HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: simons@tuntu.think.com (Joshua Simons)
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
Subject: Re: History of Boomerangs
Date: 29 Sep 92 11:46:57 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: tuntu.think.com


from Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia

Boomerang, missile used  chiefly by  the Australian  aborigines  as  a
weapon and for sport. Made of hard wood, it  is roughly z-shaped, with
arms slightly  skewed. The angle  between the arms  ranges  from 90 to
about 160. Both  edges of the arm are  sharpened;  one surface is flat
and the other slightly convex.

The return boomerang, which normally  returns to the thrower, is about
30 to 75 cm (about  12 to 30 in) in  length  and is used for sport and
for hunting small  birds. Held  vertically  in the  right hand, it  is
thrown spinning, on a  line parallel to the  ground. The missile flies
at the same level; then it inclines to its flat side, rises, curves to
the left, and, still curving, glides  back to the thrower.   Throws of
more than 91 m (300 ft) have been made with this type of boomerang.

The nonreturn  boomerang, straighter, heavier,  and ranging  in length
from 61 to 91  cm (24 to 36 in)  is used in war  and for hunting large
game. With it the Australian aborigines can fatally injure an enemy or
bring down game at a distance of 152 m (500 ft).

Various groups  of northeastern Africa,  the Hopi Indians  of Arizona,
and certain peoples  of  southern India   use missiles similar to  the
boomerang.

--
simons@think.com
thinking machines corporation
245 first street					tel: 617.234.2844
cambridge, ma  02142-1214				fax: 617.234.4444
From: jco@spchp12.BBN.COM (John C. Orthoefer)
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
Subject: Re: Aerodynamics
Date: 3 Oct 92 10:25:08
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., 10 Molton Street, Cambridge, MA
	02138
NNTP-Posting-Host: spchp12.bbn.com
In-reply-to: cf603@cleveland.Freenet.Edu's message of 28 Sep 1992 12:18:10 GMT

here are the articles I was able to fine about 2 years ago.  It is
also part of the rang package.  From
anon@cis.ufl.edu:/pub/boomerang/boomerang.tar.Z

jco


%T The Aerodynamics of Boomerangs
%A Felix Hess
%J Scientific American
%V 219
%P 124-36
%D November 1968
%O Seems to be the basis of all the other articles.

%T Straight boomerang of balsa wood and its physics
%A Henk Vos
%J American Journal of Physics
%V 53
%P 524-7
%D June 1985
%N 6
%O A straight boomerang is created.

%T 'Flying Ring' inventor revamps the boomerang
%A J. H.
%J Scientific American
%V 262
%P 30
%D June 1990
%O More advertising than discussion.

%T Project Boomerang
%A Allen L. King
%J American Journal of Physics
%V 43
%P 770-3
%D September 1975
%N 9
%O An undergraduate physics class is turned loose on the boomerang.

%T Why boomerangs boomerang (and killing-sticks don't)
%A Jacques Thomas
%J New Scientist
%V 99
%P 838-43
%D September 1983
%O Best for pictures of unusual collectors' boomerangs.

%S The Amateur Scientist
%T Boomerangs!  How to make them and also how they fly
%A Jearl Walker
%J Scientific American
%V 240
%P 162-72
%D March 1979
%O Most informative, but nothing useful for simulation.

%S The Amateur Scientist
%T More on boomerangs, including thier connection with the dimpled golf ball
%A Jearl Walker
%J Scientific American
%V 240
%P 134-9
%D April 1979
%O Continuation of theme of March 1979 article.

--
John Orthoefer			"Generaly speaking, things have gone about as 
jco@bbn.com 			far as they can possibly go when things have
Bolt, Beranek And Newman Inc.   got about as bad as they reasonably get. "
                                -- Player "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead"

Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
From: duane@morgan.ucs.mun.ca (Duane Starcher)
Subject: Re: Scientific American article
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 11:51:37 GMT

>
>That article, entitled "The Aerodynamics of Boomerangs," by Felix Hess,
>was published in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN's November, 1968, issue and is on
>pages 124-136.
>

	In my library you can find Felix Hess's complete thesis on
boomerangs, with dozens of stereo diagrammes of boom flights to look at.
Check out your own university library for a copy.
	duane@morgan.ucs.mun.ca
From: zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (dave budd)
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
Subject: Chinese State Circus
Date: 30 Sep 92 10:52:10 GMT
Organization: Manchester Computing Centre

The Chinese State Circus have 2 guys who do a plate spinning act, but in 
their warm up, one of them throws 4-armed boomers around the big top.
He gets 3 in the air before needing to catch the first (I reckon he could do 
more, but maybe not reliably enough for performance).  They have a point of 
some sort sticking out from the centre so that he can do cooling fan 
imitations and nifty head catches.  Each arm was about a foot long and about 
an inch to an inch and a half wide.  they circled about 20-25yard diameter, 
spiralling in to smaller circles (OK it's all a spiral but you KNOW what I 
mean), and he was catching 2nd or 3rd time past his eyes (if he'd stood 
still it would have been anyway).

