Boomerang

Aboriginal Australian · physics · throwing tools · returning flight

Shape makes it spin. Boomerangs have special curved wings called airfoil sections that make them spin as they fly through the air, kind of like how an airplane wing works.

Comes back to you. When you throw a boomerang the right way, it curves through the air and returns to where you threw it from, which is why some boomerangs are called 'returning boomerangs.'

Aboriginal word. The word 'boomerang' comes from Aboriginal Australian languages, particularly from the Sydney region where people have been using these tools for thousands of years.

Not just toys. While boomerangs look fun, Aboriginal people originally used them as hunting tools, and other cultures around the world made similar non-returning throwing sticks for hunting too.

Spinning science. A boomerang spins around an axis as it flies, and this spin creates the curved path that brings it back to you instead of flying straight away.