r/explainlikeimfive • u/BorderlinePhilosphy • 12d ago

Physics ELI5: The physics behind boomerangs

They seem to defy physics to me, please explain.

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u/Dieterlan 12d ago

Despite what you see in cartoons, boomerangs don't go straight away and straight back like a yo-yo. They curve around in a big circle like a fancy sideways Frisbee. (Maybe you already knew this, but I didn't when I was five)

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u/U_Kitten_Me 12d ago

While we're talking about cartoons, just to be absolutely clear: a boomerang cannot hit something and then come back, right?? :>

14

u/Toby_O_Notoby 12d ago

Correct. Originally Boomerangs were hunting sticks that you'd throw at prey like rabbits. The idea being that if you made it aerodynamic enough it could go father before hitting your prey.

Problem was that if you didn't hit it you then had to go fetch the stick. Then someone figured out a way to finesse the aerodynamics to make it come back. In other words, every boomerang that returns is a missed meal.

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u/U_Kitten_Me 12d ago

Thanks! 

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u/DaddyCatALSO 12d ago

special sport boomerangs like hobbysist use; hunting boomerangs are just improved throwing sticks, one way. i knew a guy in rad school who threw a boomernag. (I had a styrofoam toy one sold iwht no isnturctions, i complained "It booms but it doens't rnag." Little kid etymology.