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Boomerang In Zero Gravity (International Space Station) watch!

youtube.com — Japanese astronaut Takao Doi, on board of the International Space Station, has proved that a boomerang returns to the person throwing it even in the zero-gravity conditions. The idea came to him by request from his friend Yashuhiro Togai, a world boomerang champion. The result is exactly what the science behind boomerangs predicts.

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  • breezytrees, on 05/05/2008, -56/+17Yup, it does indeed act like a boomerang. http://www.universetoday.com/2008/01/28/paper-boom ...

    I have no idea why they actually had to test this...
    • Bladwor, on 05/05/2008, -1/+102Honestly, if you're up there and you have a boomerang, you might as well.
      • NRay7882, on 05/05/2008, -6/+2Definitely. I would think more so that it would just continuously loop, not lose momentum as quickly.
      • breezytrees, on 05/05/2008, -10/+3If I am in space, then I am an astronaut. As an astronaut, I would have passed high-school physics. So, no, I would not need to throw a boomerang in zero gravity to prove that it would fly in a circle.
        • derek20cali, on 05/05/2008, -0/+7Did it ever occur to you that maybe he already knew what it would do, but made the video for the (approximately) 134,942 people who have wondered what would happen? Not everyone has studied physics, or has the need or desire to.
        • shortyjacobs, on 05/05/2008, -0/+10They dropped a hammer and a feather on the moon to prove that, in the absence of air resistance, the objects would fall at the same rate. Did they need to do this to prove Newton correct? No. But it was still cool. Why spend millions and millions of dollars to get up there if you aren't ever going to have some simple fun?
    • nitsmeister, on 05/05/2008, -2/+5because they are Japanese
    • breezytrees, on 05/05/2008, -20/+5Jesus Christ. Seriously, why am I being dugg down? I am really honestly asking.

      Diggers actually believe that this boomerang could have possibly somehow not flown in a circle? Does Digg understand the simple laws of physics or have all of us failed high-school physics? Bleergh. After reading all these comments I'm utterly surprised and appalled at the lack of intelligence shown here. I'm actually ashamed to call myself a digger...
      • thatsbologna, on 05/05/2008, -12/+2stfu_n00b
      • seventoes, on 05/05/2008, -3/+11Well then leave and never come back, we arent forcing you to be here. Not everybody knows the exact physics behind everyday objects, but it is kind of interesting to see things like this. Do you get raged at the Human Interest pieces on your local news too?
      • cwgannon, on 05/05/2008, -1/+8Gosh, I wonder where the material for your high school physics textbook came from. I imagine it must have all been taken from mere thought experiments, no? Who needs to make observations, test them, refine those tests, etc., when brilliant minds like you can just theorize reality.
      • Hoogs, on 05/05/2008, -0/+8Maybe because they just wanted to have a little fun throwing around a boomerang?
      • synystar, on 05/05/2008, -0/+3I dug you down because the last paragraph of the article you linked to says: "Now, the question remains as to what will happen if the force of gravity is not present. The zero-gravity environment of the ISS is a perfect place to test this. The atmosphere of the ISS will still allow the boomerang to generate lift, but will it return to the sender, bounce off the walls, or just spin in place?" which kinda contradicts your point of "I have no idea why they actually had to test this..." Did you even RTFA you linked to?
    • OneLess, on 05/05/2008, -1/+5Regardless of what high school physics say, it's still interesting (and at the very heart of what science is) to test it out. Especially as far as aerodynamics are concerned, a surprising amount of established science is basically just (relatively) rough models of what experiments have confirmed. Maybe if you weren't so concerned at whining about how stupid other Diggers (and, indeed, the people involved with the ISS) are, you would have put some more thought into why this is a worthwhile and interesting little experiment.
  • MaxMWood, on 05/05/2008, -36/+29That was pretty cool actually.
    • mortey, on 05/05/2008, -3/+2you must get dugg down because you didn't make a witty response that means the same thing!
  • stolenisotope1, on 05/05/2008, -66/+8Yeah, but this is kinda like that boomerang...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD4bn5pp32w

