Yesterday was a very crazy day. My neighbor called and told me that someone had received a text saying that "the planets are all aligned" and that if you stood a broom up it would stand upright all by itself. I thought she was pulling my leg when she told me hers had been standing alone all morning in the middle of her kitchen. I was in the car on my way to pick up Brady from school but could not wait to get home to try it out. When we got home and it actually worked, we were pretty amazed! The planets must really be aligned! We all posted pictures on our facebook pages informing all our "friends" in facebookland of this phenomenon.
Here is Jan's broom standing in her kitchen...
And Jennifer's
And Jennifer's 
And Amanda's
Quiet freaky to see. I googled "standing broom" and didn't find many concrete answers. CNN even did a story on the mystery of a broom standing alone at a consignment shop. One physic's college professor said that the broom bristles are strong enough to hold it up. Some said it was a ghost...or electricity...the vernal equinox...the list goes on...I decided to do some investigaion on this "broom" mystery. I asked some of my "smartest" friends I know.
My neighbor, Mark, told me that the broom stands on its bristles because they’re stiff enough to support it with its center of gravity within the footprint of the bristles. There is nothing magical about that. Some people think you can stand an egg on its end during the vernal equinox. The day has nothing to do with it. Which means "no aligned planets".
My neighbor, Mark, told me that the broom stands on its bristles because they’re stiff enough to support it with its center of gravity within the footprint of the bristles. There is nothing magical about that. Some people think you can stand an egg on its end during the vernal equinox. The day has nothing to do with it. Which means "no aligned planets".
I also emailed a very smart source who said that it has nothing to do with any gravitational pull but that it's about the very low center of balance on a broom. If you try to balance a broom on your finger - it's roughly only an inch up from the bristles. When you look at everything above that point, it SEEMS like a lot, but in reality, the base is wide and heavy, and the top is light and narrow.
So, there you have it folks...You science lesson for the day...Thanks Mark and Asia!:-)
Mystery Solved.............................................or is it?????????????? HEEEEEHEEEEEEEEHEEEEE (witches cackling)
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