Where is the Wright Brothers National Memorial?

The answer is: Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

While everyone says the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, they actually made history in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The brothers did hang out in Kitty Hawk (it was their beach camp headquarters), but the actual "3, 2, 1... liftoff!" moment happened four miles south.

On December 17, 1903, with Orville at the controls and Wilbur running alongside, their rickety craft, the Wright Flyer, lifted off for a whopping 12 seconds, covering 120 feet. Not even long enough to cover a Boeing 747's wingspan, but hey, humanity was officially airborne! The brothers made four flights that day, with the final one lasting 59 seconds and covering 852 feet. Pretty impressive for a machine built by bicycle mechanics in their spare time.

The memorial stands proud on Kill Devil Hill, a massive sand dune that the brothers used as their testing ground. Back then, it was just a giant pile of shifting sand that gave them a perfect runway and, more importantly, a softer landing spot for their many "learning experiences" (read: crashes). Smart thinking, guys.

These days, you'll find a 60-foot granite monument on top of that same hill, though now it's all grassed over and stable. You can spot it from miles away, which is pretty funny considering the Wright brothers' first hop into history barely cleared the height of a basketball hoop. The site also features recreated camp buildings and markers showing exactly where humanity first figured out this whole flying business. The area around the memorial didn't even become an official town until 1953, when Kill Devil Hills was finally incorporated, fifty years after the Wright brothers made their historic flights.