A popular aviation riddle about the Wright Brothers is:
Q: If two wrongs don’t make a right, what do two rights make?
A: An airplane.
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1969.
Wikipedia: Wright Brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who are credited with inventing and building the world’s first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903 four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In 1904-1905 the brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible.
Google Books
January 1969, Boys’ Life, ‘Think and Grin,” pg. 72, col. 1:
Orville: If two wrongs don’t make a right. What do two rights make?
Wilbur: An airplane? — Jack Juni, Ann Arbor, Mich.
22 March 1971, The States-Item (New Orleans, LA), “Jumble” by Henri Arnold and Bob Lee, pg. 26, col. 8:
If two “wrongs” don’t make a “right,” what do two “rights” make?—AN AIRPLANE
Google Books
May 1972, Boys’ Life, “Think and Grin,” pg. 82, col. 3:
Orville: Two wrongs don’t make a right.
Wilbur: Then what do two rights make?
Orville: An airplane. — James Slater, Spring Valley, N.Y.
Google Books
May 1983, Boys’ Life, ‘Think & Grin,” pg 74, col. 2:
Steve: If two wrongs don’t make a right, what do two rights make?
George: I don’t know. What?
Steve: An airplane. — Eric Dobin, Watchung, N.J.
Google Books
March 2002, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 58, col. 1:
Bill: If two wrongs don’t make a right, what do two Wrights make?
Jill: A wrong?
Bill: Nope, an airplane. — Mark Letts, Newport News, Va,
reddit
If two wrongs don’t make a right, what do two rights make? (self.Jokes)
submitted February 16, 2014 by [deleted]
An airplane.
reddit
If two wrongs don’t make a right, what do two rights make?” (self.Jokes)
submitted September 14, 2015 by hingle_mcringlebery7
An Airplane
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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