    I like how it all comes back to the beginning
  • DarkLance, on 05/05/2008, -25/+203makes me jealous, I want to throw stuff in space.
    • macbth, on 05/05/2008, -0/+91I just want to go to space
      • WallnutBoy, on 05/05/2008, -2/+33We can breathe in space, they just don't want us to escape.
      • Brainmodder, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4Then fork over a couple million dollars to the Russian Space agency.
      • artofwar420, on 05/05/2008, -0/+5Hurry, because the Russians are going to stop doing the space tourism trips soon.
      • phenom2k7, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4One day a porno will be made in space, I can guarantee it. Zero gravity cum shots ftw.
      • Locke2053, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1I want to scream in space.
    • CptBuck, on 05/05/2008, -5/+13Because theres no gravity shouldn't the boomerang have been apple to make multiple loops until air resistance slowed it down?
      • swimmin00, on 05/05/2008, -0/+21you mean "able" to make multiple loops?
      • bsonline, on 05/05/2008, -1/+22No, he probably thinks the definition of apple is "the act of doing something cool"
      • Arcesius, on 05/05/2008, -14/+12Omg, for some reason I'm digging you up. But, no, as the astronauts have to breath, they would have to have some air in there.... meaning air resistance for the boomerang...
        • shortyjacobs, on 05/05/2008, -1/+131) you used OMG
          2) it's "breathe"
          3) he already mentioned air resistance

          ...Buried.
          • Arcesius, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1wooowww... you're a complete ***** prick... buried because I used omg?.... god ***** forbid... and way to be a spelling nazi...
        • rrbest, on 05/05/2008, -4/+1OMG shortyjacobs, you need a breather.
      • nikomo, on 05/05/2008, -4/+4The problem is that the ISS doesn't happen to have a really, really large room.
        If the room would be large enough it could do a lot of loops until air resistance would finally slow it down.
      • lsu123, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0gravity is just one force that can act on an object. friction from the air (resistance) is another and would still be in play. just remember that from physics...think it's right.
    • stuffblock, on 05/05/2008, -6/+1WTF, how'd this comment not get buried too???
      • scubaman5000, on 05/05/2008, -0/+6because we all want to throw stuff in space.
    • digjam, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1And I want to throw macbth and darklance into SPACE!
  • Ducksa, on 05/05/2008, -32/+10Ain't got ***** on a floating space dog
    • retral, on 05/05/2008, -3/+3Ugh, could you imagine a dog on the ISS? It'd *****/***** & probably puke repeatedly & everywhere.
  • Bawk, on 05/05/2008, -62/+4Amazing...*yawn*
  • eq2s, on 05/05/2008, -74/+6A boomerang does not have three prongs.
    • Bladwor, on 05/05/2008, -14/+1...well-spotted.
    • Shawn4168, on 05/05/2008, -0/+12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomerang
    • simpleid, on 05/05/2008, -0/+42youtube users need to stay over at youtube
    • davidlow, on 05/05/2008, -0/+12It's called a "Fast Catch boomerang". It's supposed to have three (or more) prongs.
    • Bilabrin, on 05/05/2008, -1/+6A boomerang can have any number of arms it's about how air passes around it in total, not how many arms that make a boomerang.
    • eq2s, on 05/05/2008, -10/+3Well at least I got the most buries.

      Oxford English Dictionary definition:
      An Australian missile weapon: a curved piece of hard wood from two to three feet long, with a sharp edge along the convexity of the curve.
      • Chassit, on 05/05/2008, -1/+9Nowhere does your limited definition specify the number of "arms" a boomerang has.
        • robnab, on 05/05/2008, -6/+2no-one will read this 'cause it's super-buried.
        • starkes, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4wrong. and now you're getting burried for it.
  • sesstreets, on 05/05/2008, -37/+13So they were testing on whether or not gravity affects a boomerang's arc? Guess it doesn't....

