Why Do Boomerangs Come Back?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
  • Learning to throw a boomerang properly takes a lot of practice. And aerodynamics.
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ความคิดเห็น • 599

  • @TravisMohan
    @TravisMohan 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1609

    I always thought they came back because I love and care about them.

    • @rsmith9029
      @rsmith9029 9 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      hahahah

    • @CinnamonToast
      @CinnamonToast 9 ปีที่แล้ว +80

      If you love something, set it free. If it comes back you know it was meant to be c;

    • @MathAndComputers
      @MathAndComputers 9 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      +Cinnamon Toast "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, call Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services."

    • @DiscomasterZero
      @DiscomasterZero 9 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      +Cinnamon Toast If you love something, set it free. If it comes back you know it's a boomerang.

    • @PoopiandBoobi
      @PoopiandBoobi 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Cinnamon Toast I do that but Nothing ever came back :'(

  • @IvaNiftyChannel
    @IvaNiftyChannel 9 ปีที่แล้ว +575

    I threw a boomerang as a kid once and it didn't come back. Now i live in constant fear.

    • @the_infinexos
      @the_infinexos 7 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      Aw shit

    • @Nothin2seehere-e4z
      @Nothin2seehere-e4z 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      IvaNiftyChannel
      That's because you throw it to hard.

    • @lilybond1124
      @lilybond1124 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Anukiv 😂😂😂

    • @fawflethetawfle2404
      @fawflethetawfle2404 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      IvaNiftyChannel *boomerang comes back along with a green bird*

    • @javiersolarte9018
      @javiersolarte9018 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      I use to have one. It's name is KARMA.

  • @shawncormier1673
    @shawncormier1673 9 ปีที่แล้ว +605

    But can you imagine the surprise of the guy who found this out 20,000 years ago?

    • @josephfox9221
      @josephfox9221 9 ปีที่แล้ว +112

      +Shawn Cormier he must have been related to the guy who wanted to drink cows milk.

    • @MrHws5mp
      @MrHws5mp 9 ปีที่แล้ว +70

      +Shawn Cormier The first guy to find out about it didn't have time to be surprised because he died from being hit on the back of the head by a boomerang. His mate who saw it happen then took all the credit for it was both surprised and pleased though....

    • @humungusfungus1063
      @humungusfungus1063 8 ปีที่แล้ว +43

      +Shawn Cormier he probably said "OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT IM CURSED FOR LIFE! *_DODGES BOOMERANG_* oh... I should sell this! >:)"

    • @HungerGamesFan88
      @HungerGamesFan88 8 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      "Hm... hey, yo, Eric, come check this out. I think I finally figured out how to make this thing fly."
      "Little busy, George. Aaron here's starving and Anne's out for the day."

    • @Bedsidetick16
      @Bedsidetick16 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Guy was like “yo wtf”

  • @coldfire0007
    @coldfire0007 9 ปีที่แล้ว +519

    you could have just said "magic". no one would argue

    • @SkyrimHod
      @SkyrimHod 9 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      +coldfire0007 Should have just said, "I'll get back to you on that..."

    • @woodfur00
      @woodfur00 9 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      +coldfire0007 "air and science and stuff"

    • @MrHws5mp
      @MrHws5mp 9 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      +coldfire0007 Well Arthur C.Clarke said "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", so presumably that means boomerangs are super-advanced technology. Eat that Boeing: you've been doing it wrong all these years.... ;-)

  • @iprobablyforgotsomething
    @iprobablyforgotsomething 9 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    I'm a little more impressed with Sokka's skills now that Hank tells me it's more difficult than it looks.

    • @pardha9406
      @pardha9406 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Thats exactly what i was thinking

  • @jesper771
    @jesper771 9 ปีที่แล้ว +503

    The real question is why isn't my dad

    • @UthoRiley
      @UthoRiley 9 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      +Karl Marx I know how you feel bro... Had the same thing.
      Years later when i asked my mom where he went she replied: "You know when we said your goldfish ran away but in reality we secretly flushed him down the toilet? well..."

