- Josh Brolin - Narrator: The gun. Invented in China, developed in Europe, now being mass-produced using cast iron.
- Jmaes Meigs: The great challenge in navigating the seas is knowing where you are, so you don't crash into stuff and die.
- Jmaes Meigs: After fire, the written word, agriculture, the scientific method is probably mankind's greatest gift to the future.
- Josh Brolin - Narrator: A third of all British ships are built in New England. One more ship uses 6 thousand trees, and costs the equivalent of a modern aircraft carrier.
- Brian Williams: [about Ebenezer Mudgett's rebellion] When their time arrives, the ordinary become extraordinary. The Mudgetts of the world are those who have had enough, and decide I'm going to bet all that I have and all that I am on something greater than myself.