Times' Million-Year Flight Misfire

In October 1903, the New York Times ran an article predicting that it might take humanity from 1 to 10 million years to develop a practical flying machine. The assessment reflected how many experts still saw powered flight as a distant dream at the start of the 20th century. Just 69 days later, on December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first successful powered, controlled flight in North Carolina.

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