The Wright brothers began as bicycle manufacturers in Dayton, Ohio

See a timeline of early flights, patent approvals and the birth of the Wright Company

The brothers’ most intense period of creativity and progress came between 1901 and 1910, when their work at Kitty Hawk culminated in the first powered flight. The pair, however, were not the most business-savvy, and they struggled to take financial advantage of their pioneering work in the field.

The Wrights were inspired by a toy helicopter as kids

The pair tinkered with toys and dreamed of building a flying machine at a young age. Founders Podcast host David Senra read David McCullough’s 2015 book on the duo and distilled key insights for leaders to take from their work and lives, focusing on their relentless resourcefulness.

How did the Wright brothers invent the airplane?

This article explores the research processes that led Wilbur and Orville Wright to invent the airplane and includes photos and visualizations of their findings and inventions.

The 1910 Wright Model B was the brother’s most successful aircraft

The model, built from 1910 to 1914, was the first designed to be constructed in bulk, with four built each month in 1911 and 1912. The two-seater was used in exhibition flights and training for some of the earliest uses of airplanes in military contexts.

The public mostly doubted the Wrights’ flight claims for five years

Coverage of the pair’s success often described them as barely educated bike mechanics. They struggled to gain traction with the public. It took interest from French business leaders and the US Signal Corps to bring the pair into separate demonstrations of their planes.

The Wright brothers' sister hyped their work, and was the only one to attend college

Katharine Wright became the de facto household caretaker after their mother, Susan, died, when Katharine was 15. After graduating from Oberlin, Katharine took over household duties so her father and brothers could work. She promoted their work in the US and abroad.

How a Harlem Renaissance poet teamed up with a Wright brother

Paul Laurence Dunbar is one of the most influential poets from the Harlem Renaissance, a loose collection of Black artists who redefined American literature in the early 20th century. He was also an entrepreneur. He founded a short-lived newspaper, the Dayton Tattler, alongside Orville Wright, one of the famous Wright Brothers who pioneered aviation. This article explores how their friendship defied the societal norms of the time and led to a pioneering publication.

The Wrights descended from English-born migrants to Boston in the 1630s

Samuel Wright was a Puritan who arrived in Massachusetts just two decades after the Pilgrims. His great-great-grandson Daniel Wright, born in Connecticut in 1757, fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, seeing action at the Battle of Saratoga.

Using wind tunnels, the brothers corrected a centuries-old error used to measure lift

When their early gliders failed, the Wright brothers scrutinized inherited data analysis. Smeaton’s coefficient had been used to calculate the density of air (0.005) for centuries. The Wright’s data validation through the use of small, laboratory wind tunnels showed the correct number was 0.0033.

The Flyer sat in a shed for 13 years behind the brothers’ Dayton bike shop

While the wood is the same used in the 1903 flight, the muslin has been replaced twice. After laying forgotten in sheds, the vehicle eventually took on national importance. However, the Smithsonian Institution did not recognize it until the 1940s, after it spent time at the Science Museum in London.

Bill Bowerman’s daughter-in-law found the waffle iron he used to create a breakthrough shoe

Nike cofounder and University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman poured polyurethane into a waffle iron for his first attempt at creating the revolutionary waffle-knit sole. The waffle iron, which was found in his backyard, now sits in Nike’s headquarters.

North Carolina adopted 'First in Flight' license plates in 1982—to snarky reviews

Many locals surfaced the irony of enshrining the accomplishments of two men from Ohio on the license plates of North Carolinans. Nonetheless, the style endures to this day, alongside Ohio’s “Birthplace of Aviation.”

One of Henry Ford's early failed business ventures later became Cadillac

Before founding the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford started two businesses that ultimately failed because he didn't get a product to market quickly enough. The Henry Ford Company pushed Henry Ford out in 1902, only to later reform and be renamed after the founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.

Bob's Discount Furniture was born from a motorcycle accident

Founder Bob Kauffman crashed his motorcycle and nearly required a leg amputation. After sleeping on a waterbed appeared to help his recovery, Kauffman decided to sell the beds. His authentic and frugal approach (and goofy commercials) led to quick growth.

How a bicycle inspired an iconic armchair

The Wassily chair, also known as the Model B3, is one of the most recognizable and mass-produced pieces of modernist furniture. It was designed by Marcel Breuer—a Bauhaus student in the early '20s who went on to lead the school's carpentry workshop—who was inspired by the modular tubes and simple construction of a bicycle he'd purchased.

Amateur engineers built America’s first great infrastructure project

With no engineering schools in the US, the Erie Canal was designed and built by self-taught amateurs who improvised new methods and became known as the “Erie School of Engineering.”

How a pencil-making company helped fund Thoreau's books

Thoreau's father ran a pencil-making business, designing a model that dominated the American market and paid for his son's Harvard education. Later, Henry David Thoreau would use the business to fund the publication of his two books, "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" and "Walden."

Usonian design was invented as a response to Americans’ financial struggles

Around the time of the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, Frank Lloyd Wright sought to create homes that made life easier for those struggling financially. Usonian homes are typically characterized by simple materials, small square footage, and natural light.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

There’s some confusion over who founded the Bavarian Brewery that later became Budweiser

While many traditional histories credit German immigrant George Schneider with founding the Bavarian Brewery in 1852, an investigation from St. Louis Magazine found that it was actually started in 1857 by a fascinating German physician named Dr. Adam Hammer.

Madison and Jefferson forged a political alliance that shaped the early US republic

Beginning in the 1780s, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson collaborated closely to oppose centralized power, to found the Democratic-Republican Party, and to guide the nation's early debates on constitutional and foreign policy.

The Dow Jones & Company began as a small news service in 1882

Founded in 1882 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser, Dow Jones & Company started with hand-delivered market bulletins. Today it’s a global financial news giant, best known for publishing The Wall Street Journal.

Frank Lloyd Wright made a gas station in Minnesota

Located in Cloquet, Minnesota, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed full-service gas station and repair shop is still in operation today, attracting visitors from all over the world. The station exists thanks to a local oil businessman who tapped Wright for the job.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

This is a link to a project that Cincinnati Inc. did on 3d printing a full size, functional Shelby Cobra.

Shelby Cobra ORNL and CI 3D printed a Shelby Cobra vehicle on the BAAM and showcased it at the North America International Auto Show in 2015. Learn more about what we can do for you! Schedule a Consultation

Peloton raised more than $300K in 30 days during its Kickstarter campaign

Peloton ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2013, hoping to raise $250K and ended the campaign with $307K. Peloton sold its first bikes during that campaign for $1.5K. Foley later said that most of the bike purchases came from investors, not necessarily new customers.

America's oldest companies still operating today

Did you know that the Ticonderoga pencil company dates back to 1795? Or that Baker's Chocolate started in 1765? This visualization depicts the oldest American companies that are still in operation today in a timeline—see it here.

In its famous catalog, Sears sold $600 DIY house kits from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in an estimated 100,000 'Sears and Roebuck homes.'

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.