Eric: he only launched each of his 3 once, then caught them all.  Have you 
ever seen continuous throwing/catching of more than one boom, so that it's 
equivalent to a shower in juggling?  Is there such a thing as an 
ambidextrous boom, so maybe one could try to cascade them?


              Have another day    [Armageddon, the musical] 
  Dave Budd, MCC, Oxford Rd, Manchester, England   (44|0)61-275-6033
From: zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (dave budd)
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
Subject: Re: Boomerangs, General
Keywords: General
Date: 30 Sep 92 15:06:44 GMT
Organization: Manchester Computing Centre

In article <BvCyv2.E5C@news.cso.uiuc.edu> cs125b48@dcl-nxt02.cso.uiuc.edu (cs125 student) writes:

>research, and found that most of the stories are false.  REAL hunting  
>boomerangs were never designed to return, and the philosophy behing this  
>makes a good, logical sense...

Um....maybe it's coz Aus used to be run by Brits, but I (a Brit) thought 
this was common knowledge.

>1. A boomerang was not a reliable weapon, as a spear was, because it  
>tended to cause great amounts of air drag, thus slowing down the impact  
>and also causing the boom to twist in the air.

Depends what you want the weapon to do.  spears are great for throwing at 
large numbers of men running towards you.  Not so good for downing a single 
roo running away from you.

>2. Who the HELL would want a weapon that they had unleashed on another  
>person, deer, bald eagle, ant-eater, etc. to change course and come back  
>at them?????

It would be observation of deviations from straight flight that led to the 
development of the returning 'rang, and the improvement of straight flight 
in the weapon 'rang.  Improvements by evolutionary methods - try any 
variation, keep it if it helps.

No doubt some Aussie will blow me out of the water on this.....


              Have another day    [Armageddon, the musical] 
  Dave Budd, MCC, Oxford Rd, Manchester, England   (44|0)61-275-6033  
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
From: emp@xgml.com (Eric Promislow)
Subject: Re: Chinese State Circus
Organization: Exoterica Corporation
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 12:57:34 GMT

In article <zlsiida.150@fs1.mcc.ac.uk> zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (dave budd) writes:
>[Stuff about a pin-wheel boomerang "juggler" in the Chinese State Circus...
>
>Eric: he only launched each of his 3 once, then caught them all.  Have you 
>ever seen continuous throwing/catching of more than one boom, so that it's 
>equivalent to a shower in juggling?  Is there such a thing as an 
>ambidextrous boom, so maybe one could try to cascade them?
>
>              Have another day    [Armageddon, the musical] 
>  Dave Budd, MCC, Oxford Rd, Manchester, England   (44|0)61-275-6033  

   I've only seen continuous juggling of two boomerangs.  You'd figure
that for an accomplished world-famous 5-ball juggler like modest yours
truly, 2-boom juggling would be a snap.  Not for me.  The record kept
falling during the '92 season, from 207 to 356 to 480 to 500+, set
recently in Europe.  My best tournament round is a grand 3 catches.
I've heard that 3-boom juggling is excellent practice for 2-boom
events, but there's no way I can do it.  I've been trying to juggle
these very-short range "Backyard Boomerangs", and am lucky to get 3
throws.

  With time, with time...
-- 
-- Eric Promislow--emp@xgml.com--Exoterica Corporation, Ottawa, Ontario
From: cdt@sw.stratus.com (C. D. Tavares)
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
Subject: Re: Chinese State Circus
Date: 1 Oct 92 13:55:26 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

In article <zlsiida.150@fs1.mcc.ac.uk>, zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (dave budd) writes:

> Eric: he only launched each of his 3 once, then caught them all.  Have you 
> ever seen continuous throwing/catching of more than one boom, so that it's 
> equivalent to a shower in juggling?  

