The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - 18: The Toymaker

Episode Date: May 24, 2016

Al didn't want to make toys, he just wanted to fly.

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Al was not a toy maker by trade. He was just a guy who wanted to fly. Every night he dreamed of gliding through space, free unfettered, floating high above the French countryside. Maybe his obsession was the result of a mechanical and curious mind, or maybe it was the result of a degenerative hip that had left him crippled his entire life. Either way, Al spent every moment pondering the missing. mysteries of flight. One day, Al was daydreaming, fiddling with a rubber band, twisting it round and round in his hands as he watched a hawk riding the thermals high above his head. When Al

released the rubber band, it unraveled with surprising force, snapping him out of his reverie and prompting a most provocative question. What would happen if a twisted band of rubber was attached to a lightweight propeller and allowed to unwind. Soon, Al's twisted rubber bands were spinning a wooden blade that lifted an odd-looking device made of cork and bamboo straight up into the air, where it hovered as if by magic. He called it the ornithopter. Then he introduced the planophor,

the world's first model airplane that could fly through the air under its own power. In his quest to fly, Al had created the first. first torsion motor, and in the process, an accidental category of toys. They certainly caught the eye of the bishop, who came face to face with Al's designs several years later in a small toy shop, somewhere in the middle of America. The bishop was a devout man of the cloth with five curious children. Now, on his way back home, the bishop was looking for a few gifts for his kids, but not some frivolous gizmo or pointless trinket, the bishop wanted something that would stimulate the imagination, and Al's toy seemed the perfect choice. Well, the bishop was right. His boys loved the toy,

and played with it round the clock. But back in Paris, Al's obsession had only deepened. He was convinced the same mechanical principles that allowed his 56-ounce model airplane to stay aloft would do the same for a much heavier device. Al had already demonstrated those principles to the scientific community and drawn up detailed plans to build a full-sized aircraft. All he needed now were the funds to build it. But Al's best efforts fell short. People just didn't believe that any device large enough to carry a man could be made to glide through the air, and Al couldn't convince them otherwise. Overwhelmed with despair and frustration, Alphonse Paineau, The brilliant French inventor who yearned to escape the prison of his own body

took his own life when he was just 30 years old. It's a terrible pity when you think about it, because 4,100 miles from Paris, Alphonse's dream was one step closer to becoming a reality. Remember when I said the bishop was right? Well, so were his sons. The bishop's boys had assembled and disassembled Paineau's creation countless times and become obsessed with building their own version. 23 years later, on December 17, 1903, they finally succeeded.

We remember the date because their accomplishment is arguably the greatest scientific breakthrough of the 20th century, an accomplishment made possible by a toy, a very good toy, invented completely by accident, and hand delivered by a man of God at just the right time, to just the right brothers. Orville and Wilbur, to be specific. Anyway, that's the way I heard it. If you're a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility and your machinery isn't working right,

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