One time when the German army threatened Paris it was only the unbroken stream of motor trucks moving along a great French road carrying men and supplies to the front that saved the city. In memory of its service the French call this road the "Sacred Way."
WILBUR AND ORVILLE WRIGHT, THE MEN WHO GAVE HUMANITY WINGS
207. Early Attempts to Fly. To sail through the air as birds do is an ambition that has dazzled men since ancient times. The Greek myths tell us of Phaeton who drove the horses of the sun, and of Icarus who flew too near the sun with his wings of feathers and wax.
WILBUR WRIGHT
Studying birds
To learn how to fly men studied the wings of huge birds living millions of years ago, made careful mathematical reckonings about them, and then made themselves wings of feathers or skin. But with these wings they could only glide to earth from high towers or cliffs. One useful thing they learned from this study. They found that the wing of a bird is bent as you bend a long piece of paper if you hold it by opposite corners and start to twist it. This is called the principle of the screw, and is now used in making the propeller blades of airplanes.
208. The First Airplanes. Early airplanes, airplane models and "gliders" were made in the queerest, most outlandish shapes imaginable. They had from one to five or more planes, arranged at almost every possible angle. Some looked like a row of box kites, some like dragons, and some like a collection of old fashioned windmill wheels all fastened together.
