Up in the Air

Acknowledging that the kite originated in China, a plaque in the aircraft pavilion at the National Aeronautics and Space Museum in Washington D.C. reads, "the earliest aircraft are the kites and missiles of China." Attached to the sport is the belief that by letting go, one can let loose any bad luck or ill health to join the spirits. The finder of a kite, then, is by superstition, bound to bad luck.