How Arguing Taught the Wright Brothers to Fly

If Wilbur and Orville Wright didn't fight, they would have never made history. Try brilliant.org/... for FREE for 30 days, and the first 200 people will get 20% off their annual premium subscription.
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0:05 Bike shop image: Sailor98, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommon... via Wikimedia Commons
6:07 National Air and Space Museum, Creative Commons CCO 1.0 license

[@Newsthink]

*What other biographies would you like to see?* Try brilliant.org/Newsthink/ for FREE for 30 days, and the first 200 people will get 20% off their annual premium subscription

[@joellontoc3231]

Hello Cindy, I would like to see a biography on Hugh Nathaniel Mulzac. He was the first black man to captain a ship in the US Navy in WW2. His story is very interesting, and he was my great uncle on my mother's side. I would enjoy hearing his biography with your voice. Take care.

[@aaron88972]

Max Plank, Christopher Columbus, Solvay Conferences scientists

[@aaron88972]

Percy Julian, African American chemist

[@JohnKSedor]

How about Gustave Whitehead? But it would have to include ALL OF THE TRUTH that he beat the Wright Bros. in 1901 and possibly as early as 1899.

[@annaporna9644]

Your voice and way of presentation make these stories even more beautiful and magical 😍

[@Shiva99333]

Yes, the story comes alive.

[@Mike-bh7sh]

@@Shiva99333 Too bad it is almost all wrong information

[@MeAndMyRoyalEnfield]

I'm a pilot and aircraft mechanic and appreciate the way you presented this. Thank You.

[@Seven-Planets-Sci-Fi-Tuber]

From Live Science: Modern flight began in 1783 when Joseph-Michael and Jacques-Ètienne Montgolfier engineered the first hot-air balloon flights. On Oct. 15, 1783, the Montgolfiers brothers launched a balloon on a tether with Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, a chemistry and physics teacher, as the passenger. In that era, nobody knew if a person could withstand the rigors of being up in the air, so a previous flight had included animals, to see if they survived. They did, as did de Rozier. Later that year, the first untethered flight was made. The Wright Brothers' achievement is sometimes erroneously called "the first powered flight." Even that's disputed. The first powered flight was Henri Giffard's steam-powered airship (image below) in 1852. On Sept. 24, 1852, Giffard traveled almost 17 miles (27 kilometers) from Paris to Trappes moving at about 6 miles per hour (10 kilometers/hour). His airship could be steered only in calm weather, though. In wind, it could fly only in slow circles. Clément Ader went half the length of a football field in a bat-winged setup that many view as the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight in 1890. The Wright Brothers achievement is properly called "the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air and (to some degree) controlled" flight.

[@athdam2005]

She deserves wayyy more views

[@fallenclara]

Great video :) also please do know that I really enjoy and appreciate all the videos you make. From Nicholas Tesla to Benjamin Franklin to the Wright brothers, you've taught me so much, even though I might've studied arts in uni, i honestly still do enjoy watching your videos.

[@Nixontheman]

This was so good, less known information about the Wrights and very entertaining

[@Mike-bh7sh]

Except it was full of bad information. Many of the things said simply weren't true.

[@sloanlance]

Backers of Santos-Dumont claim his 1906 public demonstrations were the first powered flights because his wheeled craft took off unassisted unlike the Wright Flyer, which was launched off a rail and aided by the strong winds at Kitty Hawk to lift it off the ground. Henrique Lins de Barros, a Brazilian physicist who has written two books on Santos-Dumont, told Reuters in 2003 that the Wright Brothers’ flight did not fulfill all the standards in place at the time, which included taking off unassisted, publicly flying a predetermined length in front of experts and landing safely.