    But it'll be freaking crazy if they go outside in space suits and throw it, and it still comes back 0_0
    • Lyph5, on 05/05/2008, -5/+13Why would it? It's not magic. Why would it curve in vacuum?
      • sesstreets, on 05/05/2008, -5/+3That would be the question everyone would ask.
      • JackHarkness, on 05/05/2008, -2/+2no, It's science!
      • Abomonog, on 05/05/2008, -0/+13And it would not curve in a vacuum.
        • KiraDnote, on 05/05/2008, -8/+1Is space a vacuum? Maybe we should just do the experiment instead of thinking we already know the results.
          • theaceoffire, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1It would curve based on gravity though... wouldn't it head towards the planet?
          • recruz, on 05/05/2008, -0/+0if it is not thrown fast enough it will be drawn towards the earth- otherwise this curve you speak of would be called being in orbit
      • Bilabrin, on 05/05/2008, -2/+3Space is not a complete vacuume remember. Small bits of hydrogen here and there. The curve would be MUCH loger though.
    • JackHarkness, on 05/05/2008, -14/+4why wouldn't it curve in a vacuum? If you've ever seen a real(ie not a cheapyfrom a tourist shop) you would notice that its not symetrical. the curving is from the rotating moment of inertia.
      • PhoenixAvatar2, on 05/05/2008, -1/+29I'm not so sure about that. I've always thought that the rotation and the shape of the boomerang caused lower air pressure on one side, causing it to turn. Just like how an airplane achieves lift. In that case, the boomerang wouldn't curve in space.
      • IBadassI, on 05/05/2008, -4/+2Nope, he's right, it has to do with the rotating moment of inertia.
      • yatucaMP, on 05/05/2008, -1/+3

        clearly a boomerang is an airfoil. curved surface on top vs flat surface on bottom. air flows at a higher speed on top, higher speed = less pressure on top than on the bottom.

        more pressure on bottom pushes the boomerang into its curve. bernoulli's principle, look it up

        newtonian physics require force to change velocity. a curve is a change in velocity (you are changing the direction) therefore the boomerang in a vacuum would require an external force to change its direction. in an atmosphere it has the air pressure to utilize as the velocity-changing force, but in a vacuum there is nothing to do so.

        PhoenixAvatar2 = win
        JackHarkness, IBadassI = fail

        • shortyjacobs, on 05/05/2008, -0/+2Dammit, everyone is right, and everyone is wrong. Moment of inertia, and the right angle forces imparted by a rotating moment of inertia, are what cause the boomerang to "twist and return." Aerodynamics, namely your ill-quoted Bernoulli's principle, cause the boomerang to tilt in flight.

          Aerodynamics cause the tilt, change in angular momentum causes (rotating moment of inertia), cause it to return to owner. Without aerodynamics, it wouldn't tilt in the first place. Without moment of inertia, it would just tilt and dive into the ground, not bank back towards the thrower.

