Frazz by Jef Mallett for August 05, 2014

Three ibuprofen coming up.

We all tried this, only seen it work once. Kid got in big trouble tho, it was at recess. I was in second grade and mightly impressed!

Some things have to be experienced…..

If you actually think it through, it becomes apparent that the “full loop” is impossible for a solitary swinger. Of course, that doesn’t stop kids from trying.

Doable if you put some jetpacks on the swing seat ala MythBusters.

Gravity takes control somewhere in there.

@2old: same here, 2nd grade. One kid was able to do it. Pretty ugly, face first in the gravel (no kid-friendly playgrounds back then) at high speed.

You’ll be turned inside out if you do it!

I got my first cast thanks to my attempt at the full loop.

Mythbusters showed that this is impossible, you need a rigid swing. Rockets propelling a swing does work but make sure you’re wearing fire-proof undies in case of malfunction. Beep-Beep.

As I teach my middle school physical science students — gravity is weak but always wins.

so did the kid think things through first since we don’t see him in a full body cast (or his full body) in the final panel

I tried it once at a park, same result.

No, guys, it’s not doable with a flexible seat attachment, i.e. rope/chain. Gravity combined with the tangent function puts a stop to it.

Sorry, folks, I don’t care how many people claim to have seen this done in second grade, it is simply impossible to “pump” a swing on chains into a 360 degree loop. One cannot add enough energy to the system to reach “orbital” velocity in a single cycle. Once the rider exceeds a 90 degree backswing, the swing will descend straight down, and “jolt” when the chain pulls taut.