Notes at end revised October 27, 2025
Wilbur Wright has been quoted as saying, "From the time we were little children my brother Orville and myself lived together, played together and, in fact, thought together. We usually owned our toys in common, talked over our thoughts and aspirations so that nearly everything that was done in our lives has been the result of conversations, suggestions and discussions between us." In my search for the primary source of this quote, I thought I would try AI. If it is good enough for middle school, high school, and college students, then I was confident it would lead me to the information I desired. (1)
AI, Wilbur Wright wrote, " "From the time we were little children my brother Orville and myself lived together, played together and, in fact, thought together. We usually owned our toys in common, talked over our thoughts and aspirations so that nearly everything that was done in our lives has been the result of conversations, suggestions and discussions between us." What is the date of the letter, and to whom was it written? (2)
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Thanks AI! That was easy! Can you tell me more about this letter to George A. Eubanks?
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Great! Thanks for your help AI. Can you tell me where I can find the text of this letter Wilbur wrote to George A. Eubanks?
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Oh, that's ok AI. I only spent the last hour attempting to locate this George A. Eubanks letter that does not exist. But Wow! So the quote was published in an article in the February 1912 issue of the magazine Aero Club of America Bulletin! "What is the Matter with the Wright Aeroplane" by Wilbur Wright. Hmmm, odd title, but ok.
1 hour later......Umm, AI, are you sure about this information concerning the February 1912 issue of the Aero Club of America? Are you hallucinating?
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Ok AI, I understand the initial, incorrect answer falsely claimed the quote came from a letter written to a non-existent correspondent George A. Eubanks. But you're sure this time about the 1912 Aero Club source?
2 hours later........
AI, I found a copy of the Aero Club Bulletin from 1912, and it does not list an article by Wilbur Wright.
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Wow, ok, so I'll search for the April 1912 issue of the Aero Club of America Bulletin, and read Wilbur's "What Mouillard Did", and find this quote. Thanks AI!
3 hours later.....
AI, the article "What Mouillard Did" did not have the quote I asked you about........
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Dude! You said it was........never mind. Ok, so I just need to spend the next hour searching for the letter Wilbur Wright wrote to Octave Chanute on June 2, 1910......
2 hours later.....
@%%!!&**!, Grrrrrrrr. AI, Octave Chanute died May 24, 1910!
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AI, unlike computer systems, humans have a limited lifespan. Perhaps before I die, you can actually privide some correct information.......Excuse me. Fine, I'll look through my copy of "The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright", edited by Marvin W. McFarland.
After more of my lifespan has passed, AI, the quote is not in "The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright".......
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Pain in my chest. Difficulty breathing.....What's that number again to call 911?.........Umm, AI, can you tell me where I can find a copy of "The Wright Brothers", written in 1912 shortly before Wilbur's death?
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Flat lining..........................................
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Wow, and students are using AI to write reports?
Copyright 2025-Getting the Story Wright
Notes:
- All the responses by Google AI were copied and pasted as I received them during this inquiry in September of 2025. I had no idea that the program would simply make up answers. It is an interesting tool that may at times point one in the right direction, but how much misinformation will be generated by this tool, and taken as factual by students?
- I was interested in finding the primary source for this quote while writing the post "Wilbur and Orville Wright, Equal Partners in First Flight". Russel Freedman mentions the quote in "The Wright Brothers, How They Invented the Airplane", 1991, but lists no primary source. Mark Eppler, in "The Wright Way", 2004, also mentions the quote, but no primary source given. T. A. Heppenheimer provides the quote in "First Flight, The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane", 2003, but no primary source is given. In Wright Reminiscences" edited by Ivonette Wright Miller, 1978, the quote is included in Orville's cousin Jay R. Petree's remembrances. Jay wrote "This was written by Cousin Wilbur a few days before he died". This is incorrect, as Wilbur was mostly unconscious the last two weeks of his life. Harry Combs, in "Kill Devil Hill", 1979, provides the quote, but his book contains no footnotes, no primary source. Fred Howard, in "Wilbur and Orville", 1987, provides the quote and states Wilbur wrote it the month before he died, but does not provide details of where or on what exact date. The National Park Service Historical Handbook Series No. 34, "Wright Brothers" National Memorial North Carolina, by Omega G. East provides the quote, but again, no primary source is listed (1961, reprint 1963). My guess is the quote originated from one of Wilbur Wright's patent litigation records. I've searched the WSU Transcripts of Record for "The Wright Company vs. The Herring-Curtiss Company and Glen Curtiss", 1912, but with no results.
