I was a young teen in Brazil in the 70's. And yes, when it came to first powered flight, it was, "what? The Who Bros.? Everyone knows it was Santos-Dumont!". An

I was a young teen in Brazil in the 70's. And yes, when it came to first powered flight, it was, "what? The Who Bros.? Everyone knows it was Santos-Dumont!". And this was settled, and impervious to any argument. It wasn't really about who flew first. It was a cultural phenomenon, and my first clue that history is all about who writes it, and why. (This phenomenon was satirized in the original Star Trek series, which had a running gag involving Mr. Chekov and his alternate histories. Gulf of America, anyone?) BTW WaPo, neither the Wrights or Santos-Dumont "invented" the airplane. As with so many of these things there were many contributors. Otto Lillienthal, who the Wrights credited as an inspiration (and who as the first plane crash fatality?) had already flow many times. Even Da Vinci explored the idea.