Orville Wright's Favorite Drink Wasn't Something He Got To Enjoy Often

Everyone knows that Orville Wright was one-half of the team who designed and flew the first power-driven plane in 1903, along with his older brother, Wilbur. What people might not know, however, is that his favorite drink was milk and that it was a rarity for him to have it while he was helping make such a huge contribution to science. So, while he may have had killer facial hair at the time, he sadly lacked the ability to have a milk mustache due to the scarcity of the dairy product where the brothers were attempting their flights in the early 1900s. 

Because of its strong winds, the Wright Brothers chose to fly their planes in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, which is on one of the islands known as the Outer Banks. This town was in the middle of nowhere, had a small population, and had only one merchant, so milk was hard to come by. In letters he wrote home, Wright complained that there was no regular milk available for drinking. He once ate a spoonful of condensed milk, but that was generally conserved for cooking whenever it was obtainable.

It's hard to imagine a time with a lack of milk, especially now with so many types of plant milk available on the market. Luckily, Orville Wright had figured out a way to make the most out of the brothers' limited rations. One of the things he made often was biscuits, which are actually what the brothers ate the morning of their first flight. He had four recipes for these baked goods, which he would use depending on what ingredients were available. One version called for ingredients including milk and shortening, but the other versions were adjusted to be made without milk, without shortening, and without eggs or milk. The most simple recipe was "Orville's biscuits without milk," which were made with flour, salt, baking soda, and water. 

With the Wright brothers' eventual flying success, Orville Wright was able to move into a mansion in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, with his sister and father in 1914. Along with Dayton being home to one of the largest dairy farms in the state at the time (perhaps that's the real reason he moved back), it's safe to assume he was able to indulge in his favorite beverage more often. With his love of milk and history of cooking for the men at Kitty Hawk, Wright would probably know all the tips you need when cooking with milk and love these two-ingredient biscuits if he were around today.