          http://www.boomerangs.com/physics.html

          So in space, like Joshblufs said below, it would just continue in a straight line, because no aerodynamics would tilt it, so no moment of inertia would return it.
      • joshblufs, on 05/05/2008, -0/+3http://www.boomerangs.com/physics.html
        http://www.boomerangs.com/aerodynamics.html
        guessing it would just wobble in a straight line in space.
  • neutralmind, on 05/05/2008, -43/+6They should have tested this in a vacuum on Earth and in outer space to get much more insightful data.
    • crawf061, on 05/05/2008, -4/+2What?! Huh,Vacuum?? Who said anything about a vacuum, bitch, you cleanin??
      • recruz, on 05/05/2008, -0/+0haha- someone doesn't know about Space
  • Numbski, on 05/05/2008, -28/+9@eq2s: Some do. Depends upon the design. The stereotypical "V" shape is much more difficult to master. :P
    • ataylor32, on 05/05/2008, -6/+4Please use the reply feature next time. Thanks!
  • RetepNamenots, on 05/05/2008, -56/+6Why's this on the front page? How many people have never seen a bomerang before...
    • sesstreets, on 05/05/2008, -2/+47BUT ITS IN SPACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
    • daebat, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1yeah rept... you're a genuine ID-10T.
  • deaconyermouf, on 05/05/2008, -46/+6what the hell are they doing on the International Space Station. I love the idea of manned space travel and human access to space, but honestly people? Is there anything useful going on up there?
    • PhoenixAvatar2, on 05/05/2008, -1/+24Every few months there's another five minute or so video of them doing something leisurely up there. I think that translates to less than a percent of their time used for this. Astronauts are people too, they like to relax sometimes.
    • toxicityj, on 05/05/2008, -2/+28God forbid these people take a break and do something remotely fun. I knew when I saw the video there'd be at least one jackass bitching about how they should be doing something more important. gratz on being that jackass, buddy.
    • seraph582, on 05/05/2008, -2/+4good LORD. Deacon, you're an IDIOT
    • recruz, on 05/06/2008, -1/+0they're up there 24 hrs a day dood. the norm is an 8 hr. work day. What you gonna do in space for 16 hrs out of your day? I'd be playing some PS3 or somethin'- maybe gettin' drunk or high in space- how many people get to say they've gotten "high up high"
  • homelessman, on 05/05/2008, -26/+11Air resistance causes lift right...so isn't there an experimental confound right there because the individual is throwing it inside the ISS, which has air inside the area he's in? a better question would be to try it out while there is no air in the environment. Then this would be worth digging.
    • mescad, on 05/05/2008, -2/+23They were going to try that, but for some reason nobody onboard the ISS thought it would be a good idea to let all of the air out so that we could see the boomerang experiment.
      • Jugalator, on 05/05/2008, -3/+2Huh, what kind of reply is that? A Russian has hit a golf ball in environment with no air -- that doesn't mean you have to be *inside* the ISS. ;)

        http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6164988. ...
        • chevyorange, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Wally Schirra was the first to do the golfball in space, on the moon to be exact. The shot was estimated to travel over two miles.
        • oscenester, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1lol. the moon. baha sheep
      • homelessman, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1All I'm saying is that the whole experiment is just demonstrating the laws of momentum transfer. The same principals although do apply here on the ground, there is an added experimental variable called air resistance that generates the extra lift to go above and beyond what momentum can merely apply.
        • canton7, on 05/05/2008, -2/+1Uhm.. back to science class? The experiment demonstrates that a boomerang can operate in zero gravity. Changes in momentum do take place (primarily when the thing's thrown and caught, but also as it's speed decreases due to air resistance and its velocity changes as it accelerates towards the centre of its circle), granted, but this is surely rather irrelevant? Air resistance does not generate lift (except arguable in the case of a falling object, where it provides a resistive force). Momentum isn't 'applying' anything here: Momentum is merely a property that an object has by virtue of both its mass and motion.
    • SolitarySoviet, on 05/05/2008, -2/+1people are giving you ***** about this but it makes perfect sense to me and also EVERY boomerang Ive ever seen was flat on the bottom and curved on top like the wing of a plane, so wouldnt that make also make lift???
  • GhostSniper, on 05/05/2008, -34/+7I was expecting the traditional type of boomerang >:

