Ohio mocked for Wright Brothers’ wrong license plates

Social media users mocked Ohio after launching a plaque to mark the Wright brothers’ first motorized flight in 1903 crashed.

The new US state design, unveiled by Governor Mike DeWine, sported a banner attached to the plane boasting that Ohio was the “birthplace of aviation.”

But the banner, which was supposed to be dragged behind the plane, was actually attached to its front.

The state quickly released a statement acknowledging the mistake.

It has since issued a corrected version of the license plate, with the banner now firmly attached to the correct end of the plane.

The platter designers aren’t the first to make the mistake. Confusingly for those accustomed to more modern aircraft, the famous Wright Brothers aircraft was powered by propellers located at the rear of the aircraft rather than the front.

But that hasn’t stopped internet users from making fun of the unfortunate designers.

One poster joked that “the Wright brothers are back at the drawing board too,” while another joked that the state government had “a job.”

The mistake also reignited one of America’s longest-running debates: who can claim credit for the Wright brothers’ first flight?

Ohio and North Carolina have long been at odds over which state can claim the brothers’ success. Ohio says that since the pair were originally from the state and the plane they completed their 39-second flight with was built in Dayton, they should get the credit.

But the flight itself took place in Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, and the North Carolina newspaper, the Charlotte Observer, joked, “Let’s talk about which state Kitty Hawk is in.”

Meanwhile, the state’s transportation department was quick to mock the rival’s failure, tweeting: “Everyone leaves Ohio alone. They wouldn’t know. They weren’t there.”

Both states, however, are allied in a larger battle with Connecticut, which also claims to have brought both states on the first flight. He claims that in 1901 a German immigrant named Gustave Whitehead successfully launched his plane.

Ohio isn’t the first state to miss the mark with a commemorative plaque. In 2016, South Dakota was mocked after attempting to depict Mount Rushmore on the license plate, only for angry citizens who pointed out that George Washington’s image was facing the wrong direction.