A place for the discussion of all things not closely related to the sport and its competitive side. (Locked down several times a year during the major championships)
<<32. A statue of Adm. Nelson, who commanded the British fleet that destroyed the combined French and Spanish fleets near Cape Trafalgar, Spain, in 1805. Nelson died in the battle.>>
<<35. At its deepest point, the Mariana Trench is about 36,000 feet below sea level. The summit of Everest is a bit over 29,000 feet above sea level.>>
<<37. The Orient Express. A private company, Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Ltd., occasionally operates a luxury excursion train along the same route.>>
<<40. Alas, no. The Coriolis Effect, created by the Earth's rotation, causes hurricanes and ocean currents to rotate clockwise south of the equator and counterclockwise north of it, but sinks, bathtubs and swimming pools are far too small to be affected.>>
I've read this in various places too. But I swear, the first thing I did the first time I was in Oz was flush the toilet, and I sure remember its going the other way!
gh wrote:<<40. Alas, no. The Coriolis Effect, created by the Earth's rotation, causes hurricanes and ocean currents to rotate clockwise south of the equator and counterclockwise north of it, but sinks, bathtubs and swimming pools are far too small to be affected.>>
I've read this in various places too. But I swear, the first thing I did the first time I was in Oz was flush the toilet, and I sure remember its going the other way!
Didn't know that either . . .
wiki wrote:Because the Earth completes only one rotation per day, the Coriolis force is quite small, and its effects generally become noticeable only for motions occurring over large distances and long periods of time, such as large-scale movement of air in the atmosphere or water in the ocean.
gh wrote:<<40. Alas, no. The Coriolis Effect, created by the Earth's rotation, causes hurricanes and ocean currents to rotate clockwise south of the equator and counterclockwise north of it, but sinks, bathtubs and swimming pools are far too small to be affected.>>
I've read this in various places too. But I swear, the first thing I did the first time I was in Oz was flush the toilet, and I sure remember its going the other way!
DOH!
From our friend Wiki:
water rotation in home bathrooms under normal circumstances is not related to the Coriolis effect or to the rotation of the earth, and no consistent difference in rotation direction between toilets in the northern and southern hemispheres can be observed. The formation of a vortex over the plug hole may be explained by the conservation of angular momentum: The radius of rotation decreases as water approaches the plug hole so the rate of rotation increases, for the same reason that an ice skater's rate of spin increases as they pull their arms in. Any rotation around the plug hole that is initially present accelerates as water moves inward. Only if the water is so still that the effective rotation rate of the earth (once per day at the poles, once every 2 days at 30 degrees of latitude) is faster than that of the water relative to its container, and if externally applied torques (such as might be caused by flow over an uneven bottom surface) are small enough, the Coriolis effect may determine the direction of the vortex. Without such careful preparation, the Coriolis effect may be much smaller than various other influences on drain direction,[31] such as any residual rotation of the water[32] and the geometry of the container.[33] Despite this, the idea that toilets and bathtubs drain differently in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres has been popularized by several television programs, including The Simpsons episode "Bart vs. Australia" and The X-Files episode "Die Hand Die Verletzt".[34] Several science broadcasts and publications, including at least one college-level physics textbook, have also stated this.[35][36]
gh wrote:<<39. Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii. Also, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.>>
And a chunk of Indiana, I think.
' Whoa! The true answer to this is brilliant! I can rememer when Indiana was a non-observer, but as of 2006 the whole state is. But...... There's a chunk of counties which obey state law, but simply operate in a different time zone! So Indiana remains split. Good data here:
gh wrote:<<39. Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii. Also, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.>>
And a chunk of Indiana, I think.
' Whoa! The true answer to this is brilliant! I can rememer when Indiana was a non-observer, but as of 2006 the whole state is. But...... There's a chunk of counties which obey state law, but simply operate in a different time zone! So Indiana remains split. Good data here:
