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