A brush with magic! Gravity-defying viral challenge sees brooms stand upright on their bristles WITHOUT support (but the trick is surprisingly straightforward)
- So-called broom challenge first emerged several years ago but is back online
- People are able to make brooms stand on their bristles without any support
- Paul Abdul, Jason Derulo and other celebrities shared their clips on social media
- The trick is surprisingly simple and involves the broom’s centre of gravity
Social media users are making brooms stand upright on their bristles as part of an online trend.
The so-called broom challenge first emerged several years ago but is enjoying a resurgence thanks to a fresh viral tweet – and plenty of celebrity support.
Twitter and Instagram users from around the world have shared photos and clips of their brooms standing up as if by magic.
When the challenge first swept the internet almost a decade ago, NASA got in on the joke by claiming it works thanks to a temporary shift in ‘the gravitational field’. However the reality is that the trick is surprisingly simple.
Singer Paula Abdul tried her hand at the Broom Challenge and succeeded, doing a little victory dance around the broom. The challenge consists in finding the perfect balance for a broom to stand by itself
Music producer and rapper DJ Khaled tried the challenged at home, calling it the ‘broom theory’
Singer Jason Derulo called the trick ‘insane’ and ‘crazy’ after he tried the challenge at home (pictured)
Users simply need to place the broom head down on its bristles and manoeuvre the handle to the point where it begins to stand on its own.
This works because the broom’s centre of gravity shifts to the base of the handle on top of the bristles, allowing the broom to balance.
The most recent round of broom challenge tweets was sparked by Twitter user ‘MK’, from Washington D.C.
She tweeted: ‘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!’
Countless celebrities, including Paula Abdul, DJ Khaled and Jason Derulo attempted the feat and shared their own video on social media.
As more people tried the challenge for themselves, a group of friends tried it with three brooms in as supermarket
Jason Derulo, who also tried the trick at home and shared the result with fans on Instagram said: ‘Broom is standing by itself, bro. Is this s*** as crazy to you as it is to me? This s*** is insane.’
Thousands of other social media users have also shared their clips. A woman and her friends decided to up the ante by balancing three brooms at the same time in the aisle of a supermarket.
Some building workers had fun on the job and managed to balance a broom on an industrial lift suspended in the air.
All were amazed by their results. Those who failed said those who had succeeded were ‘witches’ or had magic brooms.
A group of workers had some fun on the job and balanced a broom on an industrial lift, mid-air (pictured)
Some said the challenge was witchcraft, but it has all to do with finding the broom’s center of gravity