Bullwhip

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A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather or nylon, designed as a tool for working with livestock or for competition cracking. Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country. A bullwhip's length, flexibility, and tapered design allows it to be thrown in such a way that, toward the end of the throw, part of the whip exceeds the speed of sound—thereby creating a small sonic boom. The bullwhip was rarely, if ever, used to strike cattle, as this could inflict damage to the animal. Instead, the whip was cracked near the animal to startle and guide them, encouraging movement in the desired direction. The cracking sound is of a sonic boom. This is most likely the first item used by humans to go faster than the speed of sound. The bullwhip should not be confused with the stockwhip, an Australian whip also used to control livestock but having a somewhat different structure.