Header Ads

ad

Ohio mocked over wrong Wright brothers number plates

 

Social media users have mocked Ohio after its launch of a number plate to mark the first motorised flight by the Wright brothers in 1903 crash landed.

The US state's new design, unveiled by Governor Mike DeWine, sported a banner attached to the plane that boasted Ohio was the "Birthplace of Aviation".

But the banner, which should have been trailing behind the plane, was actually attached to its front.

The state quickly put out a statement acknowledging the mistake.

It has since issued a corrected version of the number plate, with the banner now firmly attached to the correct end of the plane. 


The designers of the plate aren't the first people to make the error. Confusingly for those used to more modern aircraft, the Wright brothers' famous flyer was powered by propellers located at the rear of the plane rather than the front.

But that hasn't stopped internet users poking fun at the unfortunate designers.    


The mistake has also reignited one of America's longest running debates: Who can claim credit for the Wright brothers' first flight?

Ohio and North Carolina have long been at odds over which state gets to lay claim on the brothers' achievement. Ohio claims that, as the pair originally hailed from the state and the plane they completed their 39-second flight in was built in Dayton, it should get the credit.

But the flight itself actually took place at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, And the North Carolinian newspaper, the Charlotte Observer, joked: "Let's talk about which state Kitty Hawk is in."

Meanwhile the state's department of transportation was quick to mock their rival's failure, writing on Twitter: "All leave Ohio alone. They wouldn't know. They weren't there."

Both states, though, are allies in a broader battle with Connecticut, which also claims to have scooped both states to the first flight. It argues that in 1901 a German immigrant by the name of Gustave Whitehead successfully launched his own plane.

Ohio isn't the first state to miss the mark with a commemorative number plate. In 2016, South Dakota was mocked after it attempted to depict Mount Rushmore on its number plate, only for angry citizens to point out that the image of George Washington was facing the wrong way.  


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59008039?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_custom4=BB46C76E-3400-11EC-AB73-8CF8923C408C&at_custom3=%40BBCWorld&at_medium=custom7&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_campaign=64&at_custom2=twitter  


The original number plate depicting the banner attached to the front of the plane