Sleek new airplanes become a fixture, and paper darts finally became paper airplanesĪ prototype of the Avro Vulcan bomber in 1955.
The plane was just a prototype, but soon reality - and paper planes - caught up. The headline to that 1933 piece was "Airplane Like Dart Has Lengthwise Wings."Ī plane that looked like a paper dart. Though the term "paper aeroplane" was around much earlier, it wasn't the default term, probably because the paper darts just didn't look like real planes.Ī 1933 issue of Popular Mechanics hints at what finally helped the paper dart become a paper airplane: the development of new plane shapes. References to paper darts extend well into the 20th century, presumably in part because people who grew up with paper darts had no reason to change. The marvelously titled What Shall We Do Now ?, a children's book, proposed a perfect paper airplane in 1900 - but it was still called a paper dart:Ī paper dart diagram from 1900. These overly literal models of planes helped "paper darts" endure. The paper bird in Scientific American, designed by engineers. Scientific American designed an aeroplane/paper bird in 1894 that had a birdlike appearance: At the time, the paper plane was seen not as an extension of the paper dart, but as a way for kids to imitate the winged flight that seemed to be the future: Many people imagined that manned flight would require flapping wings, so early "paper aeroplanes" copied that model. The term "paper aeroplane" appeared in the 1890s, before successful powered flight, but those paper airplanes looked a lot different from the ones today. It took a surprisingly long time for "paper airplanes" to replace "paper darts" ( San Francisco Call)īut for all intents and purposes, the "paper dart" was the "paper airplane" - the only thing that changed was the name. Occasionally they'd wedge a used pencil into the design to give it heft, or make a longer version, like this one from 1909:Ī paper dart from 1909. Sometimes, as today, kids made modifications to the classic paper dart model. An 1881 description of the New York Stock Exchange noted an unusual punishment: "to throw a paper dart or ball at a member during the session of the Board is to incur a fine of ten dollars." Naturally, people threw paper darts at teachers, too: an 1889 story recalls the many times "a paper dart has glided noiselessly down the room, amidst the suppressed applause and smothered hilarity of the students."
People even used paper darts the same way kids use paper airplanes today: to be annoying.
During the Civil War - yes, kids flew paper airplanes during the Civil War - Every Little Boy's Book gave kids instructions for making a paper dart that "makes a graceful curve in passing through the air." In 1881, as instructed in Cassell's Book of Sports and Pastimes, kids were told how to make a paper dart using "a piece of good stout paper." The instructions reveal a design that looks exactly like the familiar paper airplane. ( Cassell's Book)Īs early as 1864, kids were flying "paper darts" that looked like what we call "paper airplanes" today.
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