Like everyone else in the '90s, Wilbur and Orville Wright were caught up in the bike craze. Wilbur preferred long country rides, while Orville enjoyed racing and considered himself a "scorcher" on the track.
By the mid-90s, they had set up their very own bike shop. Like most guys puttering around a bike shop, they were full of ideas.
"Hey, why don't we come out with our own line of bicycles?"
"Yeah, man, I bet we could make one that would really fly."
They called this one the St. Clair. It was built in 1898 and sold for $42.50. The Wrights Brothers' top-of-the-line model was the Van Cleve. It sold for $65. Only five bicycles manufactured by the Wright brothers are known to still exist.
Dude, it's a fixie!
But it couldn't fly.
"Hey bro, what if we made something with a really long chain drive and, like, wings?"
So there you have it. The invention of the airplane by two guys hanging out at a bike shop.
Seriously, though, you bicycle enthusiasts have to check out the Wright Brothers exhibit at the Air & Space Museum. You never know when the people at the Henry Ford Foundation will ask for their stuff back.
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2 comments:
That museum really is brilliant! Especially the one out near Dulles.
Visiting the Wright brothers' bike shop, preserved at Greenfield Village near Detroit, was interesting, too. What was most interesting is that the birthplace of aviation looked like nothing more than what it was - a bike shop.
BTW, even if you don't drive to Greenfield Village, you must pay for parking.
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