How do they do it? Exploring the inner workings of things

In today’s high-tech world, we are surrounded by every luxury imaginable. Nearly everyone has a cellphone, we drive fast cars and we can travel across the globe in less than 24 hours. We have become so spoiled that we tend to take the little things – and even the not-so-little things – in life for granted.

Imagine life without electricity, without contact lenses or, heaven forbid, without the Internet! Suddenly, it becomes very clear just how important these "little things" have become in our daily lives.

But have you ever thought of asking "How do they do it?" This May, the Discovery Channel presents an all-new series that explores the inner workings of all things — big and small — that surround us.

Beginning May 19, episodes of How Do They Do It? premier every Friday at 9 p.m. Episodes encore on Saturdays at 4 a.m. and 10 a.m, Sundays at 3 p.m., and Mondays at 2 p.m.

As the modern world becomes increasingly sophisticated and mechanized, we grow further removed from understanding the way in which things are made and how things are done.

How Do They Do It? reveals just how much our comfortable way of life relies on a great army of giant, clanking robot slaves hidden from view, in factories, down mines, up mountains and beneath the ocean.

Our quality of life depends on the problem-solving genius of engineers and the vision of industrial designers who are constantly striving to make things faster, cheaper and better.

Each episode of How Do They Do It? profiles something that is quite common, and links it to other things which are more unusual. The series takes viewers behind the scenes to reveal how everyday things are made and sometimes used in the making of other elements of the modern world.

How Do They Do It? is about engineering and scientific miracles and the people whose ability to solve problems make them happen.