Water draining south of the equator

Factual Questions
1

I was surprised that I couldn’t find this in a seach of these boards, and it’s something that I suddenly feel the need to know.

We’ve all heard about how water drains in the opposite direction (i.e. down a sink), in the southern hemisphere than it does in the north. But I’ve never heard a first-hand report or sighting of this alleged phenomenon. Is this fact or fiction? Was my high school physics teacher wrong about this, too? :dubious:

2

You should search Cecil’s columns instead.

Cecil: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_161

Also Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.htm
And Bad Meteorology: http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html

3

Ahh. Thanks so much. I KNEW it should have been covered SOMEWHERE!

4

The key word to search is “Coriolis.” This is the effect that the drain or toilet example is used to explain. And, yes, your physics teacher was wrong. I mean, what happened to empirical testing? In my flat, my research shows that the kitchen sink drains clockwise, the bathtub counter-clockwise leading to the conclusion that either my physics teacher was also wrong, or that the equator bisects my apartment (in Budapest.)

But the Coriolis effect does exist, noticeable over large systems. See bibliophage’s links.