Ahem.
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A little history:
Kites were first used around 800 BCE in China. At that time, they were made out of silk and bamboo--silk for both the cloth and the string, bamboo for the framework. They were even fitted with whistles and strings to make musical sounds while flying, and decorated with symbols.
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In the 1200s, Marco Polo--that well-known explorer--went to Europe with stories about kites, and sailors from Japan and Malaysia in the 1500s and 1600s brought them back. Even so, it was until the 1700s and the 1800s that kites began to be used for scientific purposes. (One of the more famous examples would be sending up a kite to see if it attracts lightning.)
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The first known example of hang gliding, for a glider is a kind of kite, is Yuan Huangtou, a Chinese Emperor who was flown down from a tower in 559 AD against his will. He survived (although he was to be executed later), unlike some other royalty who have gotten into the air, such as King Bladud who fell to his death in 880 BC.
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As for me, I have a bad history with kites. They always seem to have some kind of agenda. It's either a.) the kite breaks b.) refuses to go up in the air c.) the wind doesn't cooperate or d.) there isn't enough space. Maybe I read too much Peanuts.
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Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite
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Have you ever flown a kite?
-----The Golden Eagle