    • @unvergebeneid
      @unvergebeneid 9 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      +Karl Marx Sorry to break it to you but your dad died in 1838.

    • @McDADDyK
      @McDADDyK 9 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      +Penny Lane no stupid he ran away like his goldfish

    • @jesper771
      @jesper771 9 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I have no idea how accurate that is

    • @ErasedFromExistance
      @ErasedFromExistance 9 ปีที่แล้ว +50

      +Karl Marx Your mom probably didn't throw him at the right angle.

  • @VictorPoulin
    @VictorPoulin 8 ปีที่แล้ว +378

    I built a new boomerang and having a hard time throwing away my old one.

    • @celinehajjar3212
      @celinehajjar3212 8 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      don't worry, it will come back to you!

    • @VictorPoulin
      @VictorPoulin 8 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      hahaha, that would be the problem. Funny though, the first time I heard that was in an older joke. One boomerang said to another that she lost her husband at the park. Her friend said (don't worry, he will come back to you)

    • @celinehajjar3212
      @celinehajjar3212 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      lol never heard that one before

    • @phantomfrogstudios
      @phantomfrogstudios 8 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      I once threw a boomerang and it didn't come back.. I now live in perpetual fear.

    • @Bimuruu
      @Bimuruu 8 ปีที่แล้ว

      do you also sell that wood on your websites in a large version?

  • @SelenaC_anime
    @SelenaC_anime 9 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Sokka: Boomerang! You DO always come back!

    • @vale.44peru
      @vale.44peru ปีที่แล้ว

      Was looking for this as soon as I saw the title 😂

  • @greentarsier333
    @greentarsier333 9 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    They answered my question!!! I can't believe I missed this episode.:O

    • @galvanchristian
      @galvanchristian 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Hey Patreon suppoter, don't get too exited buddy

  • @Kezajaws01904
    @Kezajaws01904 9 ปีที่แล้ว +55

    Here's a question: why do smooth stones skim across water so well?

    • @InorganicVegan
      @InorganicVegan 9 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      +Kezajaws
      Well, surface tension makes the surface of water relatively stiff, assuming it's not waving. It's why doing a belly flop hurts so much. Cohesion of water molecules makes them pull down on the surface, flattening and stiffening it. Kind of like when you pull on a bedsheet from all four corners.
      Flat stones smack against the taught water, making it bounce. Sharp stones don't work because they penetrate the water, causing it to ripple and lose tension, making the surface too loose to reflect stones.
      Does that help?

    • @lillou08scholar
      @lillou08scholar 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      Friction.

    • @Kezajaws01904
      @Kezajaws01904 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Inorganic Vegan
      Yes, greatly. Thank you :)
      But can you explain how a smooth stone is able to skim across a rapidly flowing river? It's possible-I've done it before.

    • @InorganicVegan
      @InorganicVegan 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Kezajaws
      Well, it's likely you hit the peaks of waves and the plane of the stone was tangent to the surface of the water, enabling skipping.

    • @MrHws5mp
      @MrHws5mp 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Kezajaws The stone bounces off the surface because, being flat, it has a large surface area hitting the water relative to it's mass. This means the deceleration force is large and applied quickly, so it stops going downwards before it penetrates the surface. It goes in a straight line because it's spin gyro-stabilises it and the same stabilisation keeps the flat surface facing the water.
      It gets across the river because it's mostly flying through the air, only touching the water for brief moments during which the water doesn't move enough to affect it's path much. If the river was fast enough and/or wide enough, the stone would follow a curved path as all the tiny forces added up.

  • @RangerColinLZ
    @RangerColinLZ 9 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Now all we need is the boomerang from the Legend of Zelda games. Whack an enemy with one, stun them and it still comes back. Repeat as fast as you'd like.

    • @neilisbored2177
      @neilisbored2177 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      not to mention being able to hit multiple enemies at once in WW.

