Today’s TriviaTuesday question recalls those pioneers of aviation, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio. Since today, April 16, marks the 152nd anniversary of Wilbur’s birth, we ask the following :
What toy ignited the brothers’ curiosity about aeronautics?
A gift from their father -- a small toy helicopter “powered by twisting a rubber band” -- was all it took for the curious and analytical young siblings to eventually build their own version...and future craft that would change the course of history.
The brothers observed that when they let the helicopter go, its “rubber band unwound, causing the propeller to spin quickly and the helicopter to fly in the air. As the propeller slowed down, the helicopter wobbled, then fell to the ground.”
In time the boys “experimented with their own versions of the toy helicopter,” and discovered that “the bigger the helicopter was, the quicker it fell to the ground...”
Think about it.
A father’s thoughtfulness, a rubber band and a child’s toy led to man’s conquering the skies...and a visit to the Moon.
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