Tie a rock to the end of a piece of ribbon, then spin it over your head. It will be pulled taut as the rock circles about. Now, imagine a ribbon 62,000 miles long, anchored near the equator with a weight on the other end. The centrifugal force of the earth's rotation will make it behave the same way. You'll end up with not only the world's biggest nunchuck, but also a kind of elevator to outer space.
You see them all the time in Martial Arts movies. It's a pretty poor metaphor here though as it consistes of two cylindrical pieces of wood or metal joined by a short chain.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
