Tag Archives: counter clockwise

Are You A Drain Detective?

TOILET

Have you ever been to the Southern Hemisphere? Maybe you’ve visited relatives in Australia or been on holidays in Thailand?

Did you see that the water spins down the drain differently to home?

No?

Well it does! In the Northern Hemisphere water goes down the drain counter clockwise, but in the Southern Hemisphere water washes down clockwise. Next time you’re near a sink watch the water swirl down the drain hole and see if you can tell which direction the water is going!

Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere toilets!

Why Does it Do This?

It is because of the Coriolis Effect, an effect French scientist Gaspard Gustav de Coriolis discovered. He found out that the earth’s rotation around the sun will make water go in different directions

Did you know?

It’s not just water that goes in opposite directions! If you were in outer space and looked at the earth from the Northern Hemisphere the world would be spinning counter clockwise, but if you looked at the world from the Southern Hemisphere it would be spinning clockwise! Wow!