On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 12:08:27 GMT, in a place far, far away,
lid (John Savard) made the phosphor on
my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that:

Why didn't the Wright Brothers invent the helicopter?

Because it's a much more technically difficult problem. Da Vinci
invented it conceptually, but couldn't build one, and no one at the
turn of the twentieth century had the capability to do so, either.

Why are the Wright brothers more celebrated than the Montgolfier
brothers?

Didn't the Montgolfier brothers invent flight, while the Wright
brothers just added a small detail - heavier-than-air flight?

It's not a small detail. It's the difference between flight, and
practical, useful flight.

Is it
because the Wright brothers are Americans, while the Montgolfier
brothers are French?

No.

Oh, that was a rhetorical question?