Standing broom phenomenon is not magic, it's just science

Another day, another hoax sweeping the internet. This time, people are trying to fool you into believing that something unique about the Earth's gravity is allowing brooms to stand up on their own.

Gravity isn't a spell from the wizarding world of Harry Potter. It's a constant, measurable force first publicized by Issac Newton in 1687.

Yet online, some people have been trying to convince others that something special about Earth's gravity in this moment is allowing brooms to stand on their own. Like this Twitter user, who said, "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!"

And sorry to break it to you, but NASA did not say this would happen, no matter what the internet says. We asked them. NASA experts have gone on record saying the hoax is simply not true.

The truth is, brooms are sentient beings that can stand and walk all on their own - no wait, that's not right. The actual truth is that brooms have a low center of gravity which lets them be balanced on their bristles any day of the week.

Go ahead. Try it yourself.

This broom stand hoax has been around for several years. It often pops up around the vernal equinox, or the first day of spring, with people incorrectly claiming that the spring equinox does something special to Earth's gravitational pull, allowing the broom standing trick to work.