If you’ve been on any social media in the past 24 hours, you may have seen far more pictures and videos of brooms than usual. If you didn’t see it firsthand, you may have seen your child taking out the household broom. Did everyone turn into a cleaning enthusiast overnight? Nope. The “standing broom challenge” often accompanied by “#NASAbroom” is the latest viral challenge.
What’s so sensational about standing a broom up on its own? On Monday, one Twitter user tweeted out that, “Okay so NASA said today was the only day a broom can stand up on its own because of the gravitational pull…I didn’t believe it at first but OMG!”
Okay so NASA said today was the only day a broom can stand up on its own because of the gravitational pull…I didn’t believe it at first but OMG! 😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/M0HCeemyGt
— mk (@mikaiylaaaaa) February 10, 2020
Thousands of users went on to test their luck with any brooms they could find. With little to no research into NASA’s alleged claims, typical feeds were swept away by people taking their dusty brooms out and even going to stores to try out the challenge. Everyone’s social media feeds were taken over by dust bunnies and dirty brooms galore.
Does this mean we can’t make a broom stand up straight any other day of the year after yesterday? No, because the broom stands because of balance — not the earth’s gravitational pull or the vernal equinox. A broom stands upright when the center of gravity is low and rests directly over the bristles, which should be positioned like a tripod. NASA has come out with its very own tweet to debunk them.
🧹 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
— NASA (@NASA) February 11, 2020
Astronaut Alvin Drew and scientist Sarah Noble respond to the #BroomstickChallenge, showing that basic physics works every day of the year — not just February 10th. pic.twitter.com/4TTbI3mvzd
There’s no magic or witchery in the challenge after all, but maybe it’s a sign to actually clean the bottom of our brooms every once in a while, or in some cases, actually buy a broom.
