Myth of Daedalus and Icarus

In Ovid’s myth, the craftsman Daedalus built wings from eagle feathers and wax for himself and his son, Icarus, in order to escape captivity from King Minos.
The most important rules for flying were: Do not fly too close to water, because this could make the feathers heavy, and do not fly too high, because otherwise the wax might melt in the sun.

The flying was trouble-free to start with, but driven by the “longing for heaven” and childish mischief Icarus flew too high. The wax melted, his wings detached, and he plummeted into the Icarian Sea, which now bears his name.

With knowledge of adhesive bonding we can actually say that the wax did not melt, but rather it became brittle due to the cold air at high altitudes. Also, wax being a  thermoplastic material and undergoing creep, is not suitable for such  stresses.

The fate of Icarus is nevertheless an age old example of what can happen if the wrong adhesive is chosen, namely an adhesive which is not suitable for the expected stresses.