This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Working Title: Loyal Boomerangs: From YKTTW
Hollow49: Actually, in real life there also exists the hinting boomerang, a weapon which follows a straight path - you do not want a hunting boomerang to come back and hit you! (The reason a boomerang follows a curved path is because one side is curved and the other flat, making an aerofoil - curve both sides and it flies straight.)
thatother1dude: yeah, in real life the boomerangs that come back are only used for sport and the ones that were used for hunting were too heavy to have come back anyway
I also agree the quote "Boomerang! You do always come back!" should be used as well.
A real life boomerang is simply a stick carved in such a way as to follow a curved flightpath when thrown. Throw it properly, and the boomerang will curve back on its course and return to its point of origin. Fun, but useless as a weapon; It's too light to inflict any real damage to the target, and too difficult to throw accurately. There's also another kind specifically designed as a hunting weapon which isn't designed to return to the user, mainly because it should be stuck in something's rib cage. Fun, but useless as a weapon; It's too light to inflict any real damage to the target, and too difficult to throw accurately.
T Beholder: Modern "sports & entertainment" models are light, yes. Otherwise Your Mileage May Vary — that's not lethal, but knee trauma is rather common when beginners try real thing (i.e. wooden, not plastic).
St Fan: I wonder if the comedic "Hapless sod throw boomerang thinking he's getting rid of it, but it come back to clonk him on the head" (like with the Blackadder or Discworld examples) wouldn't a trope in itself, separate from all the other magical boomerang examples on the page.
- Or maybe a variant of Boomerang Comeback.
