At the time of Helen Keller's ascension to the public eye in the first years of the 20th century, the capabilities of the deaf and blind were little appreciated. Such disabilities were spoken in the hushed tones of taboo; as Britannica notes, for many people of the previous century, blindness especially was associated with sexual impropriety and diseases such as syphilis.
Keller had already made headlines in the United States in relation to aviation back in 1919, back when commercial air travel was in its infancy. As reported in a newsreel shared on the YouTube Helen Keller Channel, Keller traveled by biplane for half an hour, later noting the incredible sense of "freedom" she felt as the sole passenger on the flight. Another journey in the 1930s also became famous. As reported in The New York Times, the writer and activist had traveled by plane from Newark Airport to a meeting with President Herbert Hoover. As the article describes, Keller was said to have been impressed with the plane itself, running her hands over the fuselage to gauge its size and shape, noting that the engine seemed to be "throbbing" with impatience and describing it as a "great, graceful bird."
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