Kites
     The kite was invented in China, around the sixth century B.C. The inventor is not known, because it is so old. When the Chinese flew the kite it was suppose to free the spirit. Every year in China, on the ninth of September there is is a annual kite flying fest. It was also used to monitor the ground. A person would get in a kite, and someone would fly them up to the sky.
 
    In 1771 A.D., Marco Polo set off to China. In 1775, he reached China, and served as an ambassador to Kublai Khan. When he returned to Venice he brought back many Chinese inventions, such as the kite and noodles.
     The kite is a light framed aircraft, with an aerodynamic shape. There are many fabrics used on kites. Some of them are, paper, nylon, plastic, etc. It is flown when a moving object runs when pulling on the string that connects on to the kite.
     There are various uses for the kite. They are now mostly used for recreational reasons, but there is more to the kite than just for having fun. It is used for meteorological predictions. In World War II, the Japanese used kites to signal people so the Armed Forces couldn't intercept their massages. Kites were mainly used to signal people before there was radio. A famous use of the kite was took place in the 1752, by Benjamin Franklin. He tied a key to a kite and flew it in an lightning storm. There was a good part and a bad part to this experiment. The bad part was that lightning hit the kite and shocked him. Thanks to him we know that metal is and electrical conductor.
 Ever since Marco Polo brought back the kite, it has been used widely all over the globe.

    Parachutes
     The parachute evolved from the square kite. The first parachute was a wooden frame, with paper. The parachute was placed on the back of your feet and your hands, like a hang glider. When the idea had reached France, a aeronaut named Jacques Ganerin refined the kite by making it into an umbrella shape, in 1764. Although the parachute was invented by the Chinese, the French got all the credit, because they refined it. The first ever recorded decent from a hot air balloon was in 1785.
     Parachutes are also used for military purposes, but they were mostly used in World War II. They were used to drop cargo and paratroopers. Many people now consider parachuting a sport along with skydiving and hang gliding. When ever a returning spacecraft is coming back from space, a parachute is always used to break its dive.

    The parachute pack is placed on your back. When you pull the ripcord, the pack releases the parachute, and you decent safely to the ground.
 If the kite had never been invented then would be no parachutes, hang gliders, skydiving, or jets, because of its aerodynamic shape.