The Wright Brothers became the first to fly a controlled powered aircraft with a pilot onboard, but just a few days before, Smithsonian Secretary James Langley almost beat them. His failure didn't stop the Smithsonian from claiming the first flight. But Orville and Wilber weren't the only two who fought for their place in history. Their sister Katharine did ... Show More
Jul 1
Mary Katharine Goddard, Independence Hall, and The Declaration of Independence
Episode 119 looks at some key moment inside Indepedence Hall (and the time they almost tore it down). Likewise, we'll meet Mary Katharine Goddard, who published the first version of the Declaration to contain the names of all the signers. If you look closely, you can find her nam ... Show More
33m 39s
Jun 17
Emily the Cow, Geronimo The Beaver, and the Rostocker Pfeilstorch
An escaping cow, Operation Beaver Drop, and a migration mystery solved by a bird with a spear - all on this episode of Important Animals From History - Volume 4!
18m 1s
May 31
Lost Woods and Found Amendments
The story of the Lost 40 - an old growth forest in Minnesota that got lost for nearly a century thanks to a surveying error. We're talking lumberjacks, old growth trees, and silly mistakes. Also, the 27th Amendment which was brought back from the dustbin of history thanks to a co ... Show More
32m 58s
Jan 2025
The Wright Brothers | The Art of the Bird | 1
In the late-1890s, two brothers from Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright, became obsessed with what Wilbur described as “the problem of flight.” With no formal training or funding, they threw themselves into studying the mechanics of birds, determined to design a new method of flying ... Show More
39m 50s
Jan 2025
The Wright Brothers | Fliers or Liars | 2
By 1903, inventors and adventurers in Britain and France were launching their own experimental aircraft skyward. In the U.S., crowds gathered outside Washington, D.C. to see Samuel Langley of the Smithsonian Institution test his highly-anticipated “aerodrome”, only to watch the m ... Show More
40m 28s
Mar 2018
An Aerial Spectacle in the Wright Brothers' Backyard
The Wright Brothers flew the first practical aircraft through the skies just outside Dayton, Ohio in 1905. Today, that same air space sees wonders Orville and Wilbur could only dream of: fighter jets, bombers, and other aircraft flying upside down, soaring in formations, writing ... Show More
5m 37s