If you live on the equator, when you flush the toilet which way does the water rotate going down the toilet?

Question

Ok, living in the northern hemisphere, I know that when you flush the toilet or let the water drain out of the bath, the water rotates counterclockwise as it is funneled down the drain. I also know that in the southern hemisphere the water goes down counterclockwise.

What happens at the equator?

As an added bonus question, what would happen if you were flying in a commercial jet OVER the equator and you flushed the toilet at that exact moment. Would the water change directions?

pardon, I meant that I know in the southern hemisphere it goes down Clockwise.

Answer 1

First, the whole premise of your question is wrong. The Coriolis force is insignificant on the sizes and time scales of toilets and bath tubs. How the water goes down the toilet drain depends mostly on how the toilet is designed, so if you moved across the equator and brought your favorite toilet with you, it would flush the same way. On large enough scales you start to see Coriolis effects, and for things like the trade winds, you see a nice smooth transition from north of the equator to south of the equator. Although it's unlikely that a hurricane will cross the equator, there are no doubt times when waterspouts have crossed the equator, and when they did you can rest assured that they just kept spinning the same way--things don't necessarily have to be in geostrophic balance, they can be in cyclostrophic balance.

Answer 2

Actually, none of those things that you "know" are actually true. The water rotates in the direction that it does because of the shape of the toilet bowl or the bathtub, not because of the rotation of the Earth. The same toilet will flush in the same direction regardless of what hemisphere it is in.

As a bonus answer, since the hemisphere is irrelevant, the water won't change direction as you go over the equator.

This whole thing is a myth. Try it yourself, sometime.

Answer 3

The Coriolis force affects bodies of water on the scale of hundreds and thousands of kilometers, not toilet bowl scale. So it will flush in whatever direction it's design causes it to flush in.

Answer 4

I don't think it matters whether it goes goes clockwise or counterclockwise, as long as the water goes down. If it goes up, then you've got a problem and something to think about. Like, "HEY HONEY, WHERE'S THE TOILET SHUT OFF VALVE??? I NEED TO KNOW QUICKLY, REAL QUICKLY!!!!!!"

Answer 5

I thought the water went up the toilet if you were on the equator.

<:-|

Answer 6

It doesn't matter where you are on the earth. The water spins the same way.