It's a common competition event in the States, called (appropriately
enough) juggling.  Actually, there are two related events:  juggling is
throwing two (or more if you aren't interested in good competition strategy)
booms over and over, making sure one is in the air at all times.  I saw
Bob Burwell keep this up for something like 12 minutes in the early
1980's in Virginia, with a pair of small blue and white acrylicked 
gullwings.  He set a world record, and won by something like a factor 
of six over his nearest competitor.

There's another event, which I forget the name of, and I haven't seen
in a while, where a person throws as many booms as possible before
catching any of them, and then tries to catch them all.  At the same
meet, I saw a total newcomer to the USBA step up to the line with seven
Wham-O plastics and do them all.  There was general consternation.  First,
seven was an impressive number, at least in those days.  Second, the
Wham-O plastics were some of the orneriest, cheapest sticks on the market.
I used to own one, and I could NEVER make the damn thing come back at all.

> Is there such a thing as an 
> ambidextrous boom, so maybe one could try to cascade them?

In theory, ambidextrous booms exist, but since boomerangs are sensitive
to the direction of the breeze, I doubt you would have much luck with a
classical cascade -- one where all the objects stay in front of you.
-- 

cdt@pdp.sw.stratus.com      --If you believe that I speak for my company,
OR cdt@vos.stratus.com        write today for my special Investors' Packet...
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
From: cs125b48@dcl-nxt02.cso.uiuc.edu (cs125 student)
Subject: Boomerangs, General
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 21:11:23 GMT
Keywords: General

When i got my first boomerangs, three years ago, i decided that much of my  
time should be used to find out how they work, just as a magician must  
first figure out the trick before he gets the full effect.  I did some  
research, and found that most of the stories are false.  REAL hunting  
boomerangs were never designed to return, and the philosophy behing this  
makes a good, logical sense...

1. A boomerang was not a reliable weapon, as a spear was, because it  
tended to cause great amounts of air drag, thus slowing down the impact  
and also causing the boom to twist in the air.
2. Who the HELL would want a weapon that they had unleashed on another  
person, deer, bald eagle, ant-eater, etc. to change course and come back  
at them?????

Now I realize that the stories are rampant, and some aborigines got very  
good at hunting with straight flying boomerangs(the actual term  
'boomerang' came from Australia), but these boomerangs weren't anything  
like the ones that we know.  They were about 4 feet long, yes they were  
shaped like a very long 'z', and they flew end over end, so as to hit the  
target with more velocity(e.g. angular momentum, etc.).  I read about the  
fact that egyptian boomerangs were found, and the scientists had pretty  
much decided that the design was only a copy because of the power of the  
weapon, not an actual replica.

Comments???
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
From: schipper@morgan.ucs.mun.ca (W Schipper)
Subject: History of Boomerangs
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 00:19:10 GMT

When I subscribed to this list I did not think it was about boomerangs
per se. Now I know different. I have often wondered about the history of
boomerangs. Anyone know anything about how they originated, where, who
invented them originally, when?

Bill

-- 
.......................................................................
W. Schipper                         Email: schipper@morgan.ucs.mun.ca
Department of English,              Tel: 709-737-4406
Memorial University                 Fax: 709-737-4000
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
From: treagejt@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
Subject: history...
Reply-To: treagejt@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 02:57:11 GMT

The history of boomerangs is a long and interesting one.  They were found in
the Egyptian tombs but these gold-covered relics were probably too delicate
to throw and, as they are a piece of history, we'll probably never found out.
The sticks used by the abrigones were of the killer-stick variety:  very
heavy, non-returning flying clubs.  They were mostly hunting tools.  The 
smaller returning sticks were used for amusement, ceremonies, etc. and quite
useless as a hunting weapon.  There is one theory, however, that the
abrigones would set up nets over the narrow choke points of a body of water
and then throw the returning sticks over waterfowl to scare them into flight
and thus into the nets.  If you have ever thrown a boom with a bird or a
flock of birds around, then you know that this is an interesting and
plausible option.
	The first booms were made out of the natural elbows of trees (i.e. the
roots, branch joints, etc) and were probably used for many things besides 
just throwing.  If you are interested in the history booms, many of the books
out there on booms give a lot of background info on the subject.
From: cdt@sw.stratus.com (C. D. Tavares)
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
Subject: Re: Aerodynamics
Date: 28 Sep 92 17:35:21 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

In article <1a6t62INN6b3@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, cf603@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dave Sill) writes:
> 
> How do boomerangs fly?  I'd assumed the wings had to have a cross section
> like an airplane wing with a larger upper surface, but someone recently
> mentioned a boomerang that could be thrown both left- and right-handed.