  • @jime6688
    @jime6688 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Had one made out of a good, hard plastic when I was a kid. Absolutely amazed me and it still does today how these work.

  • @michaelpesavento8268
    @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Hi Hank, When I was a kid a Boomerang looked like the coolest toy! I wanted one so bad but my Mom thought I would break something or hit myself in the head with it,with good reason:P. I finally got one while on a trip up to a lake up in Michigan. I spent six dollars for it and thought that sending it flying out over the lake would be the safest place to play with it. I imagined all the hours and hours of fun I'd be having all summer with it.
    The time came to try it out and I went out to the end of the dock on the lake and carefully checking the prevailing wind and making sure I wasn't going to sink any small water craft that might be in the vicinity,I threw the Boomerang! Not too hard and not too soft just like the man at the "Call of the Wild Museum had showed me.
    I watched it fly with the intensity of a space launch, It flew away and while waiting for it to arc back towards me I momentarily lost sight of it then I heard the tell tale "PLOOP" and realized I had just paid six dollars to throw a stick into the lake!
    I stood there for what seemed to me to be hours then my brother walked up behind me and said "Aw! That's too bad,so want to share my Army men? We can bury them in a sand castle" I said "Yeah, Ok" but for the rest of the trip I waited for that Boomerang to wash up on shore,Thinking back to what the sales display above the Boomerangs had said in bright red letters on a yellow lightning background "It Always Comes Back!" :P
    Thanks Hank.

    • @unlurkingsentinel6872
      @unlurkingsentinel6872 9 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      +Michael Pesavento That's a nice story.

    • @michaelpesavento8268
      @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Unlurking Sentinel Hi Thanks:)

    • @kemioldaccount1325
      @kemioldaccount1325 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Why would you test it out over a lake like that?

    • @michaelpesavento8268
      @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Daryl Joplin Hi Daryl, Yeah I know I should have thought more about it but I was afraid of hitting someone or breaking something:P
      My Mom was a major worrier and I think it rubbed off on me.Thanks.

    • @stuvs830
      @stuvs830 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Michael Pesavento my Grandpa gave us kids (6 and 8) one that was a real weapon, had a thin metal strip in the leading edge, like a ruler. But we were shown the wrong way to throw it-parallel to horizon. Danger forever averted.

  • @emilesam
    @emilesam 9 ปีที่แล้ว +50

    No Hank... It's magic

  • @PMW3
    @PMW3 9 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I kind of want to play with a boomerang now.

  • @swsephy
    @swsephy 9 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    I've never had a boomerang come back to me. I feel unloved.

    • @1wun1
      @1wun1 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I'm from the future, get a helmet and a flak jacket.

  • @fiza7418
    @fiza7418 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I don't need a GED now that Sci show has answered every shower thought I've ever had. Now, for my math homework.

  • @Allisgrim1
    @Allisgrim1 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Now Sokka will finally learn why Boomerang always came back. He did love science and reasoning after all.

  • @GameCriticNoob
    @GameCriticNoob 9 ปีที่แล้ว +43

    Speaking of boomerangs, there's a guy on youtube called Victor Poulin who makes boomerangs.

    • @michaelpesavento8268
      @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      +Anne Frank Hi, Why would you need more than one?:) Thanks.

    • @GameCriticNoob
      @GameCriticNoob 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      Michael Pesavento ?

    • @michaelpesavento8268
      @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      +Anne Frank Hi, It keeps coming back so why would you need more than one:) Sorry bad joke:) Thanks.

    • @speakswithtrees
      @speakswithtrees 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      +Anne Frank ay gurl, were you born with roses in your eyes? Cause you're making me want to save you with some sort of time machine.

    • @Rettequetette
      @Rettequetette 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      giantnardman
      For you, yes. I've already wasted too many keyboard strokes on you.
      You don't seriously expect me to point out your mistakes, do you?
      Besides, it's all unrelated to the topic, so I won't play anyway.

