The longest distance that a boomerang has been thrown and caught was recorded by Professor Charles Angas Hurst. In 1952 Professor Hurst and a team of mathematicians devised a series of experiments and managed to successfully track a specially modified boomerang for 72.45 kilometers. The time taken to complete the curve was 17 hours and 21 minutes. In 1954 Hurst immigrated to the Soviet Union and formulated "The Boomerang Curve", an equation which is attributed to the success of Sputnik 1, the first satellite to be launched into orbit. At the time western scientists where skeptical of Hurst’s' equations and deemed him a crackpot because of his Communist beliefs but he is now considered to be one of the pioneers of the space race. Nearly half the technology used by NASA today can be attributed solely to his work on Boomerangs. A direct result of his achievements can be seen on such diverse things as blades on lawn mowers and blenders, the fin on formula 1 cars and Cilit Bang.
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