always on you.

When armored vehicles first rolled into battle nearly a century ago, a large steel plate blanketed the entire car. Today's armored vehicles are the ultimate in stealth--they look like ordinary cars but just beneath the surface is a full array of technological advances that enables passengers to survive direct assaults. Host John McCalmont puts an armored van to the test with guns and explosives. If it passes, he'll slice through its surface to uncover why these vehicles are so good at keeping people alive.

They may seem childlike on the outside, but what's on the inside of toys will surprise kids of all ages. Are the odds against you when you consult the Magic 8-Ball? Which toy car is fastest in a head-to-head race? And why does shaking erase an Etch-a-Sketch? John McCalmont takes apart our favorite childhood icons to discover the secrets inside the toys we never outgrew.

The average person spends about seven hours a day in their kitchen. But to most of us, the inner workings of our appliances remain a mystery. In this episode, John unveils the insides of refrigerators, stoves, and a garbage disposal. He's slicing and dicing to find the secrets of our hottest, coldest, and most dangerous kitchen machines. Kitchen Confidential, no longer.

Humans have been using tools since the Stone Age. But adding electric power just over a century ago changed our tools--and our lives--forever. To find out how, John's putting them to the test--chainsaws, nail guns, and power lifters. He'll discover which tools are up to the challenge and which ones don't make the cut.

Fire fighting has come a long way since the bucket brigade. To answer your burning questions about fire trucks, John's slicing up the loudest sirens and the strongest water pumps. And he's topping it off with his biggest challenge yet--slicing a full-size fire truck in half!