  • @kasnitch
    @kasnitch 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    if you throw them just right they will come back to the point of release , hover above you and then descend slow enough you can put one hand above and below, then bring hands together and voila. I was on student exchange to Aus in '74 and some buds and I picked up throwing rangs and got the skill down in one day of several hundred throws.

  • @HungerGamesFan88
    @HungerGamesFan88 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Ever have one of those moments where you're just like, "Humanity, what the hell were you on to make this work?"

  • @TheAgamemnon911
    @TheAgamemnon911 9 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    So, what do you call a boomerang, that doesn't come back?
    ...
    A stick

    • @txiczmbie1077
      @txiczmbie1077 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I was hoping you would say "my dad" but yeah that works

  • @meuruf7961
    @meuruf7961 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The original boomerang was 4 winged, and had more wings to make it fly straighter and farther, but since a 4 winged boomerang can come back very easily, it must have been amazing when the Aboriginal tribes saw the thing come back. The returning aspect is very useful; boomerangs were used to knock animals out of the sky, like birds. If you miss, then the rang comes back to you, where as other hunters were busy looking for all their arrows.

  • @Ninterd2
    @Ninterd2 9 ปีที่แล้ว +43

    No wonder my wooden V didn't work in school.

    • @michaelpesavento8268
      @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      +Ninterd2 Hi, What! You had a Wooden "V"? Oh! you meant a V shaped piece of wood, I thought you meant you had a..a...never mind;) Sorry! Thanks.

    • @conduit64
      @conduit64 9 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      +Michael Pesavento Oh god, the splinters...

    • @michaelpesavento8268
      @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +conduit64 Hi, And the Wood Peckers!;) Thanks.

    • @Ninterd2
      @Ninterd2 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      Heheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

    • @KemaTheAtheist
      @KemaTheAtheist 9 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      +Mike Meyer
      I had a boomerang joke too, but I forgot it... If you give me a few minutes, I'm sure it will come back to me.

  • @kpopmypoosi7918
    @kpopmypoosi7918 9 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I forgot how to throw a boomerang...but then it came back to me 😏😎

  • @Moneygetjealous
    @Moneygetjealous 8 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Sokka uses Boomerang also

  • @MMasllove516MM
    @MMasllove516MM 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    thank you for answering this question. i have always wondered this.

  • @tumblingrosesstudio
    @tumblingrosesstudio 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    THANK YOU for explaining the great mystery!

  • @st1uc1f3r
    @st1uc1f3r 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Aerospace engineer here. FWIW Hank, your explanation of lift is slightly lacking accuracy. Lift is actually created by the difference in pressure on the top side of an airfoil vs. the bottom side. This is because pressure has two fundamental components--static pressure and dynamic pressure. Dynamic pressure is the component of pressure due to velocity (imagine sticking your hand out a car window), while static pressure is due to the internal energy of the air (i.e. air molecules knocking around). So a wing (or a flat plate at a nonzero angle of attack) creates lift by forcing the air over its bottom surface faster than its top surface, creating a dynamic pressure imbalance, and thus lift.

    • @chuckbuckets1
      @chuckbuckets1 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +st1uc1f3r aerospace engineer? better double check your info... faster air=less pressure, TOP of foil has the faster moving air. dynamic pressure is not a factor either because it can only contribute DRAG which is along the axis of travel not perpendicular to it. you have completely missed the primary cause of lift which is explained by bernoulli's principle. the distance from leading edge to trailing edge is not equal. the air is split at the leading edge and rejoins at the trailing edge- this is laminar flow (if the AoA is too aggressive the air does not or can not flow smoothly causing turbulent flow also known as stall). given that the distance across the top of the wing/foil is greater than across the bottom the air across the top must move faster and is less dense creating a pressure differential. the angle of attack can dictate where the leading edge is located given the curved surface of the front of the foil but cannot dictate the trailing edge because it comes to a point. even a plane that is flying upside down uses the exact same mechanism. also, using the word "forcing" as you have to describe what a foil does is wrong. as an aerospace engineer you should be ashamed of your ignorance regarding your own feild. i hope i never find myself in an aircraft you designed.