[@cardinalRG]

_”…unlike the Wright Flyer, which was launched off a rail and aided by the strong winds at Kitty Hawk to lift it off the ground.”_ The 1903 Wright Flyer took off unassisted, as did the 1904 Flyer initially. A rail is no more a means of assistance than a wheeled undercarriage or a paved runway is, and a head wind only shortens takeoff distance, and does not determine the ability to take off at all. At Kittyhawk, the Wrights only had a limited length of rail, so a head wind was necessary to make that work. By the way, Santos-Dumont always took off into the wind too, for the same distance-saving reason. _”Henrique Lins de Barros, a Brazilian physicist who has written two books on Santos-Dumont, told Reuters in 2003 that the Wright Brothers’ flight did not fulfill all the standards in place at the time…”_ There were no “THE standards”, just the subjective standards supported by different individuals and groups. Then, as now, people were free to define _flight_ as they cared to, so neither de Barros, nor any official recognition he cites, are authoritative in the objective sense. For example, much is made of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) of the time, but it should be remembered that it was a private aficionado association of self-appointed authority, which recognized achievements by only its own criteria, in a small geographical are, and only as witnessed by its own representatives, and only after 1905. It did not even exist at the time of the Wrights’ first claimed flights.

[@danieladams5379]

Love this channel and your calm, authoritative presentation!

[@Mike-bh7sh]

of bad information

[@uuuuuu352]

At the beginning: The airplane might never have been invented. At the end: Somebody else may have ended up in the history books.

[@chukwudalur]

i really love your videos, its really inspiring

[@RaunakRai99]

I really like your videos! you got a new subscriber !

[@varunnikam]

Best brothers in history.

[@6thdayblue59]

Fascinating 10/10 Thank you. This post is so interesting and I am now looking for more. Obviously many viewers like myself left at the advert (your audience is more than likely educated and we don’t need to be patronised) Hope I didn’t miss anything relevant in the last 35 seconds ? Taking an educated risk, I probably missed a woeful advert designed by a 14 year old. Keep up the brilliant content. Be yourself. Sack those who advise you to sell unrelated crap crap on your channel - not theirs, whilst they abuse your intelligence for their own financial gain. Seriously mate, question those around you, and those who advise you (trust nobody) Keep doing more. You have an amazing way of telling a story 10/10 Looking through your posts right now brother Peace, Love and Reality x

[@clashinguniverse]

2:49 Did u guys notice anything? Why does it looks like the eyes part is fixed and the mouth part is moving..!? Why was an elongation came between ur mouth and eyes part ?

[@Mike-bh7sh]

I have wondered if AI was being used... but apparently she is real.

[@DiekehBawal]

I guess she used warp stabilizer from adobe premier pro to stabilize the footage. That could be the reason

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Thanks for paving the road to the jets.

[@brussels13207]

If the Wright brothers had not created the first airplane, someone else would have!

[@khalidbinasim6942]

Thanks for this knowledge

[@QueenLover-j5i]

By YouSum 00:00:41 Debating helped the Wright brothers develop courage and ideas. 00:01:34 Their intense arguments led to innovative propeller design. 00:03:24 Propellers work like rotating wings, creating thrust for flight. 00:06:26 Rigorous debates propelled the Wright brothers to conquer the skies. 00:06:44 Their dedication in math and physics led to the first airplane. By YouSum

[@joejohnnys]

Santos Dumont was the first one

[@kkkkky1]

Ever heard of Santos Dummont?

[@AyushSingh-be2nm]

no! Is he Indian?

[@MrBrilliant-pro]

​@@AyushSingh-be2nm Not everyone is Indian.... And by just looking at the name , anyone could tell he isn't. (I mean atleast I can....)

[@Seven-Planets-Sci-Fi-Tuber]

Absolutely! We can mention also Abbas Ibn Firnas. The more you search, the less first in flight were the Wright Bros. It's a can of worms.

[@cardinalRG]

@kkkkky1 --Yes, Santos-Dumont was an early aviation pioneer. What would you like to know about him?

[@MrBrilliant-pro]

@@cardinalRG He doesn't want to learn anything about him, he is just saying that Wright brothers weren't first to do this. Though I would love to learn about them.

[@simeonbeatz8235]

I love this channel

[@Newsthink]

Thanks!

[@gsilcoful]

Thank you.

[@lrg3834]

The Wright brothers did not invent powered flight. They invented CONTROLLED powered flight. A Frenchman had beaten them on the powered aspect, however his craft was not controllable. Clément Ader, a French engineer, created the first piloted, heavier-than-air, self-propelled aircraft to take off and fly. October 9th, 1890. Look it up.

