BOOMERANG!

Okay, let’s throw this history of the boomerang
out there and see where it goes…OW!

GET BACK

It ranks right up there with the kangaroo and the koala as being a quintessential Australian icon: the simple and fascinating device known as the boomerang. Believed by aviation experts to be the earliest heavier-than-air flying device made by humans, it has been part of Australian Aboriginal culture for thousands of years. Yet its invention may very well have been an accident.

Archaeological evidence suggests that Australian Aboriginals used throwing sticks for hunting at least as early as 15,000 years ago. They were long, thin, bladelike weapons specifically designed to fly as far and as straight as possible.

So how did they end up with one that returned to the thrower? One theory: An ancient hunter made a throwing stick out of a piece of wood with a pronounced curve that was shorter and lighter than usual. These features caused it to fly in a circular path back toward the thrower. That made it relatively useless as a weapon, being difficult to throw accurately and too light to do serious damage to an animal. So why are they still around? Probably because they were simply fun to throw and catch. Whatever the reason, the boomerang was invented in southeastern Australia at least 10,000 years ago, and over the centuries became an integral part of Aboriginal cultures throughout the southern part of the continent.

U-TURN

Throwing sticks weren’t unique to Australia—similar weapons have been found all around the world. Several were even discovered in the tomb of King Tut. Evidence shows, however, that only in Australia was one developed that actually returned to the thrower.

There were more than 500 languages spoken by tribal groups in Australia when Europeans arrived, and there were many different names for the returning throwing stick. Boomerang comes from a word in the Dharuk language of the Turuwal people, from the area around what is now Sydney.

WHAT THE FLOCK?

What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back? A stick. Or, in the case of the Australian weapon, a kylie. Unlike boomerangs, kylies are not designed to return to the thrower. Like boomerangs, kylies are curved, but the curve is less pronounced. (They look sort of like a Nike swoosh.) These lethal hunting sticks predate boomerangs. Originally made out of wood or bone, the kylie was thrown parallel to the ground; it spun quickly as it traveled toward its target. A skilled hunter could kill his prey from a distance of 50 to 80 yards, but if he missed, it was a long walk to pick it up; a well-thrown kylie could travel the length of nearly two football fields. (Australian R&B singer Kylie Minogue was named after the Aboriginal throwing stick.)

Although the kylie was the Aborigines’ main hunting weapon, it’s the boomerang that has become famous all over the world. That’s because for most of its existence, the boomerang was used primarily as a toy or for competition. But it did have one use in hunting, and it’s quite ingenious: Aborigines placed large nets not far off the ground and then waited for a flock of birds to fly overhead. When they did, the hunter threw his boomerang high in the air so that it swooped back toward the flock, resembling a bird of prey. The birds would dive to avoid the boomerang…and some would get caught in the nets.

EARLY AEROSPACE ENGINEERS

What makes a boomerang return to its thrower? The laws of aerodynamics—applied sideways. A boomerang, with its V-shape, is basically two small wings joined together. They are shaped like airplane wings, with one flat side and one curved side. On an airplane, the curved side is the top of the wing. As it moves through the air, the laws of aerodynamics cause air pressure to build up on the flat side, creating lift that pushes up on the bottom of the wing. The faster the wing moves through the air, the more lift it generates.

Because a boomerang spins like a propeller while it flies forward, at any given moment one of the two wings is moving in the direction of the flight. That means it’s moving through the air faster than the other wing and, therefore, creating more lift. Since a boomerang is thrown to fly vertically, rather than horizontally like an airplane, the lift pushes it to the side rather than up. It keeps pushing as it continues to fly, sending it on a curved trajectory, which—if you know how to throw it correctly—will send it all the way back to you.

BOOMERANG FACTS

• Joe Timbery, an Aboriginal designer, thrower, and boomerang champion, was world-renowned among boomerang fans. In 1954, he even demonstrated his skills for Queen Elizabeth. Among his feats that day: having 10 boomerangs in the air simultaneously, and catching every one.

• In the 1960s, boomerangs found their way into the world of competitive sports. Every two years, international teams compete for the Boomerang World Cup. (2012 winner: Germany.)

• Manual Schultz of Switzerland holds the world record for the longest throw with a full return: 780 feet.

• In 1993, John Gorski of Avon, Ohio, threw a boomerang that caught a thermal updraft—and flew up to an elevation of 600 feet. It stayed aloft for 17 minutes…before Gorski caught it again.

• Traditional warning to new boomerangers: “Remember—you are the target!”

Dr. Seuss’s first book was rejected by 23 publishers.