Does Toilet Water Swirl Differently in Each Hemisphere?

TL;DR

The direction of toilet water swirl is determined by the toilet's design, not the hemisphere. A controlled experiment confirmed the Coriolis effect, showing that water swirls counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere due to differences in velocity related to Earth's rotation.

Transcript

Hey it's me Destin. Welcome back to Smarter Every Day. Here's the deal. I've created a video in the northern hemisphere and Derek from Veritasium has created one in the south. You have to synchronize these two videos in order for this to make any sense but it's totally worth it if you do. So click the first link in the video description, get the vi... Read More

Key Insights

• 🚽 The direction of toilet swirl is determined by the design of the toilet, not the hemisphere.
• 🤽 The Coriolis effect, caused by the rotation of the Earth, plays a role in the direction of water swirl in both toilets and natural phenomena like hurricanes.
• 💦 The velocities of water near the equator and poles impact the direction of swirl, with faster-moving water near the equator and slower-moving water near the poles.

Questions & Answers

Q: Does the hemisphere you are in determine the direction of toilet swirl?

No, the direction of toilet swirl is determined by the design of the toilet, not the hemisphere. This myth has been debunked through a controlled experiment using a kiddy pool.

Q: What is the Coriolis effect?

The Coriolis effect is the deflection of moving objects caused by the rotation of the Earth. It explains why water swirls counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.

Q: How does the Coriolis effect impact hurricanes?

The Coriolis effect is responsible for the swirling motion of hurricanes in the northern hemisphere. The lower pressure at the center of a hurricane, similar to a drain, causes the hurricane to swirl in a counter-clockwise direction.

Q: Why do some toilets swirl in different directions?

The design of the toilet, specifically the jets within it, determines the direction of toilet swirl. This can vary from toilet to toilet, resulting in some toilets swirling clockwise and others counter-clockwise.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The swirl direction of toilets is determined by the design of the toilet, not the hemisphere.

• A controlled experiment using a kiddy pool in the garage shows that the Coriolis effect is real, causing water to swirl counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere.

• The velocities of water near the equator and poles play a role in the direction of swirl, similar to how hurricanes swirl in the northern hemisphere.