    And it's hardly returning to the thrower like it normally do... It was bouncing off the walls. The astronaut probably spent a few minutes working out the angle to throw it so it would bounce back.
    • chevyorange, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4Wow that astronaut was a really good thrower to be able to consistently have the toy bounce off two walls and return to him time after time!
  • kjcdude, on 05/05/2008, -28/+11these comments suck
  • Guinnessdsu, on 05/05/2008, -18/+9I knew the astronaut wouldn't be Australian, Qantas doesn't fly to space
  • Shawn4168, on 05/05/2008, -22/+11Next up: Boomerang on the moon?
  • murlox, on 05/05/2008, -31/+11Zero Gravity? The title is very in-accurate. ISS & the space people inside are in the state of free-fall. What keeps them from crashing into the earth is the orbital velocity.
  • Rotzooi, on 05/05/2008, -22/+13Silly science, predicting the path of a boomerang in zero gravity... I'm sure it was God who made the boomerang return.
  • knight666, on 05/05/2008, -23/+228Look out everyone!
    It's the Bury Brigade!
    • Llanowar, on 05/05/2008, -0/+15Just imagine an open debate in real life with a Bury Brigade.
      Could be quite interesting.
    • ATLien74, on 05/05/2008, -3/+8No *****! 18 buried out of the first 20 posts! And a lot of them I don't even get why they are buried...and they aren't just slightly buried, they are ***** BURIED!! WTF?
    • breezytrees, on 05/05/2008, -3/+15more like dumbass brigade.
    • InfiniteNothing, on 05/05/2008, -2/+11Someone needs to start a bury resistance
    • jaalin, on 05/05/2008, -15/+0this comment is bury-proof
    • redheadguy719, on 05/05/2008, -1/+4sometimes i think it's unnecessary to bury 10+ in a row, but those were all legitimately ***** comments.
  • Slade605, on 05/05/2008, -24/+10Looks like the bury team has returned.
  • BeforeSputnik, on 05/05/2008, -27/+104Sum of all comments: the experiment only tested the effects of gravity on a boomerang, not the effects of being in a vacuum. Because the boomerang relies on air to make it's return, it would be more interesting to see the experiment done in space.
    • haydentech, on 05/05/2008, -2/+114Huh? How that be more interesting? You'd watch it fly away and never come back.
      • dOOBiEx213, on 05/05/2008, -0/+46but will it come back around the other side and prove that space is indeed round?
        • BlueTunicLink, on 05/05/2008, -1/+5Only if it travels an infinite distance. Non-euclidean space ftw!
      • bsonline, on 05/05/2008, -5/+3Space if flat. Xenu knows!
    • scojerroc, on 05/05/2008, -2/+69no, it really wouldnt be interesting at all. the action of a boomerang in a vacuum is pretty easy to predict.
      • CannedMango, on 05/05/2008, -0/+2A boomerang flies the same as a feather and a brick in space
        • peterjmag, on 05/05/2008, -0/+5What about an African swallow?
          • CannedMango, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1That depends on whether or not it's carrying a coconut
    • aMammoth, on 05/05/2008, -20/+6It wouldn't be more interesting. Since there is no air in a vacuum, the boomerang has no way to produce the lift forces it needs come back. It would be governed only by gravity, and basic Newtonian laws. Although, over a insanely long period of time, the solar wind will act on it to push it away from the sun. It would behave like any other object.
      I am truly appalled by the lack of intelligence here on digg, no wonder it tends to be so liberal.
      • jnava121, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1where is my boomerang bob? oh it's re- entering the earth's atmosphere and it will burn up in a few minutes or so... but it's supposed to come back to me right?
        • DubiousDrewski, on 05/05/2008, -1/+0A little plastic boomerang wouldn't burn up. It's surface area is too great in comparison to its weight, so it would slow easily and evenutally just fall normally to the ground.
        • bsonline, on 05/05/2008, -1/+2What would be awesome is if it drifted away until Earth's gravity pulled it down... and it went back to it's original owner. This ***** happens in cartoon all of the time. It could be like a toilet seat from space.
      • digger70chall, on 05/05/2008, -1/+11I'm smart enough to know you sound like a tool
      • sirlancelot88, on 05/05/2008, -8/+1I agree with the lack of intelligence part. ***** digg.
      • terminal157, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4You're kind of a jerk.
      • br0wnstar, on 05/05/2008, -0/+2pretentious much?
      • purelithium, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2Yes, because everyone always knows that only stupid people are "Liberals" and only smart people are "Conservatives"... *rolleyes*
    • BeforeSputnik, on 05/05/2008, -0/+8Watching it in space would be more interesting, it goes and goes, finally freeing itself from the confines of its 'bound by air-currents' life that all boomerangs secretly loathe. oh, to fly and never return, what joy it would be.
      Serously. I know it wouldn't come back, but the previous comments seemed to lack that certainty and so I was still summing them all up. Still, a boomerang that comes back, not that intesting; a boomerang that doesnt come back = more interesting.
      • ruski1985, on 05/05/2008, -0/+3wow, you have made me rethink the plight we subject boomerangs to on a daily basis.
      • MrTito, on 05/05/2008, -0/+2A boomerang that doesn't come back is a stick.
    • recruz, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1what WOULD be interesting, is if the boomerang DID come back in a vacuum like space ...
