Leonardo da Vinci famously sketched the very first concept of a helicopter in the late fifteenth century, known as the aerial screw, but it was mathematically guaranteed to never actually leave the ground.

A closer look

Leonardo da Vinci famously sketched the very first concept of a helicopter in the late fifteenth century, known as the aerial screw, but it was mathematically guaranteed to never actually leave the ground. His design relied on four men furiously turning cranks to spin a massive linen spiral, which theoretically would drill up into the air like a modern screw into wood. Unfortunately, the master artist completely ignored the concept of torque, meaning even if it worked, the entire platform would simply spin uncontrollably in the opposite direction. It took another four hundred years for someone to finally invent the tail rotor, proving that even a legendary Renaissance genius occasionally produces a completely useless doodle!