    • @st1uc1f3r
      @st1uc1f3r 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +chuckbuckets1 glad to know even a well constructed response on TH-cam has to end in an insult. Yea you got me that dynamic pressure is inversely proportional to velocity, not proportional to it. posted at 2am local, so sue me. However, Bernoulli's principle is precisely what I was describing. In so many fewer words, total pressure is the sum of dynamic and static components. Whether you consider the length of streamlines on the top of an airfoil vs. the bottom, or you consider the velocity of air over a wing vs underneath it, lift comes down to a pressure imbalance due to the velocity of air.

    • @chuckbuckets1
      @chuckbuckets1 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      you completely missed my point, and you are still wrong. but now you have added to the list of things you are wrong about! dynamic pressure is proportional to the square of velocity NOT the inverse square. my point is that dynamic pressure has NO component of LIFT whatsoever. the two forces are perpendicular to one another. dynamic pressure is DRAG and only DRAG. you clearly do not have a grasp of this concept. sorry for the insult, but sometimes they are justified.

  • @algorythm4354
    @algorythm4354 9 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Do you even generate lift bro

  • @FuckItSnoopy
    @FuckItSnoopy 9 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Why do people cry? Do we have any good idea about that? Also, do other animals cry? Would love a video on this if you have the time.

    • @bridge9297
      @bridge9297 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Sketchy Fella its a distress signal

    • @xpnutsrs
      @xpnutsrs 9 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      +Sketchy Fella You could be in luck, Mental Floss posted a video about this 2 days ago, and Hank produces that... /watch?v=RZgn6kfaJP8

    • @drizzlingrose
      @drizzlingrose 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      +Tom Nickols was about to say xD

  • @MrHws5mp
    @MrHws5mp 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Good video! Side note: that business of the advancing blade generating more lift that the retreating blade is also the reason for the fairly severe speed limit on conventional helicopters. As they fly faster, the blades on the advancing side of the rotor disc generate more and more lift, while those on the retreating side generate less and less, the net effect being that lift "migrates" across the disc to the advancing side. This generates a powerful rolling force which eventually exceeds the ability of the control system to fight it. The only was to go much faster with a rotorcraft is to either use some more exotic technology like co-axial rotors or stopped rotors, or to have the vehicle wholly or partially convert into a conventional plane, for example tilt-rotors or winged helicopters.

  • @liu7
    @liu7 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Why do we get shivers down our spines when we hear fingernails scratching on a chalkboard?

  • @Jotainkivaa123
    @Jotainkivaa123 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Once as a kid I got a boomerang. I couldn't get it to work, so I went inside and read about boomerangs from an encyclopedia. Then I went back outside and threw it to my shinbone. Ignorance is bliss.

  • @dm_nimbus
    @dm_nimbus 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I was never able to catch my boomerang; it was always coming back to me way too fast. Don't want to Sherlock myself...

  • @evafrancuskiaranjos477
    @evafrancuskiaranjos477 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you wery much.

  • @milesfann33
    @milesfann33 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I still love the ending song that Sci Show has. It's catchy! Great way to end a video with a dance!

  • @remraft
    @remraft 9 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    question: What is the purpose of returning boomerangs? It seems weird that they would just be for show. Are they supposed to hit something and then return (like in cartoons)? If so, wouldn't hitting something screw up its path? or are boomerang throwers so skilled that they can factor in hitting something and still have it return reliably? Inquiring minds want to know! edit: wikipedia makes me think they exist for sport? any input would be appreciated.

    • @tmk6022
      @tmk6022 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      remraft Pls answer this

    • @cuckoophendula8211
      @cuckoophendula8211 9 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      +remraft I think it's in case they miss?

    • @wallacecox3929
      @wallacecox3929 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The aboriginal people used them because they looked like birds of prey so they would scare other birds to catch in nets.

