#BroomChallenge: Yes, brooms can stand without support; No, NASA didn’t say it's just for one day
If you’re old enough to remember 2012, then you’re old enough to remember the first time the #BroomChallenge made its way into internet trends.
It involves taking an ordinary broom and making it stand upright on its bristles without any support.
Had the challenge been left at that explanation, it would’ve been just fine. But a bit of misinformation always seems to accompany this feat of science.
Some tweeters sharing pictures of their upright brooms claim that you can only perform this on certain days of the year due to the tilt of the Earth or alignment of other planets. They’re attributing these claims to NASA.
This is false. There is not proof NASA ever said this. And brooms can be stood upright any day of the year.
The #BroomChallenge involves taking an ordinary broom and making it stand upright on its bristles without any support. (Jordan Smith/FOX TV Stations)
So long as a person is patient, the broom’s low center of gravity will provide the bristles with enough balance to support the broom.
According to the online fact-checking organization Snopes, newer brooms are most successful at this feat because they have more uniform bristles.
Still, plenty of people are having fun with the revived challenge online, and there’s nothing wrong with spreading a little joy.
This story was reported from Atlanta.