Paper Boomerang Book: Build Them, Throw Them, and Get Them to Return Every Time
Introduction Since the dawn of civilization men and women have been hurl ing things through the air But no other projectile they have ever fashioned and thrown displays such odd and fascinating behav ior as the returning boomerang Just as rainbows bubbles and waves are apt to inspire a sense of joy wonder and fascination so it is with boomerangs And although the boomerang is per haps just as strange and beautiful as these other simple things since it is a solid object it is easier to hold in one's hands manipulate and study This book will teach you how to make paper boomerangs quickly how to alter them to fly in large spaces such as audito riums or in smaller rooms such as bedrooms living rooms or classrooms and how to decorate them in a variety of ways The Paper Boomerang Book is for students parents and teachers and anyone who has ever been curious about boomerangs and wished to have a little fun with them The basic method of con struction and basic throwing techniques are set forth in easy to understand photographic illustrations You will find that the paper boomerangs in this book are a cinch to make graceful in flight and fun to fly In 1963 when Americans scientists were developing the space program and pushing the study of aerodynamics with the flights of the X 15 I saw a television program in which a professor of aeronautics flew a small four bladed boomerang It was about eight inches in length He only threw it twice hardly moving his arm but each time it zipped around in a perfect tight little cir cle He caught it so effortlessly both times that it seemed almost magical I was hooked If he could do it so could I I went down to the
garage and cut out two 20 by 2 inch wings out of 14 inch ply wood I crossed the wings nailed them together and bent the nails over on the backside with a hammer I filed the front sur faces to make an airfoil Then I took this crude flyer up to the grassy hill at the local high school I threw it It went straight out as if it would end up on the next block but at the last sec ond it curved upward and came hurtling back It was far too big and heavy to catch so I stood aside and let it land a couple feet from me I experimented with these heavy boomerangs for about a year Once something momentarily distracted me as one was returning I looked away and the boomerang clobbered me nearly knocking me over More than 30 years later I began experimenting with small paper boomerangs in the classroom These little paper flyers worked amazingly well Many of my students suggested that I write a book on the subject so I pulled out my old math and physics texts and started doing formal experiments with differ ent types of paper I studied the physics of flight to improve these boomerangs flying abilities and then started giving throwing lessons to my students Eventually I became so good at making and flying paper boomerangs that I could zip them around the room and get them to land on my desk or in my lap My students and I have had a great deal of fun with these simple boomerangs While you're reading through this book do not let the chapter on theory scare you It is truly easy to make throw and fine he paper boomerangs Even very young children can be taught to throw them One of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had as a teacher was giving boomerang throwing lessons to preschool students I selected a little girl and taught her how to throw one She wound up her arm and hurled the boomerang for the first time with perfect natural technique But she lost sight of it and just stood there wondering where it went When it came around in a perfect circular path and bopped her in the back of her head a little wave of laughter spontaneously washed over the
Making paper boomerangs is an art that anyone can learn and everything you need to know to be successful is in this
A Brief History of Boomerangs Origins The exodus of modern man Homo sapiens sapiens from Africa is now thought to have taken place around 90 000 years ago For about 20 percent of that time approximately 20 000 years humans probably have been making boomerangs If the artifact discovered in the mountains of southern Poland in 1985 by Pawel Valde Nowak and his colleagues from the Polish Academy of Sciences is a boomerang and they are convinced that it is then humans have been making boomerangs for a very long time Valde Nowak and his colleagues found the crescent shaped piece of mammoth's tusk along the Bialka River in the Tatra Mountains which lie between Poland and Slovakia On the same mountain slopes where winter athletes now sweep down on their high tech skis the ancients once fashioned this boomerang This marvel is an example of one type of boomerang the nonreturning boomerang Nonreturning boomerangs also known as throwing sticks or kylies as some of the Australian Aborigines called them have been found all over the world They were used for hunting and could travel long distances easily exceeding 150 yards The tomb of King Tutankhamen who died more than 3 000 years ago held another example of this form of boomerang It is slen der and resembles a curved rib Egyptian throwing sticks were between 10 and 25 inches long and weighed between 2 and 9 ounces They were used to kill small prey such as birds Ancient Egyptians thought the boomerangs could be used in the afterlife