    • @remraft
      @remraft 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Wallace Cox oh, that makes sense & is awesome! clever too, I feel like I would never have come up with that.

    • @scott4170
      @scott4170 8 ปีที่แล้ว

      they're also just for fun

  • @RedLeader327
    @RedLeader327 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back?
    A stick.

  • @EamonBurke
    @EamonBurke 9 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    At 1:11 : So how do planes fly upside down?
    Yes, yes. XKCD.

    • @kvt-dev
      @kvt-dev 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Eamon Burke
      Because aerodynamics is kinda complicated. It is entirely possible to build an aircraft with wings that aren't aerofoils at all.

    • @unvergebeneid
      @unvergebeneid 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      +Execute1313 Your answer funny because the xkcd that was referenced categorized possible answers. There was one labelled "wrong" and it says: "It's ... complicated. And we need to move on."

    • @Topples7
      @Topples7 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Eamon Burke I was thinking the same thing

    • @DFPercush
      @DFPercush 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Eamon Burke If the plane is slightly inclined, its angle of attack with the wing surface against the air will simply push air downwards due to the slope. This is usually a larger effect than the lift from the Bernoulli principle, at any appreciable speed.

    • @jeevesbarker9674
      @jeevesbarker9674 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Eamon Burke special wings are made. instead of the back of the wing being angled down it would be in the middle and a mirror of itself like a sidways teardrop. it requires more thrust to get the same lift though.

  • @RyanStokes4GOVFL
    @RyanStokes4GOVFL 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    First time I got a and threw a boomerang was when I was 6. I was so happy to finally get one. So I aimed and threw the boomerang as best as I could in my front yard. It crashed into the roof of my house and shattered..... like my heart did. I went inside and turned on the Nintendo and never came out again.

  • @HarpaxA
    @HarpaxA 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I had one from Oz when I was a kid, it broke into two on her maiden voyage 😅

  • @chillsahoy2640
    @chillsahoy2640 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Oh, I was going to ask another interesting question about boomerangs but now I've forgotten. Oh well, it'll come back.

  • @nestorhgreen
    @nestorhgreen 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    one of my high school teachers used to build boomerangs, and he once took us to the baseball field to try them, it was awesome 😃

  • @whitneyempey4429
    @whitneyempey4429 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    The ad I saw for this video was Hank Green. I was confused when the ad ended and the real video started because I thought I already was watching the real video...

  • @doudoumed524
    @doudoumed524 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Okay, it’s 2024 and it’s never too late to learn something new

  • @michaelpesavento8268
    @michaelpesavento8268 9 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Hi Hank, I was also wondering How did all these different cultures from different times and from disparate places discover this technology independently of each other?
    It seems like an unlikely scenario. Does the Boomerang shape or the air foil effect appear in this form anywhere in nature? Thanks.

  • @pete275
    @pete275 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you for explaining how airplane wings work as a consequence of the 3rd law of motion and not that ridiculous explanation about a pressure difference. I think this is a first.

  • @vampyricon7026
    @vampyricon7026 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I forgot how to throw a boomerang, but then it came back to me. It's just like riding a bike, or playing with your wii

  • @typelogin
    @typelogin 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    watching this video is getting me thru quarantine...

  • @Oinikis
    @Oinikis 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Well, the torque induced doesn't directly make the path curve. It's the gyroscopic precession, which makes another torque 90 degrees away from the first, which curves the path.

  • @nightmarephynix
    @nightmarephynix 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "Don't worry boy, I know the trick and to you i'm going to show it. If you want your boomerang to come back, well first you gotta throw it!"

  • @Octane.on.pawz.
    @Octane.on.pawz. 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hank you are my absolute favorite

  • @TerryGrancho
    @TerryGrancho 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    When it comes to aerodynamics and flying NOBODY actually knows how it works, so they come up with these explanations... not even plane manufacturers... they just follow a certain path that's traditionally proven to work

  • @francmittelo6731
    @francmittelo6731 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It is amazing how humans sometimes develop technology without knowing the science of how it works as it does.

