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1100BC
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The Greeks - Daedalus & Icarus In ancient Greece, there lived a giant Minotaur, a terrible creature, half human and half bull. King Minos of Crete wanted to trap the Minotaur. Daedeuls was a skilled craftsman in ancient Greece. King Minos commissioned him to build a labyrinth to contain the Minotaur. The labyrinth was a maze that was so complicated that whoever entered could not escape. After the labyrinth was built, King Minor trapped Theseus, a noble warrior, who his daughter, Ariadne had fallen in love with. Daedalus knew that it would be nearly impossible for Theseus to escape the labyrinth, and thus, he would eventually meet the Minotaur, who would devour him. So, he told the secret of the labyrinth to Ariadne. Before Theseus entered the labyrinth, Ariadne gave him long ball of string. She told him to unroll the string as he travelled through the labyrinth, and then he could follow the string back to find his way out. Theseus entered the labyrinth, killed the Minotaur, and followed the thread back out, and to his freedom. Minos was furious! He imprisoned Daedalus and his son, Icarus, in a high tower, so that they could never escape. But Daedalus was skilled and clever. He devised two sets of wings which Icarus and he could strap to their arms and fly away. He lined up feathers from small to large, and thus made wings. He used string and wax to hold the wings together. He warned his son Icarus to be careful, and not fly too close to the sun, or the wax would melt, the wings would weaken, and Icarus would crash to Earth. Father and son stood on a high perch, pushed off, and began to fly! This is the first story of a human ever flying. Icarus was excited! He kept flying and flying, higher and higher, despite the strong warning that his father had given him. Alas! Icarus flew too close to the sun, and as his father had told him, the heat melted the wax, and Icarus fell into the sea. |
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100BC
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The Chinese & their Bamboo Kites A very old story tells of an old farmer who lost his hat in the wind while working in the field. He became very curious. So, he attached a string to his hat, and the kite was born! The ancient Chinese were very technologically advanced, and they began creating kites made of bamboo and silk. They began to use the kites for various purposes, one of which was to display messages in the air to their warriors on the ground. |
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1000AD
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The British - The Flying Monk of Malmsbury Elmer was a monk was was intrigued by the idea of flying. He designed and built a set of wings for himself, jumped from the window of an Abbey, and flew! This is actually the first recorded historical account of a man flying. Elmer flew approximately 200 meters, or approximately 650 feet. Elmer broke both of his legs, but continued to be fascinated by the idea of flying! |
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1200AD
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The Chinese - Inventors of the First Rockets The Chinese first developed rockets to be used as arrows; it is just that they were larger than arrows. They began to fill bamboo, which is hollow, with gunpowder. And the first rockets were born. The first recorded date of a true rocket launch is 1232. The rockets became more elaborate, and they were used primarily for fireworks. |
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1452-1519
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The Italians - Leonard Da Vinci A Lifetime of Creativity, Invention, and Brilliance Leonard Da Vinci is known as one of the greatest thinkers and inventors of all time. In the world of flight, Da Vinci created drawings and sketches that were so advanced that we actually have not developed these machines till this day. Da Vinci began his designs by imitating the shape and the motion of birds. He went on to design the glider, the ornithopter, and the airscrew. |
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1891
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The Germans - Otto Lilienthal - Designer of the First Functional Glider Otto and his brother Gustav worked and worked to design gliders that could actually be flown. The first flight took place in 1891. The brothers are known to have taken more than 2,000 flights! |
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1902
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The Americans - The Wright Brothers - The Invention of the Aerial Age |