Sorry, #BroomstickChallenge Participants - Your Broom Can Stand Any Day Of The Week

From eggs to Vans, the internet has been swept away by gravity-defying challenges!

This week, it was brooms that had social media users mesmerized after an armchair physicist claimed the Earth’s gravitational pull would allow broomsticks to stand up all by themselves — Monday and Monday only.

The craze kicked off after a Twitter user named Mikaiylaaaaa alleged in a now-viral post that NASA “said today was the only day a broom can stand up on its own because of the gravitational pull.”

Mikaiylaaaaa “didn’t believe it at first,” naturally, but she tried it out anyway to find that her broom did, in fact, stand up all on its own. See her discovery (below):

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

Soon, the #BroomstickChallenge was born, with internetters far and wide successfully trying out the trick using their very own broomsticks:

we had to go test it… pic.twitter.com/DNtkOlLRGd

— Dyantá D. Harris (@dyantaatnaydh) February 10, 2020

Fun!

Sad you missed out on the opportunity to play with your broomstick? Don’t worry, you don’t have to wait until February 10, 2021, because broomsticks can stand upright any day of the year!

That’s right: NASA — which reportedly never said anything to support the original tweet, btw — took to Twitter on Tuesday to burst everyone’s bubble.

Setting the record (and broomstick) straight, the agency posted a video showing astronaut Alvin Drew and scientist Sarah Noble proving the broomstick phenomenon has nothing to do with the planet’s gravitational pull on a certain day, nor the vernal equinox, writing:

“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.”

Ha! See their comprehensive demonstration (below):

???? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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

— NASA (@NASA) February 11, 2020

See, like most things in life, successfully setting a broomstick upright has everything to do with *balance*.

According to CNN (and, you know, the laws of physics), the center of gravity is low on a broom and rests directly over the bristles. So, if broomstick handlers are able to get the bristles positioned like a tripod, the broom will stand upright any day of the year.

Still not convinced? Do you still believe Mikaiylaaaaa over NASA and the laws of physics? Then try the #BroomstickChallenge for yourself and see what happens — then share your findings in the comments section (below)!

[Image via Warner Bros. Pictures]