People Were Flying Kites 1,000 Years Before Paper Was Invented

Observed annually on February 8th, National Kite Flying Day is marked by kite flying enthusiasts across the country.

• 470 BC – Kites date back to China in 470 B.C. China is full of lore and histories of the origins of the kite. Some stories also tell of kites invented to spy on their enemies or send messages.
• 1200s – The Italian explorer brought a Chinese kite back to Italy.
• 1752 – Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was electricity.
• 1773 – The oldest-known surviving kite is an example of a “French pear-top” design dating back at least 250 years to 1773. It was discovered by a carpenter during renovations of a property in Leiden, Netherlands, in 1985 and is inscribed with the initials “RB and TB 1773”. source
• 1760 – Kite flying was banned in Japan because too many people preferred to fly kites than work.
• 1800s – Kites were used throughout this century for scientific research.
• 1861 – Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
• 1939 – In the Second World War, the RAF issued pilots with a ‘rescue kit’ comprising a dingy and a folding box kite called a Gibson Girl which enabled them to send an SOS message from a portable transmitter with the kite line acting as the aerial.
• 1966 – Kite flying was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution, anyone found flying a kite was sent to jail for up to three years and their kites destroyed.
• 2003 – Author Khaled Hosseini publishes one of the most popular modern novels of current times, The Kite Runner.
• 2005 – The most kite surfing world championships won by a woman is nine and was achieved by Kristin Boese (Germany) between 2005 to 2008. This record includes both the PKRA and KPWT federations. source
• The kite is designated as a heavier-than-air craft that is tethered with wing surfaces that react as the air drags and lifts around them.
• Kite Flying Day was created to remind us of the feeling of freedom that one feels when guiding a kite through the currents of air.
• There is also evidence that the people of the South Sea Islands were using kites for fishing around the same time as the people of China.
• Early kites were constructed from bamboo or sturdy reeds for framing. Leaves, silk, or paper made ideal sails. Vines or braided fibers completed the line or tether. While kites were initially used as tools, they were also ceremonial as well.
• Kites were used to send messages into the heavens or to lift offerings to the gods, kites had a symbolic place in the culture.
• kites are popular both as hobbies and outdoor fun. They range from simple diamond kites to more complicated box kites and giant sled kites.
• Stunt kites, also known as sport kites, are designed so the operator can maneuver the kite into dips, twists, and dives with dramatic effect.
• The airplane is a development of a kite
• The world record for the longest kite fly is 180 hours.
• Large kites were banned in East Germany because of the possibility of lifting people over the Berlin Wall.
• Kite fighting has been a recreational pastime in Thailand for centuries, played with “male” and “female” kites on vast open fields where each side competes to capture the other’s kites.
• The smallest kite in the world that flies is 5mm (point 20 inches) high.
• The largest kite in the world is called the Megabite, which is 180 ft by 72 ft.
• The longest kite in the world is 1034 meters which is 3394 ft.
• The fastest recorded speed of a kite is over 120 mph which is 193 km/h.
• The highest altitude by a single kite was 16,009 ft which was achieved by Robert Moore (Australia) in Cobar, New South Wales, Australia on 23 September 2014
• There are over 50 million kites sold in the USA every year.
• A Japanese kite-maker reportedly flew 11,284 kites on a single line — the largest number recorded thus far.
• When the Japanese were building some of the early temples and shrines they used large kites to lift tiles and other materials to the workmen on the roof.
• More adults in the world fly kites than children.
• People were flying kites 1,000 years before paper was invented.
• There are over 50 million kites sold in the USA every year.
• The largest kite museum is the Weifang World Kite Museum in Weifang City, Shandong, China, with a floor area 87,190 square feet.  The museum houses some 1,300 exhibits dedicated to the history, craft and culture of kite-making and kite-flying, The roof of the museum is covered in turquoise tiles and is said to imitate the shape of a traditional dragon-headed centipede kite, a design long associated with the Weifang area.
• The Washington State International Kite Festival hosts the largest gathering of kites each year.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Days of the Year

Richmond

The Fact Site

JVCullen

Guinness World Record

National Today

Bridlington Kite Festival