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Boomerang can be returning or non returning . Etymology in both the language of Dharwal and in English indicate it has been used from the start to include non
by manquer 1y ago
Boomerang can be returning or non returning .
Etymology in both the language of Dharwal and in English indicate it has been used from the start to include non returning ones as well.
there has been strong efforts to make it only to returning ones (official competitions do not allow throwing sticks for example ) the inclusive use however is still quite active .
Webster defines it explicitly without the return part (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boomerang https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boomerang) other dictionaries define it differently
If the definition is unambiguous it would be an oxymoron, but isn’t so.
In the era of attention grabbing headlines to survive even for the BBC it is quite natural the editor or author wanted to use a catchy title , but it isn’t oxymoronic
- grconner 1y agoQ: Then why not just call it a "throwing stick" and move on? A: Because throwing sticks that return are cooler than those that don't. Analysis: Click bait.
- manquer 1y agoIt is also quite cool that proto-boomerangs were designed for flight characteristics and actively being used as long as 42,000 years ago. Not all throwing sticks are the same, these early sticks glided some distance, they are not same as spear which is what comes to most people's mind when you describe them as throwing sticks. If the bar for click bait is so low, then we should only read peer-reviewed, edited academic journals which are not top tier (i.e. not Science/Nature etc) for driest factual titles.