June 15th is Fly a Kite Day

If you're looking for something to do today then I hope it's windy because it's Fly a Kite Day!

Find yourself a big open field and have fun!

Let's get right into celebrating Fly a Kite Day!

Why is this a holiday?

Well, the reason for this holiday might not be what you expect at all. You see, this is the day that people think Benjamin Franklin did his famous kite experiment where he tried to extract sparks from a cloud. And while I don't recommend that you try to recreate his experiment, I do recommend that you carry on the tradition and get a kite up in the sky in remembrance of this brave feat that helped us become more advanced.

In 1750, Ben Franklin was said to have written up a proposal for this experiment where he theorized that he could prove lightning was electricity by flying a kite in a storm.

And on May 10, 1752 Thomas-François Dalibard, from France, actually carried out Ben Franklin's experiment but he used a tall metal rod instead of a kite. And he was actually able to pull some sparks out of a cloud. But old Ben wanted to do his exact test as he had planned so on this day in 1752 he flew a kite in a storm and successfully proved that lightning was in fact electricity. We're not sure how exactly he carried out the experiment but we do know that the invention of the lightning rod came out of it.

But since you'll be flying a kite today, let's take a look at their history too. Do you realize that kites have been around for over 2,500 years? Some think they got their start in China, where the perfect kite making supplies would be available. Others think that they got their start as leaf kites in Indonesia, based on what they saw in cave drawings. Either way, the Chinese really used kites to their advantage by measuring distances, communicating and testing the wind. And you just thought it was a floaty thing with a string!

Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring!

So, how can you celebrate today?

Well, let's say it's not a windy day and you don't really think that you can fly a kite. Or that it's really stormy and you'd rather not get a jolt from lightning. If either of these are the case then you're more than welcome to look deeper into the story of Ben Franklin and flying a kite in a storm. Do some dective work and try to find out how the story really went down. History always gets diluted and twisted the farther you get from the actual event.

Or, if it is the perfect kite flying day, then get out there and fly one! Get some friends together so you can take turns or see if you can choreograph some special kite flying skills together. It's odd to think that holding onto something floating in the sky would be so fun but for some reason it is. Maybe we're all just in awe of things that can "fly" and feel accomplished when we get our kite in the sky. The higher we can get it up there, the happier we seem to get.

But if it's kite flying weather and you don't have a kite then go shopping for one. There are some really creative kites out there too so browse around. I've seen ones shaped like parrots, airplanes and a lot of other crazy stuff. So if you're heading to a place that normally has people flying kites, then make sure to get the craziest looking kite so that you really stand out today.

Have a great day and try to avoid the trees!