The Wright Brothers’ Patent
The National Archives store some of history’s most prized and rarest documents. Security is tight in the most important anthropological storehouses in the world, yet this hasn’t stopped thieves from making off with some of its priceless pieces.
The patent papers that describe in detail Wilbur and Orville Wright’s concept for a flying machine were lifted by an unknown crook without anyone noticing. Not until 2003 did anyone discover that it was missing, and since then, no one has been able to apprehend the culprit.
Thefts at the Archives have become so common that an armed task force has been assigned to track down the missing pieces. The photos taken by astronauts during the Moon landing have been recovered, as have the audio tapes from the Hindenburg crash. But until someone tries to auction off hand-drawn airplane sketches from the early 1900s, we may never know where the patent papers took off to.
It seems to me that a place where so many of our important pieces from history are stored would certainly have more security in place, but evidently the PTB don't place as much importance on these pieces as you would think. That's a shame, really. Don't you agree?
Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Rain chances are good again today!