[@beckywilkinson1974]

New Zealander Richard Pearse flew on March 31, 1902. The Wright brothers flew their monoplane on December 17, 1903.

[@cardinalRG]

The 1903 Wright Flyer was a biplane, not a monoplane.

[@leandrolucato]

@@cardinalRG And only Santos Dumont actually made what is supposed to be a plane fly - using self propulsion

[@cardinalRG]

@@leandrolucato --All of the Wright Flyers achieved self-sustained flight, the first occurring in 1903, three years before Santos-Dumont's 14-bis left the ground. Perhaps you're confused because the Wrights also flew gliders, beginning in 1900.

[@leandrolucato]

@@cardinalRG What I heard was that only Santos Dumont made his airplane lift off by its own propulsion first as an airplane does

[@cardinalRG]

@@leandrolucato --Many people believe that, so it's not surprising that you heard it. But it's not correct.

[@wisestorytellingYT]

at 2:51 why does u nose glitch?

[@AyushSingh-be2nm]

Her video is inspired by the book named Think Again by adam grant. Her previous video on Steve jobs's i phone too was.

[@billyjoeramos7243]

Santos Dumont was the first one

[@kochiyama]

Don't spread conspiracy theories please.

[@billyjoeramos7243]

@@kochiyama 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🛻🛻🍔🍟

[@kochiyama]

@@billyjoeramos7243 🐒🥣

[@TexRenner]

It's nice to get a different perspective on the Wrights. The picture I got, as a child of the fifties, was uneducated rubes who blundered their way into the history books.

[@getting.motivate5283]

Nice video ❤

[@paulista134]

with external help and catapult anything flies

[@WUGH]

What about Abbas Ibn Farnas?

[@sloanlance]

Is the host of this video AI? There's some weird movement in the middle of her face around 02:50.

[@Newsthink]

No not AI

[@RTPJu]

But there is another name on the history books and he is Alberto Santos Dumont

[@Menezarian]

imagine being envy of Santos Dumont

[@gusjackson3658]

Odd men. Neither married. When their sister did they saw it as a betrayal.

[@cardinalRG]

Katharine was married in 1926, and indeed Orville took it as some kind of betrayal. But Wilbur died long before, in 1912.

[@speakwithisaac]

I recommend this video to other KZbinrs. Algorithm do your thing....

[@jasonmushersee]

was not their first prototype there were many failures

[@alejandrorivera2734]

When you say that the airplane could never been invented without the brothers is not true, they were competing to be the first, because there were many others trying many ideas. It was mather of time.

[@cardinalRG]

I agree with you. I can't name an invention that, for the lack of the person who actually invented or pioneered it, would never have come into being.

[@andrewpaulhart]

Logically it has to be the first plane that led to the first flight

[@Seven-Planets-Sci-Fi-Tuber]

And theirs was not the first plane..

[@AllforKidsbySusanna-xj8eq]

👍👍👍👍👍💯💢💯💢💯 😻😻😻😻😻

[@Mike-bh7sh]

This video is so full of wrong information - it would need another video to go through it all. - The Wright brothers did NOT invent the airplane. They developed a design that achieved controllable sustained flight. - You mentioned the German aviator who lost control of his glider and died... mentioning his method of controlling the glider by shifting his body position to change the center of gravity was "proved impractical and dangerous".. yet this is literally the way hand gliders ARE steered. - You said there were no propellers before they designed it.. yes there were. There were actually MANY people working on these problems - and in fact the Wrights were making use of some of the information obtained by others' experiments. For example - they were using other experimenter's data for designing the wings - and then realized the data was incorrect and actually BUILT a wind tunnel to test wing design in. And it just keeps going...

[@guilhermeprado3665]

This was the true inventor of the airplane: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aX-6d3mJrZqfiacsi=6IEpwmIywGiL7r0r

[@jagadeeshe7226]

👎 this video is wrong

[@cardinalRG]

Please elaborate.

[@reillanascimento351]

Santos Dumont was the first one

[@cardinalRG]

It depends on what you mean. Santos-Dumont flew lighter-than-air craft before the Wrights flew anything, but the brothers flew a heavier-than air craft before Santos-Dumont did.