Smartphone-Controlled Paper Airplane | Fun Hobby Gifts; Tech Gifts for Him | Uncommon Goods

An airplane (North American English), an aeroplane (British English), or a plane (informal), is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled such as drones.

The Wright brothers invented and flew the first airplane in 1903, recognized as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight". They built on the works of George Cayley dating from 1799, when he set forth the concept of the modern airplane (and later built and flew models and successful passenger-carrying gliders) and the work of German pioneer of human aviation Otto Lilienthal, who, between 1867 and 1896, also studied heavier-than-air flight. Lilienthal's flight attempts in 1891 are seen as the beginning of human flight. Following its limited use in World War I, aircraft technology continued to develop. Airplanes had a presence in all the major battles of World War II. The first jet aircraft was the German Heinkel He 178 in 1939. The first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, was introduced in 1952. The Boeing 707, the first widely successful commercial jet, was in commercial service for more than 60 years, from 1958 to 2019.

Fun is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment".

In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Goods can be contrasted with bads, i.e. things that provide negative value for users, like chores or waste. A bad lowers a consumer's overall welfare.

Economics focuses on the study of economic goods, i.e. goods that are scarce; in other words, producing the good requires expending effort or resources. Economic goods contrast with free goods such as air, for which there is an unlimited supply.

A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other amusements or avocations. Participation in hobbies encourages acquiring substantial skills and knowledge in that area. A list of hobbies changes with renewed interests and developing fashions, making it diverse and lengthy. Hobbies tend to follow trends in society. For example, stamp collecting was popular during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as postal systems were the main means of communication; as of 2024, video games became more popular following technological advances. The advancing production and technology of the nineteenth century provided workers with more leisure time to engage in hobbies. Because of this, the efforts of people investing in hobbies has increased with time.

There are various types of hobbies, which can be classified in various ways, including subject matter, degree of time commitment, and social versus solitary nature. The Serious Leisure Perspective of Robert Stebbins identifies hobbies under three sub-categories: casual leisure, which is intrinsically rewarding, short-lived, pleasurable activity requiring little or no preparation; serious leisure, which is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer that is substantial, rewarding and results in a sense of accomplishment; and finally project-based leisure, which is a short-term, often one-off, project that is rewarding.

Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is drained through a fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed on the surface, it can be pressed and dried.

The papermaking process developed in east Asia, probably China, at least as early as 105 CE, by the Han court eunuch Cai Lun, although the earliest archaeological fragments of paper derive from the 2nd century BCE in China.

Although paper was originally made in single sheets by hand, today it is mass-produced on large machines—some making reels 10 metres wide, running at 2,000 metres per minute and up to 600,000 tonnes a year. It is a versatile material with many uses, including printing, painting, graphics, signage, design, packaging, decorating, writing, and cleaning. It may also be used as filter paper, wallpaper, book endpaper, conservation paper, laminated worktops, toilet tissue, currency, and security paper, or in a number of industrial and construction processes.

A smartphone is a mobile device that combines the functionality of a traditional mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multimedia playback and streaming. Smartphones have built-in cameras, GPS navigation, and support for various communication methods, including voice calls, text messaging, and internet-based messaging apps. Smartphones are distinguished from older-design feature phones by their more advanced hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, access to the internet, business applications, mobile payments, and multimedia functionality, including music, video, gaming, radio, and television.

Smartphones typically feature metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit (IC) chips, various sensors, and support for multiple wireless communication protocols. Examples of smartphone sensors include accelerometers, barometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers; they can be used by both pre-installed and third-party software to enhance functionality. Wireless communication standards supported by smartphones include LTE, 5G NR, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and satellite navigation. By the mid-2020s, manufacturers began integrating satellite messaging and emergency services, expanding their utility in remote areas without reliable cellular coverage. Smartphones have largely replaced personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, handheld/palm-sized PCs, portable media players (PMP), point-and-shoot cameras, camcorders, and, to a lesser extent, handheld video game consoles, e-reader devices, pocket calculators, and GPS tracking units.

Following the rising popularity of the iPhone in the late 2000s, the majority of smartphones have featured thin, slate-like form factors with large, capacitive touch screens with support for multi-touch gestures rather than physical keyboards. Most modern smartphones have the ability for users to download or purchase additional applications from a centralized app store. They often have support for cloud storage and cloud synchronization, and virtual assistants.

Since the early 2010s, improved hardware and faster wireless communication have bolstered the growth of the smartphone industry. As of 2014, over a billion smartphones are sold globally every year. In 2019 alone, 1.54 billion smartphone units were shipped worldwide. As of 2020, 75.05 percent of the world population were smartphone users.

Tech or The Tech may refer to:

• An abbreviation of technology or technician
• Tech Dinghy, an American sailing dinghy developed at MIT
• Tech (mascot), the mascot of Louisiana Tech University, U.S.
• Tech (river), in southern France
• "Tech" (Smash), a 2012 episode of TV series Smash
• The Tech (newspaper), newspaper at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• The Tech Interactive, formerly The Tech Museum of Innovation, or The Tech, a museum in San Jose, California, U.S.
• Tech Tower, a building at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Uncommon may refer to:

• Uncommon, 2015 American Christian drama film with Erik Estrada and Irma P. Hall
• "Uncommon", song by Madeline Kenney from Night Night at the First Landing 2017