Hockey Sparked Wright Brothers

A story about how a violent hockey incident changed Wilbur Wright's life path and led to his interest in aviation.

"The Wright brothers story starts with Wilbur Wright, who was the smart brother. When he was in high school, he was very intelligent and was planning to go to Yale. One night, he was playing hockey on the lakes in Dayton, Ohio when a kid came from behind and smacked him in the face with a stick. This knocked out most of his teeth, broke his jaw, and gave him digestive problems for years.

The attacker, who was known to be a bully, had been taking cocaine-based medicine for a cold. Years later, this same person turned out to be one of Ohio's first serial killers and was put to death for killing around 20 people.

After the injury, Wilbur didn't go to Yale. He became a homebody and locked himself in his room for 4-7 years, suffering from his injuries with no proper medical treatment. During this time, he started reading extensively. Someone bought him a toy plane that was like a kite, and he became fascinated with mechanics and planes.

Once he healed, instead of becoming a doctor like planned, he decided to create a bicycle shop, then a glider, and eventually a plane. His brother Orville, who was more gregarious and outgoing, supported him. They worked together, with Wilbur being the calculating one and Orville being the one who would say 'let's go do it.'

They eventually found their testing grounds in Kitty Hawk through connections with local postmasters, and that's where they began their journey to create the first airplane."