V-type boomerangs usually do have an airfoil cross-section, though the
airfoil "crosses over" to the other side of the opposite wing.  (In the
air, the airfoil is always pointed "forward," but when you're rasping and
sanding the airfoil into the wood, you have to remember to "turn it around"
on the other side of the elbow and not to build it like a model airplane 
wing.)

There are a number of ambidextrous boomerangs, most of them multi-bladers.
They still have primitive airfoils on their wings (bottom flat, top rounded)
but the airfoils have no preferential direction (leading edge or trailing
edge).  Instead, they're just generally rounded.

With enough blades, boomerangs will often work without airfoils at all.
You can make a six- or eight-bladed cross-stick (pinwheel) out of
yardsticks.  That's because the blades rotating into the direction of
travel will create more flat-plate lift than the ones on the other
side of the pinwheel, causing the whole contraption to tilt and return.
I have on my desk a small four-blade made out of flat styrofoam, which
flies fine in the confines of my (small) office.  I suppose it's
ambidextrous as well -- too bad I'm not!
-- 

cdt@pdp.sw.stratus.com      --If you believe that I speak for my company,
OR cdt@vos.stratus.com        write today for my special Investors' Packet...
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
From: keithn@kean.ucs.mun.ca
Subject: Re: Aerodynamics
Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 20:53:43 GMT

In article <1a6t62INN6b3@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, cf603@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dave Sill) writes:
> 
> How do boomerangs fly?  I'd assumed the wings had to have a cross section
> like an airplane wing with a larger upper surface, but someone recently
> mentioned a boomerang that could be thrown both left- and right-handed.
> 
> What's the deal?
> 
> -- 
> Dave Sill
> Play: cf603@cleveland.freenet.edu
> Work: de5@ornl.gov


Alot of people have commented on this question noting the airfoil aspects 
of boomerangs. Well and good, but the boomerang is also a gyroscope.  This is 
what gives it its stability in flight.
From: cf603@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dave Sill)
Newsgroups: alt.boomerang
Subject: Re: Aerodynamics
Date: 29 Sep 1992 11:26:00 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: cf603@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dave Sill)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, vram@unpcs1.cs.unp.ac.za (Vevek Ram) says:
>
>...  There was an excellent article in Scientific 
>American (about 15 years ago???) describing this as well as construction 
>guidelines.

Anyone have a reference for this article?  Or, better yet, anyone willing
to send me a copy for a self-addressed, stamped envelope?

-- 
Dave Sill
Play: cf603@cleveland.freenet.edu
Work: de5@ornl.gov
From: JHARTLEY@cmsa.gmr.com
Newsgroups: alt.politics.perot
Subject: Poll of Perot Supporters
Date: 6 Oct 92 12:57:39 GMT
Organization: GM Research Labs

Just heard the results of a poll of Perot's early supporters.
  80% of them no longer trust Perot.

What makes this unusual is that the psychological pressure due to
cognitive dissonance reduction would be very strong NOT to
change one's opinion about Perot after publically supporting him.
People typically do not "go out on a limb" for anything or anyone,
subjecting themselves to possible public embarrassment and then
admit they were wrong about it/him.  The fact that 80% of these people
have switched their views of Perot is very surprising, if true.

I wonder about Perot's mandate from "you. . .the owners of this
country.  If they say 'it's a dirty job but somebody's got to do
it, why then we'll join the fight."  Sounds to me like they didn't
say it at all.  Ross Perot might just have set up the appearance of
a groundswell (e.g., paid volunteers, investing $16 million of his own
money, the "unbiased" 1-800- number).

I cannot wait for the debates.  I saw Stockdale on TV last night and he
was horrible.  He did not answer one question and seemed to be lost
about any details - even of the economic plan.
From: mpye@netcom.com (Michael Pye)
Subject: Re: Re-Entry??
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 17:49:30 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

si24+@andrew.cmu.edu (Srinivas Inguva) writes:

>I've been hearing in the news about the possibility of Perot's re-entry
>into the race... being a math type person, I normally don't delve too
>deeply into the realm of politix, but this interested me and I was
>wondering what people who have been following the ups and downs of this
>edition of ye quadrennial slugfest think of it.. do you think he has a
>reasonable chance of election anymore? didn't some of the states where
>he got on the ballot take his name off?
>   Whatever..hope to get some input...
>        
>Later..