  • @LeoFreemanAUST
    @LeoFreemanAUST ปีที่แล้ว

    Old Aboriginal proverb: "Tie two boomerangs together, and although they have four wings, they cannot return".

  • @PSIponies
    @PSIponies 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    When I was at cubscout day camp in 4th grade there was a professional boomerang instructor, and when he threw the boomerang, he missed catching it, and it nailed some kid right in the face. It was like a big wooden one too.

  • @groonix3856
    @groonix3856 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    The Landing in neighbors yard thing... Yeah, that's me. lol

  • @justinderooy
    @justinderooy 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hank you missed one point about how lift is created. You got the part about the down wash but you miss the part about Bernoulli's Principle making a high and low pressure areas on the bottom and top of the wings.

    • @blockchaaain
      @blockchaaain 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Justin De Rooy They are two views on the same thing. (Except Bernoulli isn't always valid while Newton essentially is)

  • @raeperonneau4941
    @raeperonneau4941 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    ...and ancient people understood how to construct something that was so aerodynamic. 🤯

  • @nitehawk86
    @nitehawk86 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    If you love someone, set them free. If your boomerang loves you, it will come back.

  • @rareroe305
    @rareroe305 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I had a couple boomerangs as a kid. The best I ever got was to have it land kind of near me.

  • @SirPetterTheFirst
    @SirPetterTheFirst 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love how we are understanding more and more about physics and can theorise a warp drive but we still dont fully understand lift

  • @sree7733
    @sree7733 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    TH-camr:why do boomerang's come back
    Legends: Because its a boomerang

  • @sybylo
    @sybylo 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    My name is Sokka and I approve this message.

  • @xfredstudio1779
    @xfredstudio1779 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    thank you brother..for giving me another way to play boomerang I have never tried it before..I really like seeing it boomerang when it is thrown it will come back I am very excited to see it thank you for giving me the guidance👍🤗

  • @Thirdlegstudios
    @Thirdlegstudios 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is why all my friends are boomerangs

  • @virglibrsaglove
    @virglibrsaglove 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    My dad had a boomerang when I was a kid. He could get it to come back to him. I, of course, could not.

  • @185055
    @185055 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    finally a explanation humanity can rest now

  • @quacknaround
    @quacknaround 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    My dad would take my brother and I to the park to teach us to throw boomerangs. I just remeber it being really really hard both it technique and when they would hit you.

  • @TheDeuceofSpades
    @TheDeuceofSpades 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love throwing my boomerang!

  • @LevityMire
    @LevityMire 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Magic, got it.

  • @jenc9532
    @jenc9532 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Answering the real questions sci show

  • @MartijnCoppoolse
    @MartijnCoppoolse 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    My youngest brother bought me a hunting boomerang during his trip through Australia. But it's far too pretty to throw away in the middle of the city, so I never noticed it not returning. My other brother bought a 'sports' boomerang, and that one does return. It does take a while to get the knack, though.

  • @gabrielasencio5434
    @gabrielasencio5434 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    1:02 am couldn’t sleep till I knew how this works.

  • @Borednesss
    @Borednesss 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    These things must be pretty good, even Batman uses them

  • @rossgirven5163
    @rossgirven5163 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hay Hank
    Im not so sure you got your explanation of lift correct.
    The bevvled top and flat bottom means the air has to travel further over the top side of the airfoil, this makes the airless dense meaning there is more air pressure under the airfoil than above, pushing the airfoil upwards.
    im not sure where your description of how a wing works comes from but it is not one i have ever heard before.
    unless the physics of flight have changed since i learnt this in school.

  • @mortuuszed
    @mortuuszed 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    The angle from the head doesn't matter. We used to throw them just above elbow height or over the shoulder backwards and still have them return.

  • @nom2609
    @nom2609 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I believe you are incorrect when you say that the air pushes on the leading edge, creating lift. In actuality, in has to do with air pressure. Since air has to travel longer over the top edge than the bottom edge since the top is beveled, the pressure on top of the wing is higher and the pressure below is lower. In order to create a balance in pressure, the wing moves up to correct it, creating lift.

