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For all the people in Australia/South of the Equator.
- Thread starter Xander562
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I'm not below the Equator, but the answer is no...the direction of swirl is determined by the direction from which the water enters the toilet bowl. That has many orders of magnitude more effect than the Earth's rotation.
Edit: My toilet here in California swirls counter-clockwise.
Edit: My toilet here in California swirls counter-clockwise.
I can confirm this. I've seen water drain both clockwise and anti-clockwise here - it depends on the type of drain/direction of the water flow.WildCowboy said:
We live 15 minutes from the Equator. This has been addressed from time to time in various, past threads. It's called the Corriolis Force. While true that toilet shapes and mechanics will influence the flow, weather patterns are probably a better observation of how things swirl in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Yes, water will flow the other way south of the equator. However, the direction at which the water comes down from the toilet is more important. Australian toilets don't use up as much water as Canadian toilets, and I think flushes downwards rather than in a circular path.
yeah, we have 6 and 3 litre flushes, and i believe Canadians have 12 litre flushes. *waits for someone to make a smart reply...*Abstract said:
I think my toilet water tends to just move around a lot rather than spin. i think my sink goes anti-clockwise, though.
Xander562 said:OK so i've always been kinda curious, Does the toilet-water really swirl the other direction when you flush? I've never been south of the equator to try. Up here it flushes clockwise.
i'm from virginia, but i tested this out when i was in melbourne last fall. it definitely doesn't make a difference. the myth says that its related to the coriolis effect, but the coriolis effect is something quite different.
I tested this many years ago on a cruise ship in the Pacific,one day either side of the Equator didn't make any difference which way water swirled from bath.Those who mention toilet bowl design being a major influence are right correct design a very complex thing for toilet bowls.
I tried this once when I went to the US. I filled up the sink and let the water settle, then drained it. In the US is went anticlockwise and here it goes clockwise
Nermal said:I tried this once when I went to the US. I filled up the sink and let the water settle, then drained it. In the US is went anticlockwise and here it goes clockwise
Hmm! some disparity in experiment results,maybe a Macrumors large double blind study is necessary.
Scarlet Fever said:
Yeah but those 3 and 6 litres come into the bowl at a great rate of knots, rather than the slow fill and drain of US/Canadian toilets that overflow all the time. I have never, ever seen a toilet overflow here.
Much less water in the bottom of the bowl as well, the short drop and soft landing of a US/Canadian toilet is quite strange when first encountered, as is the tidal wave of splashback.
I HATE US/Canadian toilets.
Chundles said:
Toilets in the EU have to have long/short flushes nowadays as well. I can't stand German/Dutch toilets with that weird shelf in them. A good solid poo just stays put when you try to flush it away.
Scarlet Fever said:
Oh those wasteful Canadians... shame on them. They should really get with the times!
-"angry" Canadian
Peterkro said:Hmm! some disparity in experiment results,maybe a Macrumors large double blind study is necessary.
Most of the results above say that it depends which way the water was moving in the first place. That's why I let the water settle before draining.
The water goes round the same way, always opposite to the rotation of the Earth. From a Northern hemisphere perspective, Southern hemisphere observers are seeing the spiral from below, and vice versa. Therefore the water appears to be flowing down the plughole in different directions for each of them, but it's really where the observer is standing that makes the difference.
I also believe the effect is more pronounced the further you are from the Equator. On the Equator itself the effect should be virtually zero.
I also believe the effect is more pronounced the further you are from the Equator. On the Equator itself the effect should be virtually zero.
I had my very first hand experience with those crazy German toilet seat cleaners. What fun that was. reminded me of Lexx and its tounge cleaner toilet.
I also don't like our U.S. standard toilets that use way too much water and give , sometimes very unpleasent bottom spashes.
I also don't like our U.S. standard toilets that use way too much water and give , sometimes very unpleasent bottom spashes.
