Is it true that in each hemisphere water goes in different directions in toilets???
348038
Yes the water circles down the drain differently in the Southern and Northern hemispheres, as do tornadoes.
649787
this is a fallacy.  The toilet doesn't flush in any particular order.  It's not big enough to experience the coriolis effect.  You can try your own experiment.  Flush your toilet 10 times and see which way the water goes.  So to answer your question, yes the toilet will flush on the equator, it's still subject gravity.
224113
The same reason toilets flush in counterclockwise rotation in the southern hemisphere, the rotation of the earth.
300739
I always thought that the water fell down the drain different directions in the world.  When I was watching Dr. Know the other night, he said that this myth was not true and it really doesn't matter where you are located in the world, it depends on how the drain is made.
668041
Large scale flows depend on the Coriolis effect, which make the motion turn differently in each hemisphere. Therefore cyclones, hurricanes (though they are rare in southern hemisphere) and such events turn clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. As the spatial scale diminishes, the Coriolis effect loses importance. For tornadoes, for instance, it is still sufficient to make 98% of them to turn clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. But, in 2% of the cases they turn differently.\nDust devils are small enough so that they can turn either way, independently of hemisphere.\nOf course, the water flowing down your sink is a very small-scale process. Coriolis effect makes no difference in that case.\nTherefore, it can go either way, both in Australia and in North America, depending only on the sink geometry.
464076
it really doesn't matter which direction but it's different for a woman coz the risk of getting an infection is greater for them if they wipe back to front. The dirt might get into their urethral meatus (the openning where the urine comes out), Now if you want the best answer, it should be front to back.
322179
From SPACE.COM:\n\nBack home, all of this has almost nothing to do with your bathtub drain, which creates another spiral shape.\n\nThere is a popular myth, though, owing to the rotational direction of a hurricane, that says the water in bathtubs rotates a certain direction in the Northern Hemisphere.\n\nIt's not true.\n\nThe Coriolis effect does not determine which way the water swirls in your house. The effect is too tiny to impact such a minor, localized process, all experts agree.\n\nThat means water is free to swirl in either direction in tubs in both hemispheres. Which way it goes is determined by the geometry of a particular basin or, if things are perfectly aligned and balanced, then by chance.
183794
It's not true. The phenomenon is true but you would need massive amounts of water to see it and the toilet , sink and bathtub doesn't suffice.
945495
The idea that water drains counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern hemisphere is wrong. It is a popular misconception, and is based on something called the "coriolis force", which is kind of complicated to explain, but has to do with the spinning of the earth. It is true that the coriolis force would influence a liquid in the direction it drains, but the force is TINY compared to the other forces present in the liquid. The way water drains - whether clockwise or counter clockwise - is based mainly on the intial direction of the water in the container, not whether it is in the northern or southern hemisphere. So in short, at the equator, it will drain in either direction, depending on the initial direction! Hope this helps!
462363
It only depends on the local position of the toilet.\nThe coriolis force is not involved here.
730145
Yes\nIn the northern hemisphere propellers must rotate clockwise and in the southern hemisphere counter clockwise, reversing the direction causes the plane to fly backwards.\n\nThis is known as Coriolis force.\n\nIf a plane travelled from Wellington New Zealand to London (roughly opposite points of the globe) a passenger will notice that their money is worth less, conversely if a passenger travelled from London to Wellington they would notice their money is worth more, this is due to the principle of the conservation of energy.
1085876
A london sewer flusher apparently said it according to this article. \nhttp://www.slate.com/id/2139945/entry/2139950/
429484
yes. it goes in the direction that you go.
741307
Episodes of the Simpsons and urban legend have it that the spin of flushed water is determined by the hemisphere one is in, presumably because cyclones, hurriances, and other large-scale forces of nature spin in opposite directions in opposite hemispheres.\n\nUnfortunately the force that makes hurricanes and cyclones spin in opposite directions (the Coriolis force) operates on a very large scale, over thousands of miles in fact. The forces that determine whether the toilet flushes clockwise or counter-clockwise are a function of the toilet, no more, no less. The Coriolis force does not operate on such small scales as the whole manifestation of its effect is seen due to the difference in rotation between two points on Earth that are far apart.\n\nSo the answer to your question is "Depends on the toilet", nothing else.
68065
It's due to the rotation of the Earth - specifically the Coriolis Effect. See http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result?p=Coriolis+Effect\n\nMy answer assumes you have a circular toilet which drains right down the middle and recieves no directional impulse from the water flowing in ;-). ie. Under strict controlled conditions, you can make water spin in opposite directions as it drains through a hole.
1073455
No, you've got it backwards, it flushes counter-clockwiswe above the equator, and clockwise below. Right on the equator should flush counter-clockwise as well.
579279
The Corolis effect will have no influence on a thing as small as a sink. The direction the water turns depends whether the water has a slight circular motion already due to filling. It also depends on the shape and direction of the drain.\nI live near the equator and I can assure you the water does not go straight down.