  • @neomp5
    @neomp5 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    this was in my news feed as i had "mules are so half ass" running through my head
    "i forgot how to throw a boomerang, but it came back to me..."

  • @RegalPlatypus
    @RegalPlatypus 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    For anyone interested in buying a boomerang, the United States Boomerang Association (yes, this is real) website has a list of reputable vendors.

  • @ThingEngineer
    @ThingEngineer 6 ปีที่แล้ว

    I thought it was used to stun enemies, retrieve items, and trigger switches.
    Give me back the Boomerang, I beg you! I'll return the item you gave to me!

  • @aetius254
    @aetius254 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    so basically aerodynamics

  • @TonyFonzerelli
    @TonyFonzerelli 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I was hoping to see more demonstration lol ah well. Good show SciShow

  • @BumbleBaum
    @BumbleBaum 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    awesome question!

  • @dr.jackauty4415
    @dr.jackauty4415 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I find why questions frustrating on the internet. I feel like this answered how they come back. Why they come back is that they were designed that way so when then are thrown they don't land scaring off the prey. If done right you can have more than one shot at the animal. Also if you are skilled you are less likely to lose your weapon.

  • @Darkstar.....
    @Darkstar..... 6 ปีที่แล้ว

    Triple finned boomerangs work better and they use slight twists in the ends to give you a larger or small turning circle. I got one made of a dense foam that that holds the twists on the ends

  • @jFiander
    @jFiander 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A friend of mine had a boomerang years ago. Wish I'd had a chance to throw it.

  • @Xenro66
    @Xenro66 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    That explanation on lift is a bit iffy. Tilting the wing would generate more lift, but a level wing will still generate lift, due to the lower pressure on top from the slower moving air. That's why a lot of planes fly level and not at a 5° angle (relative to the airflow).

    • @staceyleeson8005
      @staceyleeson8005 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      XRMissie yes and that's why you can generate lift even flying strait down. Lift is now horizontal. But you can stall going strait down too

  • @StuartSafford
    @StuartSafford 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have found that you must have a large yard to use a boomerang (without neighbors complaining.)

  • @BeansOnToast420
    @BeansOnToast420 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    When I was around 9 years old a "professional" aboriginal came to my school and threw a boomerang. It didn't work, those types of boomerangs practically never work. The only boomerang I have ever seen that works had 3 ends instead of 2.

  • @phabelgreene7875
    @phabelgreene7875 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    So Link must have some serious skills, then.

  • @MarsGundam
    @MarsGundam 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I don't know why but the whole time during this video I was thinking about that scene from the Road Warrior where the Feral Kid throws his boomerang and hits the blonde twink in the head.

  • @Tigererolo
    @Tigererolo 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Anything is a boomerang when thrown up.

  • @99thTuesday
    @99thTuesday 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Fun Fact: Boomerangs which aren't meant to return to the thrower are called 'Kylies'

  • @kemioldaccount1325
    @kemioldaccount1325 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    Everytime I've thrown a boomerang, its never come back to me. I don't believe in Boomerangs.

  • @captainjacksparrow690
    @captainjacksparrow690 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    well explained!

  • @rkpetry
    @rkpetry 6 ปีที่แล้ว

    *_...left out the gyroscopic pitch up-which puts it on a circle-like return path..._*

  • @RogerWazup007
    @RogerWazup007 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    I've never gotten one to come back, but then again, I've only tried a toy one.

  • @loganv0410
    @loganv0410 9 ปีที่แล้ว

    And here I thought that lift was created by the differential path lengths over the airfoil shape.
    In fact I'm still convinced of that
    Some silly thing about multiple degrees in engineering vs a clever talking head
    dunno
    Maybe the talking head is right and all my professors were wrong
    I mean, like, _they_ don't have TH-cam channels, so how can they be right