Kites have not always been just lovely playthings, they have also had a scientific use. For instance, in 1752, the American statesman, writer and scientist, Benjamin Franklin, used a kite fitted with metal pegs and cables in experiments to develop a lightning conductor.
Then, in 1901, the Italian scientist, Marconi, used a kite to raise a radio aerial into the sky so that he could send the first long-wave radio signal across the Atlantic, between Cornwall, in England, and Newfoundland, in Canada, 3,400 kilometers away.”