The science is now settled:
In the guys’ experiment, they each filled a kiddie pool with water. They didn’t want to just go off tubs and toilets—there are too many variables there. Toilets have jets in them that influence water flow, and no matter where you are on Earth, there will be toilets and sinks that drain clockwise, and others that flow counterclockwise.
Each kiddie pool was filled and allowed to sit for 24 hours. Then the guys pulled plugs from underneath each tub, dropped in some food coloring for visual aid, and waited with bated breath.
The results? Water did indeed drain counterclockwise in Alabama, and clockwise in Australia. As the Earth spins on its axis, it pulls water in different directions depending on where you are. We can see this in nature with the Coriolis Effect: hurricanes in the northern hemisphere spin counterclockwise, while the south’s cyclones whip clockwise.
So, yes, when you flush a toilet, the water rotates in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere than in the northern.
Ok, so if you had a toilet at the center of the earth….
… The toilet & everything in it would float in freefall.
Prove it… 🙂
Get out any decent beginning college physics text w/ calculus. It’s one of the standard problems that’s always used.
Free fall?
Free falling through space with the Earth. Surely you remember this problem, it’s a favorite of physics texts.
Ice,
I was making a joke – clearly a toilet at the center of the earth would be subsumed into the molten inner core and the water in the bowl would never have a chance to flush 😉