    • ExRe, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1Both are equally silly tests if you know that a boomerang requires air to make it's return. That would make flying it in the space station no different than on earth except without a downward pull towards the ground.
  • evilmonkey0013, on 05/05/2008, -17/+6Lyph5,JackHarkness: Just an FYI: It's not even a vacuum up there, there's air inside (the guy's still alive >_
  • ThrstForKnwldge, on 05/05/2008, -21/+12I've discovered another digg cemetery.
  • MattFromSeattle, on 05/05/2008, -18/+174Dearly beloved, we've gathered here to say our goodbyes to the above comments. Alas, we hardly knew them before they were gone and buried, may their souls rest in peace.
    • homelessman, on 05/05/2008, -10/+2Or it could just be *click* that everyone *click* is burying down everyone elses comments *click*
    • Bilabrin, on 05/05/2008, -5/+5I reset my preferences to show ALL comment no matter how sucky so no-one controls what comments I do or do not see right off the bat.
    • pk7677, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Amen.
  • madmax85, on 05/05/2008, -20/+12http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUE7TZfUITE Good song
    • prkchpsndwiches, on 05/05/2008, -1/+2Nice reference link! BUT OMG! I thought we had bad music videos, holy crap that sucked!
    • WallnutBoy, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4That was awesome.
    • Fighter2a, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Thanks for that.
  • H1tchh1k3r, on 05/05/2008, -18/+7CAPSLOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL
  • Asianwaste, on 05/05/2008, -19/+3Inaccurate: There's clearly some gravity.
  • fuzzlog, on 05/05/2008, -18/+180No sign of intelligence in any of these comments, none what so ever.
    HE IS NOT IN A VACUUM. The astronaut is in a mix of air so HE CAN BREATHE.
    STOP SAYING HE IS THROWING A BOOMERANG IN A VACUUM DUMB RETARDED *****. For once the description of the video teaches you something, read it.
    • repairman2003, on 05/05/2008, -1/+9Um... Chill... I just see comments of people saying to do it out in space since that is a vacuum, not in the ship
    • scojerroc, on 05/05/2008, -1/+17fuzz, did you actually read the comments, or just type yours assuming what they would say? which people above have actually said he's in a vacuum?
    • FlimBlimmer, on 05/05/2008, -5/+0dugg for DUMB RETARDED *****.
  • DrDabbles, on 05/05/2008, -15/+7A boomerang does not require gravity to work! Why was this ever a question! Put it in a vacuum, and it will continue on the path it was thrown because Bernoulli's principal would no longer apply.
    • tatical, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4No one has ever tried it before, they were just curious.
    • tomz17, on 05/05/2008, -1/+2It only costs a few dollars to lift that boomerang into space, and the video has been seen by thousands of people... manned space flight is good for about one thing right now... ADVERTISING!... makes perfect sense to me.
    • wbeavis, on 05/05/2008, -6/+0Not entirely true. For a boomerang to function, it needs air. An atmosphere. The absense of gravity means absense of atmosphere. Or at least naturally occuring. Gravity does not have a direct effect, but gravity is sort of a prerequisite for an atmosphere.
    • breezytrees, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1As a member of the digg community, the fact that dabbles is dugg down is embarrassing me. Digg is full of idiots who haven't pass high-school physics.
  • wzpgsr, on 05/05/2008, -11/+3I wonder if he's responsible for blowing the helium tanks...
  • linksus, on 05/05/2008, -12/+6Why even test it? Its obvious that will happen. It uses the Air.
    If you did it in "space" ie: outside of the capsule it wouldnt come back and it would just keep going!
    Geezus
    • Brainmodder, on 05/05/2008, -0/+2Well it's a cool physics demonstration, it's made of paper which weighs almost nothing, so no experiments were sacrificed to do this. Astronauts have very stressful jobs and mission planners try to find ways to keep them entertained, you do not want an astronaut going mad up there. Plus, it was really really cool that they did this.
  • Pinkertinkle, on 05/05/2008, -13/+4Every comment buried!
  • PussInBoots, on 05/05/2008, -34/+69***** RIAA
    • silfiriel, on 05/05/2008, -1/+3well, when everything else is buried ***** THE RIAA always works.
    • Nowaiman, on 05/05/2008, -1/+4buried for sleeping with my girlfriend
    • MyDiggIsBig, on 05/05/2008, -1/+2there are varying degrees of digg cemetary. Some are leniant for the most part. This i would say is fairly leniant. Such a comment about the RIAA would not stand in a chance against the brutal graveyards. Those even bury "its a trap" pictures. On a scale of 1-10 i would rate this a 7. now off with my head.
    • xlneoMAXlx, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1It's because "THE" was omitted
  • username484767, on 05/05/2008, -7/+1cooooooooooool
  • p51d007, on 05/05/2008, -15/+3If you look, you'll see that the jap is at the bottom, he's "resting" on something. This is because they aren't "floating" but actually "falling". Plus, there is an atmosphere in the ISS. Probably around 5-9 PSI, but now you combine an atmosphere to provide lift for the toy, and they are "falling", and it makes sense that the toy would come back.
    • Jektal, on 05/05/2008, -1/+8You are so ***** stupid.
    • canton7, on 05/05/2008, -0/+7The fact that they are 'falling' has no relevance here. Both boomerang, astronaut and space ship are all falling at exactly the same rate - about 8.8 ms-2
  • NanoStuff, on 05/05/2008, -11/+78Mission accomplished. Thousands of years of human civilization, and now we've finally proved it.

