why does race cars and horses go counterclock wise and water and toilets go clockwise?

Answer 1

On the other side of the equator water in toilets goes counter clockwise.

Answer 2

Race cars follow the tradition of the horses. The horses go counterclockwise because you always get on a horse on the left side. After a while, the legs on the left end up shorter than the right side, so it's easier for the horse to always turn left.
Water doesn't always go clockwise. It simply follows the forces acted on it, such as gravity and acceleration, or bouncing off objects. Toilets, on the other hand, don't go clockwise or counterclockwise. At least not the ones in my house. They are bolted to the floor. If it's mounted inside an RV, then it depends if the RV is turning right or left.

Answer 3

From Answerbag.com:

"In the case of American horse racing the reason has less to do with physics and much more to do with politics. In 1780, the first circular US race track was established by William Whitley near his home in Lincoln County, Kentucky. A staunch supporter of the Revolution, Whitley insisted that horses race counterclockwise, as opposed to clockwise as was the custom at the time in England. While some race tracks were slow to adapt (Belmont racetrack in NY actually ran clockwise until 1921), now all racetracks in the US follow Whitney's patriotic tradition. God bless America and the Kentucky Derby!"

And I guess the cars are chasing the horses (LOL!).

Actually, here is one of several answers from FAQFarm :

"Not all tracks are counter clockwise, but every NASCAR oval track has only left turns, because the drivers sit on that side of the car. The drivers generally try to keep to the inside of the track (because it is a shorter distance around the track) So by making all left turns, the drivers can better see what is going on around them. " Check the 2nd link for more answers on cars.

As to the sink and toilet, no, they are NOT affected by Coriolis effects -- check the last link for full details, including how this is faked, constantly, on TV, etc. -- they are too small for that to have any effect. From "Bad Coriolis":

"The Coriolis force is so small, that it plays no role in determining the direction of rotation of a draining sink anymore than it does the direction of a spinning CD."


Hope this helps!!

Answer 4

The first two are by choice and the last two have to do with the spinning of the earth. I am sure race cars and horses could go clockwise if they wanted to race that way.

Answer 5

Interesting.I had to check first to make sure that the water leaves the sink counterclockwise.It must have something to do with earth rotation but what I do not understand is the fact that both hemispheres turn in the same direction.So why would there be a difference.This calls for more study.

Answer 6

'cos turds aren't aero-dynamic, they are aqua-dynamic and those little midgets in horses and race cars are!

And it's just easier and more fun to watch a car or a horse go counterclockwise, than the toilet!

Plus, south of the equator, your theory doesn't work, Ha!

Answer 7

in the southern hemisphere, water goes the other way

Answer 8

depends on where you live

Answer 9

bet she's bored, too

Answer 10

wow your ARE board !!