Lost Civilisations

[Michaelangelica]

There seems to be a very basic miss-understanding of what a boomaerang is.

 

It's aero-dynamics are extraordinarily complex

I agree with Panj you either have a boomerang or a throwing stick.

A boomerang is a much more complex and intricate hunting tool.

It is hard fo me as an Australian to understand this level of ignorance as we were bought up with boomerangs.

This article might help

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/01/26/1106415670489.html

 

The boomerang

 

There's an argument that Australia's greatest invention predates European settlement.

The sheer genius and subtle aerodynamics of the boomerang are one of humanity's true wonders.

The anonymous inventor understood - or stumbled upon - one of the most complex aspects of aerodynamics: asymettrical lift.

[C1ay]

I agree with Panj you either have a boomerang or a throwing stick.

What then do you call the battle boomerang used in hand to hand combat?

[Michaelangelica]

What then do you call the battle boomerang used in hand to hand combat?

Dangerous

[Panjandrum]

What then do you call the battle boomerang used in hand to hand combat?

 

I would call it a club. Its like with spears, I think. A simple weapon you hold and use to stab someone is a spear, or a pike if its long enough. A similar weapon designed to be thrown at your enemies is a javelin. A heavier version, designed for use on horseback, is a lance. You could call all these weapons 'spears' and be technically correct, but to do so is to reduce the meaning of 'spear' to 'any long weapon with a point on it'. This is the same problem I have with this widely accepted definition of boomerang to cover any kind of cambat stick, regardless of whether it returns, or even whether it is meant to be thrown. The net result is that the word 'boomerang' loses its meaning, becoming so general and widely applicable as to be a virtual synonym for 'stick'.

 

@Qfwfq,

I realise that the verb in this case postdates the noun, but the fact that the verb means what it does is a strong indication that the noun which inspired it had this property.

[C1ay]

The net result is that the word 'boomerang' loses its meaning, becoming so general and widely applicable as to be a virtual synonym for 'stick'.

But that's not where the meaning of boomerang originated. In a book about the languages of New South Wales published in 1790 is found the native term boo-mer-rit, glossed “the scimitar,” because of the curved shape of the boomerang. In 1825 in a passage containing the first recorded instance of the English form boomerang we are told it is “a short crested weapon which the natives of Port Jackson [now part of Sydney] project with accurate aim into a rotary motion.” In 1827 another commentator says that this term “may be retained for want of a more descriptive name.”

 

Even a returning boomeramg will not return unless thrown exactly the right way. Are you saying that is a boomerang when thrown that way but a stick when thrown so as not to return? It is still the same object either way, a curved stick. BTW, the battle boomerang is also a curved stick with narrow edges, not a club. When I think of a club I think of a blunt object.

[Turtle]

Here's a photo of the bullroarer I currently use & the most recent I have made. It is airfoil in cross-section & about 5/16" at the thickest; made of some East-Asian hardwood I scavenged from a motorcycle crate out of Japan. Ruler is 6". The bridle string is braided hemp & attached to braided nylon.:hyper:

[Panjandrum]

So... a bullroarer makes a noise when you whirl it? Is it a whistling sound, or more of a, well, roar?

[Turtle]

So... a bullroarer makes a noise when you whirl it? Is it a whistling sound, or more of a, well, roar?

It depends entirely on the shape & size, and as has been mentioned it depends then to some degree on the speed you swing it. The one I pictured has a deep pitch. I do not have the facility to make a recording just now, but it is similar to the sound of the vesica piscis shaped Khua (spinning disk on string) which you can listen to here at Hypography. Post #39 of this thread has a sound file attached:

http://hypography.com/forums/physics-mathematics/1228-spinning-button-string-4.html#post56235

:hyper:

[Panjandrum]

The Takla Makan Mummies.

 

I remember reading about them in Discover Magazine and if I remember right, that article indicated there may be a connection between these mummies and the introduction of the wheel to China.

 

I believe they are known as (or connected to) the Tocharians, a long-extinct branch of the Indoeuropean culture. I seem to remember that their language is more or less known, and that the men had a lop-sided top-knot, like the Suevi and other germanic tribes.

 

They are a very interesting conundrum, not least because they made thier home in the most hostile desert in asia, and because there is good evidence that they introduced more than just the wheel to china. Chinese authorities were falling over themselves in an attempt to discredit the findings, out of deference to chinese cultural chauvanism.

[Qfwfq]

I realise that the verb in this case postdates the noun, but the fact that the verb means what it does is a strong indication that the noun which inspired it had this property.

It is a strong indication that the returning boomerang was the feature found most striking by people elsewhere. When news of something is brought to far places where it was unknown, ideas are often circulated quite inaccurately or misleadingly. English usage of the word 'boomerang' doesn't justify you in calling somebody a retard. Remain warned.

[Michaelangelica]

Remain warned.

Remain warned.?

Remain warned !

What is this?

Guantanamo Bay?

[Panjandrum]

Indeed. The fact that some people found my choice of words offensive is already refelcted in the negative rep they have given me, and publicly expressed in thier posts. I dont see any need to start threatening me, as well.

[Panjandrum]

I would also note that while when I make even a single post that is, admittedly, slightly tangenital to the topic, my post is immediatly moved, and yet the same moderators have no problem with this thread going off-topic for two or more pages.

[Qfwfq]

Panjandrum, if you mean the discussion of boomerangs, it is lasting because of your insistence despite warnings on behaviour.

 

Remain warned.?

Remain warned !

What is this?

Guantanamo Bay?

Unlike Guantanamo, both you and Panjandrum are free (and welcome) to go elsewhere if you don't like it here.

[Panjandrum]

Panjandrum, if you mean the discussion of boomerangs, it is lasting because of your insistence despite warnings on behaviour.

 

I merely stated my opinion, in what I felt was a humourous tone, and then defended myself from the rather heated responses I recieved.

 

And I do not appreciate being threatened. Its not polite.

[C1ay]

I merely stated my opinion, in what I felt was a humourous tone, and then defended myself from the rather heated responses I recieved.

 

And I do not appreciate being threatened. Its not polite.

No one but you considered "retard" to be humorous and that remark is all you are/were warned about. If you use such descriptions of the members here you will receive heated responses, warnings or a ban.

[Panjandrum]

I wasnt aware that I was refering to a member of the forum at all, but rather in a general sense to those 'experts' who have made the counter-intuitive descision to use this word in such a general sense that it loses any value as a descriptive term.

 

If I ever feel the need to insult someone on this forum, be sure I shall do so directly. Tho it is not something I have any desire or intention of doing.