History Channel premieres "Dangerous Stories with Henry Winkler" this January. This non-fiction series, produced and hosted by the Emmy-winning actor, offers a journey through eight episodes analyzing how society evolved surrounded by products, activities, and customs that daily put lives at risk. In each one-hour episode, Winkler delves into past practices, such as using toys with real uranium, selling radioactive tonics promoted as energy drinks, and using home appliances that emitted toxic gases. To contextualize these phenomena, the series features a team of experts, including historians, scientists, and figures from pop culture and journalism, who explain why these practices, now considered negligent, were widely accepted due to a lack of regulations and aggressive marketing. Among the most surprising cases addressed in the season are catalogs that allowed buying dynamite by mail, the installation of roller coasters that subjected riders to extreme gravitational forces, and the years when tobacco companies presented cigarettes as a remedy for asthma, even with the endorsement of doctors of the era. The series also dedicates episodes to extreme professions and entertainment, such as the "matchstick girls" who suffered severe deformations from contact with white phosphorus, and workers who built skyscrapers walking on beams without any safety harness. Additionally, the project covers risky aerial feats and extreme sports like auto polo and acrobatics on moving biplanes.
