Where's that Boomerang? It'll Come Back To You Quiz

Answer: Aboriginal languages

The word was adapted from Aboriginal languages that don't exist anymore, originating from the area of New South Wales in Australia. The word first appeared in 1827 calling it a "missile weapon used by Australian aborigines". Another source points to a slightly earlier timeline origin of 1822. Still another year is quoted as 1824 by Merriam-Webster as the first known use.

But all sources identify the originating culture as Aboriginal, including the Dharuk language around Port Jackson, Australia.

Answer: Poland

So while we associate boomerangs historically with Australia, they have actually existed in many parts around the globe. The oldest example of one was found in southern Poland, in the Oblazowa Cave. Archeologists began exploring the cave in 1985 and in Layer VIII they found an ancient boomerang artifact made out of a mammoth tusk. They estimate its age to be about 30,000 years old.

Answer: London, England

Kia Motors is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and the Kia America arm of that company is headquartered in Irvine, California. The event was organized in The United Kingdom, and the accomplishment was performed by The British Boomerang Society. The size of the giant boomerang was 2.74 meters from tip to tip, or 9 feet.

Answer: must travel a certain distance when thrown

The boomerang was actually created however by Rob Croll, but Sadir Kattan wins the credit because of the stipulation that the boomerang must travel at 20 meters (65.6 feet) to qualify and on top of that must return into a designated circle of accuracy from the point at which it was thrown.

This assures us that the boomerang does have the bona fide trait of a certain throwability and returnability. The achievement took place on March 22, 1997 at the National Boomerang Throwing Championship in Australia.

Answer: Aerobie

Created by Stanford Engineering professor Alan Adler, the Aerobie is close in shape to a Frisbee, but imagine the Frisbee without its middle core; so the Aerobie is like the outer 1.5 inch wide band of the Frisbee but thinner. That previous flight length record was 406.33 meters (1333 feet) for the Aerobie, held by Erin Hemmings who launched his Aerobie at Fort Funston in San Francisco on July 14, 2003.

It sailed for over 30 seconds and was the first time ever that an object was thrown over a quarter mile. BUT...two years later, on March 15, 2005, the length was bested by David Schummy who hurled his boomerang 427.2 meters (1402 feet) at Murarie Recreation Ground, Australia.

However it came right back to him and so he was credited with throwing it zero meters. NO! I'm just kidding!

Answer: radial blade and arc blade

The two protrusions of the boomerang are called the radial blade and the arc blade, and they are level with each other on the same plane at a general 90 degree angle, sometimes less sometimes more. Radial blades have airfoils on the edge of their arms.

The airfoils have curved surfaces that help provide lift. The arc blades have stabilizers on the tips; the stabilizers help keep control of the boomerang, keeping it from wobbling or rolling to or fro.

Answer: King Tutankhamun

Archeologist Howard Carter opened King Tut's tomb in 1922, and within the tomb was a large box full of boomerangs. The collection is currently kept in the National Museum in Cairo. In 1991, Jacques Thomas wrote a book titled, "The Boomerangs of a Pharoah" which describes some of the boomerangs including their flight characteristics.
Captain James Cook was buried at sea. Woody Guthrie's ashes were scattered at sea. Steve Irwin's final resting place is unclear, as per his wishes. It is theorized that he was either cremated or is possibly buried somewhere on the grounds of the Australian Zoo.

Answer: most consecutive water fowl strikes using a boomerang

Yannick Charles of France achieved the feat of juggling two boomerangs, keeping one aloft at all times, making 555 consecutive catches on September 4, 1995. On January 20, 2009, David Cain in Mason, Ohio, threw four boomerangs at once and was able to catch all of them. Mr. Cain also holds the record for throwing a boomerang and catching it three consecutive times with his mouth.

He achieved this on June 19, 2012 in Bourbon, Missouri. Fortunately there is no sporting event tracking the number of boomerang strikes on water birds, even though that was indeed one of the purposes hunters used boomerangs for. Non-returning boomerangs used for water fowl were even found in King Tut's collection, entombed with him.

Answer: AC/DC, Kylie Minogue, and INXS

Despite being from Australia, iconic home of the boomerang, none of these three, AC/DC, Kylie Minogue, and INXS ever recorded a song called "Boomerang." The closest Kylie Minogue came to it was a song called "Boombox".
The albums featuring "Boomerang" songs: "Grinning Streak" by Barenaked Ladies, "Hot in The Shade" by Kiss, "More Unreleased Tracks" by The Ramones, "Boomerang" by Hanson, "Twenty Twenty: The Essential T Bone Burnett" by T-Bone Burnett, "Origins" by Imagine Dragons, "Legend" by Poco, "Wonders of the Younger" by Plain White T's,
Nicole Scherzinger's "Boomerang" was a 2013 single not on any album.

Answer: Margo Bone, director, Paul Hogan star

Australian movie star Paul Hogan became famous for the 1986 film "Crocodile Dundee", but he has never been in a movie titled "Boomerang" despite it seeming like if anyone would have it would have been him. The 1992 comedy "Boomerang" starred Eddie Murphy as a business executive whose womanizing boomeranged back at him when he meets his match in female executive Robin Givens who proves to be quite the maneater. Dana Andrews starred in the 1947 film "Boomerang" based on the true story of a prosecutor's crusade to prove the innocence of a man that witnesses say committed murder. And Alain Delon starred in the 1976 film "Boomerang" about an ex-convict father pleading for mercy for his son who killed a policeman while on drugs. Those films make use of the figurative sense of the word "boomerang" as a verb meaning coming back to a starting point.

This meaning emerged in 1900.