(obsolete) A child's hornbook for learning the alphabet. 1802, William Hutton, The History of the Roman Wall, preface You will also pardon the errors of the Work, for you know I was not bred to letters; but, that the battledore, at an age not exceeding six, was the last book I used at school. (obsolete) A bat or beetle used in washing clothes.
The parachute, like the helicopter and the hang glider, dates back to the drawings of mankind's greatest public genius, Leonardo da Vinci.
There is some evidence that he used the device to jump from a hot air balloon. There is extensive evidence that Andre Jacques Garnerin made numerous parachute jumps from hot air balloons, beginning in 1797. His first jump, in Paris, was from an altitude of at least 2,000 ft (600 m).here is some evidence that he used the device to jump from a hot air balloon. There is extensive evidence that Andre Jacques Garnerin made numerous parachute jumps from hot air balloons, beginning in 1797. His first jump, in Paris, was from an altitude of at least 2,000 ft (600 m).