Fun Kite Facts

Kite Fun Facts

1. It is believed that the first kites were flown over 3000 years ago and were actually made of leaves. People flew kites 1,000 years before paper was even invented!

2. Kite flying was actually banned in Japan in 1760 because too many people preferred to fly kites over work (who doesn't?). And in the 20th century, large kites were banned in East Germany because of the possibility of lifting people over the Berlin wall.

3. Kites have been used for centuries for fishing and have actually been used in many sea rescues.

4. Kites are used for things such as scaring birds, forcasting the weather, and frighteningn away evil spirits. In the Orient, kites are given to bring people happiness, good luck, prosperity, and cure illness.

5. In 1901 Marconi used a hexagon kite to transmit the first radio signals over the Atlantic. In World War 2, the Royal Air Force issued kites to pilots as part of a rescue kit that included a dingy and a folding box kite called the Gibson Girl, which enabled them to send SOS signals from a portable transmitter with the kite line acting as an aerial.

6. There are 78 rules pertaining to kite fighting in Thailand.

7. There is at least one kite festival every weekend in some part of the world. Some are even held indoors.

8. Some kite records include the smallest kite in the world which flies at 5mm high, the largest number of kites flown on a single line at 11,284, the longest kite in the world at 3394 feet, the largest kite in the world known as a megakite at 55 x 22 metres, the fastest kite in the world at 193 kph, the highest single line kite at 12,471 ft, and the longest kite fly at 180 hours. Some Japanese kites weigh over 2 tons!

9. There are over 50 millions kites sold in North America every year.

10. Kite flying is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. There are more adult kite flyers than children.