The Parachute

There are many people that claim they first made the parachute but the Ancient Chinese actually first made them in toys. Leonardo da Vinci made the design more than a hundred years before Louis-Sebastien Lenormand descended with a parachute by jumping off a top of the tree. So, the Chinese first originally invented this in toy form but Lenormand was the first to test the parachute and made the first practical parachute in 1783.

Da Vinci's sketch was a canopy that was a triangular instead of round and was to be made of linen covering a wooden frame. This sketch also had a description below that said "If a man have a tent made of linen of which the apertures (openings) have all been stopped up, and it be twelve braccia (about 23 feet) across and twelve in depth, he will be able to throw himself down from any great height without suffering any injury." People were skeptical about this because of the triangular shape if it would be able to float and the weight of this parachute. But Adrian Nichols tested out his design in 2000 and it worked. Nichols even stated that it was a more smooth ride than a modern parachute.

The parachute has varied from shapes and sizes throughout the years. Modern parachutes are very similar to a glider but in Ancient China the toy parachutes were round, and in Milan, Italy Leonardo Da Vinci sketched a triangular parachute. The purpose for them has changed throughout the years as well. Da Vinci's purpose for the parachute was for people to escape from burning buildings and now we use them for the activity and sport of Skydiving, as well as in case of emergencies on an aircraft.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Parachute

http://www.da-vinci-inventions.com/parachute.aspx

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Sebastien-Lenormand