BUT FIRST

but fi rst...

Patent drawings fi led by the Wright brothers (left). The brothers on their porch in Ohio (inset). Photos courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Not good at sharing.

WHILE THE WRIGHT BROTHERS ARE BEST KNOWN FOR ACHIEVING FIRST FLIGHT right here on the Outer Banks, the fl ipside of their legacy isn’t always remembered as fondly. Following their history-making fl ights in 1903, the brothers were granted a patent for their fl ying machine in 1906 – and then promptly began a widespread legal campaign against any would-be competitors for intellectual property theft. By interpreting their patent as covering any potential fl ying machine (not just their specifi c design), the brothers eff ectively tied the American aircraft industry up in a series of lengthy legal battles from 1909-1917. The situation became so untenable that when the United States entered WWI in 1917, the government couldn’t fi nd any American-made aircrafts fi t for military service. Something clearly had to be done. Thanks to the diplomatic intervention of Franklin Roosevelt (who was then serving as the assistant secretary of the United States Navy), the major players in the aeronautic industry were all persuaded to create a more collaborative patent pool – thus ending the contentious “patent wars,” and fi nally ushering in the Roaring ‘20s’ golden age of aviation.

Busted!

THINK YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LAW? Depends on who you ask. While it’s not uncommon for certain laws to become less meaningful over time, getting rid of them entirely is a whole other matter. In North Carolina there are more than a few laws still on the books that might stump even the most law-abiding citizen, so don’t forget to mind your manners…and your rap sheet. Ask before you receive. It’s not only unneighborly to temporarily

borrow your neighbor’s dog, mule or horse without

permission, it’s also a Class 2 misdemeanor. There can be some serious consequences for stealing kitchen grease, but it depends on the value of the take – if the oil’s worth $1,000 or less, it’s a misdemeanor; anything more, and it can get bumped up to felony status. Dating back to an incident at a Methodist church in 1873, you can be legally charged with singing off -key – and if your backup plan is the piccolo, playing a tune after midnight and before sunrise can also land you in hot water.

A Bird- Brained Idea

William Shakespeare referenced precisely 64 diff erent types of birds in his writings, but for an entrepreneur and literary buff named Eugene Schieff elin there was only one real question: Would it be possible to introduce all 64 of them to the North American ecosystem? With the very best of intentions, Schieff elin attempted to answer this by releasing approximately 60-80 European starlings (a bird Shakespeare only mentioned once) into New York’s Central Park during the early 1890s – and subsequently unleashed what’s long been considered a natural disaster of epic proportions. More than a century later, that modest fl ock has reportedly surged to an estimated population of anywhere from 85-200 million, making starlings one of the most abundant birds found on the North American continent.

Though some more current research suggests that certain elements of this starling origin story may be fi ctitious, these diminutive songbirds are still considered a non-native invasive species throughout the United States, where they’ve reportedly wreaked havoc on everything from aviation to agriculture since at least the early 1900s – and in North Carolina (the Outer Banks included) they are one of the only animals that can be hunted year round without restrictions.