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The History of Boomerangs
Contrary to popular belief, the boomerang did not originate in Australia.
Historical traces of boomerangs have been found throughout the world.
Boomerangs are considered by many to be the earliest "heavier-than-air"
flying machines invented by human beings. Australian Aboriginal boomerangs
have been found as old as ten thousand years old, but older hunting
sticks have been discovered throughout Europe. The famed King Tutankhamen
of Egypt had an extensive collection of boomerangs over 2000
years ago.
Although historians are not certain of the exact origin of the first
boomerang, it is speculated that the boomerang was developed from
a flattened throwing stick, used by early hunters. The returning
boomerang was most likely discovered by accident by an early hunter
trying to fine tune a hunting stick. The modern boomerang
is most commonly associated with Australia because it has been preserved
in its highest state of development by Australian Aborigines. Since
the Australian Aborigines are one of the few cultures in history never
to develop a bow and arrow, their heavy dependence on the boomerang
for hunting has ensured its preservation.
The modern boomerang has been refined over time to state of the art
boomerang materials such as paxolin and carbon fibre. The use of finnish
birch wood has been found to be useful for more durable wooden boomerangs.
Aircraft windfoil design programs and Computer Aided Drawing programs
are used to optimize flight characteristics. Modern competition boomerangs
can stay aloft for up to several minutes time and distances
over 200 yards.
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