#Onthisday 1976: A 'Burke Special' audience member thought it was his lucky day, but it was just a cruel experiment Source: https://twitter.com/BBCArchive/status/855757091683704833

#OnThisDay 1972: James Burke was strapped into the exoskeleton of a "Syntelmann" manipulator. The possibilities were endless, but could he pour a drink with it? Source: https://twitter.com/BBCArchive/status/1251556097908805632

During the Middle Ages, most of Europe was dominated by religious beliefs and it was through this frame of mind that people explained the world around them. After the Crusaders invaded Moorish Spain, they discovered an advanced civilization]] and thousands of years of knowledge. After spending 150 years translating thousands of texts, the Crusaders returned to northern Europe with vast amounts of knowledge, including the works of the Ancient Greek philosophers who had pioneered logical thinking. Thus, the Dark Ages ended as secular knowledge and logical thinking took precedence over religious superstition. Europe overruns Moorish Spain, discovering libraries, universities, optics, mechanics, and natural philosophy, as well as table manners and dessert. The rediscovery of classical knowledge leads to the founding of universities and the overthrow of Augustinian by Aritstotelian beliefs.

The extraordinary special effects we enjoy in films today are based on principles established more than 500 years ago by Renaissance masters such as Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Raphael. This film examines artistic and scientific discoveries of the Renaissance, provides new insight into a remarkable visual revolution, and uses modern technology to analyse the old masters in amazing new ways.