Propellers proved to be an important development in the history of transportation. On ships, once steam power was mastered, propellers replaced oars and sails. A propeller attached to an internal combustion engine allowed the Wright brothers to make what is generally accepted as the first heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1902. Propellers have been used to propel everything from snowmobiles to air boats and bicycles, but it was probably airplanes that inspired the use of propellers on automobiles.
