#BroomChallenge: You can actually stand a broom up anytime during the year

Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read

A new trend is "sweeping" the nation, and unfortunately, it's based on faulty science.

The "Broom Challenge" came from a viral tweet that claimed NASA had said Monday was the only day a broom could stand on its own because of the Earth’s gravitational pull.

There hasn't been any evidence to support the claim that NASA made this announcement. The agency didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

The tweet was accompanied by a video shot from a woman’s point of view as she delicately stood a broom up and watched as it balanced by itself.

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“Oh my god!” she exclaims in the video. “No strings, nothing.”

The tweet was shared almost 50,000 times and prompted others to record themselves as they attempted the broom challenge.

Even celebrities and sports teams alike got into the broom challenge groove and shared their videos on Twitter.

Paul Sutter, astrophysicist and author of "Your Place in the Universe," says that this fun party trick can be done anytime during the year at any point of the day.

"I hate to be that astronomer, but the planets don't care about your broom," he told USA TODAY on Tuesday.

The trick has less to do with the Earth’s gravitational pull on a certain day and more to do with the object’s center of gravity. Brooms have a low center of gravity, which allows them to balance effortlessly on their bristles, he explained.

The debunked broom challenge is also nothing new. The myth of the magic broom has circulated as early as 2012 and seems to surface every year during the spring equinox, also known as the vernal equinox, according to a CNN video. This year, the spring equinox isn't until March 19.

However, there is a special occurrence happening in our solar system this year, Sutter said. In February, Earth is sharing the same side of the solar system as five other planets in a planetary alignment, making them more visible to the human eye.

Stargazers can point out Mercury and Venus right after sunset and Mars, Jupiter and Saturn right before sunrise.

"When you're done balancing your room, you can go outside and see five planets in the sky at night," he said.

Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Broom challenge or broom hoax? Truth about Earth's gravitational pull