This afternoon, I visited an exhibition on a certain inventor, most of whose ideas never saw the light of day back in his own era. However, one of his speculative inventions was tested by a woman back in 2003, and it did turn out to work. Who was this man, who is the woman, and what did she test?

ceetee

I'm thinking it might be Leonardo da Vinci who invented many things on paper but was so far ahead of his time few of them came to fruition for centuries. The hang glider was a project of a TV show, and the producers asked Hang Gliding champion Judy Leden to do the testing. Here's a piccy of her http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/B/buildingthebest/leonardo7.html Aug 29 06, 7:05 PM

lanfranco

And a silver mace to you, ceetee! Leonardo's hang glider, beautifully realized in a model now being displayed (until September 4, 2006) at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, was, indeed, tested by Judy Leden in 2003. And it worked better than a glider designed and tested by the Wright Brothers in 1900: http://www.cronaca.com/archives/000416.html Aug 29 06, 7:13 PM