    Space exploration is officially concluded.
  • LiquidIse, on 05/05/2008, -8/+2Link to science
  • RubineBoy, on 05/05/2008, -9/+2If it wasn't a boomerang, it would be a stick. Boomerangs come back, sticks don't. Only valid explanation ...
  • HotSaucePanCake, on 05/05/2008, -17/+0I'm glad they are wasting our money throwing boomerangs in space. GREAT JOB NASA
    • canton7, on 05/05/2008, -1/+6Oh come on. You've never spent a single minute of your time at work relaxing?
    • joshblufs, on 05/05/2008, -0/+4Yeah why would they spend their time trying to get kids excited about science. Its a few minutes of good PR and valuable relaxation time for astronauts that I guarantee work harder than you do.
  • CarStan, on 05/05/2008, -17/+11I dont want to be buried in a Digg-Cemetary, Dont want to post my comments again
    • bobburn, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1Don't butcher a fine Ramones song again, kthx.
  • keatonkeaton998, on 05/05/2008, -11/+3Now he should try throwing rice, pokemon cards, and StarCraft disks
  • sfury, on 05/05/2008, -10/+4 a world boomerang champion?
  • UltraDavid, on 05/05/2008, -8/+5If I heard some guy open a story with, "Yeah, so I was hanging out with my world boomerang champion friend the other day," I'd call BS immediately.
  • Gephoria, on 05/05/2008, -10/+2THAT GUY'S MY HERO HE LOOKS LIKE HE'S HAVING A BLAST
  • smokeymcdank, on 05/05/2008, -15/+8I, for one, welcome our new ant overlords.
  • ghostfaceDX, on 05/05/2008, -8/+1The silence in the graveyard is absolute.
  • jondo85, on 05/05/2008, -6/+1haha, when I saw the title I thought they were gonna do it on a spacewalk with no atmosphere. still coo tho.
  • DickInyerhole, on 05/05/2008, -13/+48Digg cemetery: proving that no one on this site has a mind of their own.
  • zcreem, on 05/05/2008, -12/+3So there is air in the space station, which creates drag and lift across the wing surface, and they had to go to space to prove this.
    Sure glad they are using those space dollars wisely.
    • recruz, on 05/06/2008, -0/+0it does leave one to wonder ... if these are the things these guys are testing in space, what other kinds of experiments are they "testing"
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