THE KITE THAT MADE AMERICA

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As most of you know I love making kites and I also love studying about the brilliant minds of history. So  I was pleased to find out that many of the most brilliant minds of the past were also kite builders like me.  Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, Guglielmo Marconi and many more were all brilliant inventors and avid kite builders.  Benjamin Franklin is probably the most well known for his kite flying experiment that lead to a greater understanding of electricity but few really know how much of a pivotal roll that kite played in the establishment of our nation.  Though he never served as president he definitely earned his spot on the 100 dollar bill.  

       Everyone who has ever gone to grade school knows the story of how Ben Franklin flew a kite in a storm (Something you should NEVER do as we know now) to study the nature of lightning.  You see one of the greatest dangers that the American settlers were facing were the fires caused by houses being struck by lightning. Benjamin Franklin was determined to find a solution to this problem and through his famous kite flying experiment he figured out how to invent the lightning rod.  An invention that he never patented and it is a good thing he didn’t because lightning rods immediately began being produced all over the world and though Ben Franklin never got rich off of his invention his name began to become quite popular.   

        For most that is where the story ends but it is really only the beginning.  As the Revolutionary war progressed things began to look dim for the army of American settlers and their only hope was to form an alliance with another army and this is when that kite experiment comes into play as a pivotal part of the establishing of the United States of America.  Benjamin Franklin knew that an alliance with France would be their greatest hope to defeating the British army and so he personally traveled to France to in an attempt to convince the king of France to send some troops to assist the Americans.  You have to understand  how hard of a task this was.  A simple American settler trying to gain an audience with the King of France was unheard of if not practically impossible.  But when the king heard that “The man that tamed lightning” was in France and wanting to speak to him he immediately granted him access and listened to what Ben Franklin had to say.  Soon there were French ships crossing the Atlantic to join forces with the Americans against the British.  Because of that alliance the British army was defeated and we became the independent nation of the United Stated of America.  So had it not been for a man with a kite there would not have been an alliance and it is likely that the British would have won the war and all of those who signed the Declaration of  Independence would have been put to death for treason.  It is amazing how something as simple as a kite could play such a tremendous roll in the establishing of a nation but that is exactly what happened. Had it not been for a kite there wouldn’t be a United States of America so to celebrate Independence Day GO FLY A KITE!

If you would like to be a kite builder like Ben Franklin here is a good inexpensive way to get started.  All you need is a plastic shopping bag , some wooden skewers, tape, scissors and string.

1. First you lay the bag flat and cut off the ends of the handles. Then cut about an inch off of one side of the bag. Save the piece you cut off because it will serve as the tail later.

2.  Flip the top layer of the bag open like a book so that the when it is flat the fold lays right down the center from corner to corner. It is important that both sides are equal on each side of the fold.  

3.  Lay the skewers right along the fold.  You may have to tape two skewers together to achieve the length that you need.  Tape the skewers right onto the center along the fold so that you create a “flap” on the bottom side.

4.   Take another set of skewers and  make the crossbar which goes at a 90 degree angle from ones you taped along the fold.  Tape them into position as well.

5.   Take the pieces you cut off the side earlier and make them into a tail. Tape them to the bottom in the center of the kite.

6. Flip the whole thing over and attach your string to the corner of the flap you made from taping the other pieces down.  You may want to reinforce the place you tie the string  in with more tape.  

7.  You are ready to fly.  You can launch the kite by getting a running start or let a friend hold it out at distance and letting go when a good wind comes along.