LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Kites
built 649 days ago
Kites are great for everyone. There are kites for beginners and experts. It does not matter how old you are. There are kites for all age groups. Flying kites is great because they are fun, challenging and safe. This is your chance to get away from mundane tv shows and video games and start a fun family activity.
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Kites lofted from boats in the middle of the Amazon River could provide "vertical profiles" of the gas for weeks on end, helping researchers better understand the mysterious carbon cycle. With the river flowing to the east and the wind blowing from the east, "we could conceivably fly for many days," says Balsley... a researcher in the electrical and computer engineering department.
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Kites have ... been used for scientific purposes, such as Benjamin Franklin's famous (but dangerous) experiment proving that lightning is electricity. Kites were the precursors to aircraft, and were instrumental in the development of early flying craft. Alexander Graham Bell experimented with very large man-lifting kites, as did the Wright brothers and Lawrence Hargrave. Kites had an historical role in lifting scientific instruments to measure atmospheric conditions for weather forecasting.
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Rokkakus originated in Japan as fighter kites. Teams of people controlled a single kite with the object of knocking their opponents' kite out of the sky. These Roks don't need a team, and can be flown by a single person.
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Kites can be designed with many different shapes, forms, and sizes. They can take the form of flat geometric designs, boxes and other three-dimensional forms, or modern sparless inflatable designs. Kites flown by children are often simple geometric forms (for example, the diamond). In Asia, children fly dried symmetrical leaves on sewing thread and sled-style kites made from sheets of folded writing paper.
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At the annual Convention of the American Kite Flyers Association in Ocean Shores, Washington, 20 giant octopus kites flew all at one time, setting a new World Record. The revious record was 19 such kites aloft. Each kite weighs about 35 pounds and cost $4500.00.
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