NASA Did The Viral Broom Challenge And Explains Why It’s A Hoax

A recent viral challenge has got many people picking up their broom again. The broom challenge had it that a supposed gravitational pull has made it possible to make a broom stand up on its own only on February 10th.

But the viral #BroomChallenge that said to have backing from NASA has been proven to be another pseudoscience. NASA stood up to the challenge once and for all. In their tweet, NASA wrote, “Basic physics works every day of the year.”

It began with Twitter user @mikaiylaaaaa who wrote, “Okay so NASA said today was the only day a broom can stand up on its own because of the gravitational pull.” She then pulls out a broom and showed how it’s done. The tweet gained 67,000 retweets with over 293,000 likes with many other users replying to their own broom challenge.

Speaking to Insider, NASA explains, “This is another social media hoax that exemplifies how quickly pseudoscience and false claims can go viral. While this hoax was harmless, it also shows why it’s important for all of us to do some fact-checking and research – including checking in with @NASA and NASA.gov for real science fun facts – before jumping into the latest viral craze.”

Singer Paula Abdul tried her hand at the Broom Challenge

Music producer and rapper DJ Khaled tried the challenged at home