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
Oct 1
Hazards of The Wild: George Shannon, Rattlesnake Kate and more!
George Shannon was the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and his inexperience showed itself a time or two. He did get lost once for 16 days, the longest span of time anyone was separated from the expedition party. In the 1920s, a woman named Rattlesnake Kate capt ... Show More
33m 11s
Sep 17
Important Animals: Blisters, Shin Splints, Museum Spiders and more
The Bunion Derby (featured in the last episode) also featured a few four-legged friends, including dogs named Blisters and Shin Splints. We'll also re-visit the Pony Express and meet the Chilean Recluse Spiders who have lived peacefully at the Finnish Museum of Natural History fo ... Show More
16m 22s
Aug 31
Bunion Derby and Route 66
November of 2026 will mark the 100th Anniversary of Route 66, a highway that inspired road trips, neon signs, writers, singers, and even a movie about talking cars. But first, the Bunion Derby was a publicity stunt for attention on Route 66 and it was America's first cross-countr ... Show More
30 m
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