No - Perot will be on the ballot in all 50 states.  He has an excellent
chance of being elected.  The other two major parties are playing right
into this.  The really funny thing is, you can tell them exactly what 
they're doing wrong and they'll ignore you.  You can tell them how to 
make Perot go away and they won't listen.  It's even kinda sad....


Organization: Freshman, MCS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: alt.politics.perot
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 00:37:54 -0400 
From: Srinivas Inguva <si24+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re-Entry??

I've been hearing in the news about the possibility of Perot's re-entry
into the race... being a math type person, I normally don't delve too
deeply into the realm of politix, but this interested me and I was
wondering what people who have been following the ups and downs of this
edition of ye quadrennial slugfest think of it.. do you think he has a
reasonable chance of election anymore? didn't some of the states where
he got on the ballot take his name off?
   Whatever..hope to get some input...
        
Later..

        
 (Direct flames to alt.brainless.newtswith.flamethrowers ...if you really 
    don't have anything nice to say, let me continue living in my own
li'l         dream world..)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.perot
From: korman@seas.gwu.edu (John Korman)
Subject: Re: Perot's spine
Organization: George Washington University
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 22:55:00 GMT

In article <16870CCBE.JHARTLEY@cmsa.gmr.com> JHARTLEY@cmsa.gmr.com writes:
   ..........
>
>I will bet you that you'll never see him in a debate, unless he can use it
>only as a forum to attack Bush.  Clinton would eat him alive in a debate,
>even though they would both be tripping over each other to attack Bush.
>If you had seen the way he blustered at GM and then melted away when the
>GM leaders didn't buckle, you'd understand how most of us who've seen this
>pitiful act before feel about the little man.  Billionaires have little
>regard for accomplishment through resolution, debate, compromise, or
>discussion.  He wants it his way.  You people (oops, sorry) I mean his
>supporters don't understand this and never will.  It would be funny if it
>didn't document the inability of the American public to distinguish their
>own wishes from the actual record of their candidate.

I pretty much agree with you in Perot's inability to deal with opposing
views. However, the GM example actually shows that Perot was right to
begin with, as the recent shake up in GM resulted in the company following
most of Perot's original suggestions. It took GM 6 years to figure out 
what Perot and millions of other consumers were saying about GM management.
I just hope it doesn't take as long for the U.S. government to take 
serious action (including some of Perot's suggestion) to reverse the tide in
the budget deficit. 

John Korman

Newsgroups: alt.politics.perot
From: breinhar@access.digex.com (Robert B. Reinhardt)
Subject: Re: Ross for What??
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, Maryland USA
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 23:03:36 GMT

In article <ztjzdlk@rpi.edu> D. writes:
>All this talk about Ross.  But does he want to be president?  Does he want it?
>I know that there are alot of people out there who want him to be president,
>but does Ross want it, too?
>
>I was willing to give the man a listen as his campaign got going but his
>dropping out really said a lot to me.  It told me that he did not want to be 
>president.
>
>Look at all the pressure people are putting on him to run.  Having a reluctant
>president may not be such a good idea.  
>
>Who the hell is his running mate?  Or does that not matter?

Running Mate = Ret. Adm. James Stockdale


Sure, I'd rather have someone who's been groomed his whole life to
become President (or close as possible to it) there entire life,
because they have their OWN agenda to inflict (implement) when
they get there.  ---NOT!!!
Xref: sparky alt.politics.perot:1691 alt.fan.rush-limbaugh:6085
From: shortcut@e7sa.epi.syr.ge.com (Dances with Two-Left-Feet)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.perot,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Re: 1-800-925-1300
Summary: Not
Keywords: Ditto
Date: 30 Sep 92 11:30:02 GMT
Reply-To: /dev/null
Organization: In disarray

In article 7724@gibdo.engr.washington.edu, bobk@gibdo.engr.washington.edu (Bob) writes:
>
> To vote for Perot resuming the campaign, call 1-800-925-1300.
>
> This is more of a show of support than a vote.  Please call.
> ==
>
> Bob

It's too bad that he didn't set up an 800 number for people like me to point out
that, according to the latest poll which shows 17% support *for* him, that there are
83% of the voting public who would opt to have him NOT enter the race. The Martian
and his robot, Larrie King-2-D-2, are on such Ego Trips!
Newsgroups: alt.politics.perot