Mythbuster: Do Toilets in Australia Flow Backwards?

[t6a9m]

This isn't the Coriolis effect. It's the Crapiola effect. Water rotation in homes in sinks, baths etc under normal circumstances is NOT due to the Coriolis effect. No discernible consistent difference in the rotation of draining water between the N and S hemispheres can be observed. Despite what Bart Simpson did.

[Adonnus100]

The title should be: Mythbuster: Do Toilets in America Flow Backwards?

[nvlaxerg54]

Sounds like Kevin from the office.... "wow"

[moabfool]

Here's the problem, it's actually backwards. In the northern hemisphere toilets are supposed to flush CCW, in the southern hemisphere they're supposed to flush CW. It's the same reason that a low-pressure storm in the northern hemisphere rotates CCW, and in the southern hemisphere a low-pressure storm rotates CW. Scientifically, in the northern hemisphere the flow goes down the pressure gradient and to the right, and in the southern hemisphere the flow goes down the gradient and to the left.

[moabfool]

To make things even more confusing, in a toilet or a sink that force can be reverse. Next time the water is running out of the tub try to get the vortex to spin the other direction. You can get water to swirl CW in the northern hemisphere and CCW in the southern hemisphere without much effort.

[tampicokeed]

@moabfool NO!! toilet water will turn the direction the manufacturers caused it to turn. The water in most toilets is forced to turn in one direction by aiming the water jets in one direction. That astronomically overpowers anything the coriolis effect may do.

Dont quite understand ur statemnt "its actually backwards" though. An object veers to the right(in th N). Objects around a vortex, all heading toward the vortex, and all turnng right would obviously set up a CCW flow around th center

[Ecksss]

Did you guys really fly to Australia for this reason?

[maroonloo]

There is a coriolis effect, but it is nowhere near strong enough to determin the way the water spins in the toilet or sink, in the toilet the direction it spins is determined by the rim jet angle, and in the sink it's due to the way the water comes fro mthe tap into the basin, it can spin any way in the sink.

[buttmanroad]

How does the Sewer Work? Does it go uphill in Australia? LMAO!!

[Fileaxx]

I wonder if cyclones and typhoons rotate in opposite direction

[SirKemodero]

Looka likw clockwise first then counter

[jsf926]

Water drains the wrong way in the southern hemisphere

[FranticMydlo]

I want to mercy kill myself. How can it be a myth? I can believe there could be a myth that a universal constant effects water in the same way, arbitrarily spinning it on one direction, and that people can be so inherently stupid to believe it. Physics isn't a myth.

[EssentialPedagogy]

The problem is that only slow systems, or large systems, are influenced by the spin of the earth. A toilet, or sink, is too small and too quick to drain to be influenced by anything but the hand of the person pulling the plug, the shape of the sink or the toilet, etc.

[genjomani]

why the fuck are people going into scientific arguments about this in the comments??? seriously its a freakin toilet !!

[RedTailedTuna]

fail go back to australia and go to another toiletand try again

[origamishishou]

dude there are no toilets in australia that have spinning water unless they're are imported (the spinny ones throw miniscule droplets of toilet water everywhere). Besides you can change the direction of the spin easliy by slooshing it the other way. when i was a kid i used to do that everytime the bath was draining.

[Mrfisterization]

Only US toilets are retarded

[Jcliveshere]

you mean the US toilets flow backwards? :P ahha

[defghui]

@Jcliveshere flow upwards?

[amirul264]

wow I didn't even look at my toilet after I flush 0.0

[3rdPower]

RE: @Kakayashi...Thanks bro! Good stuff there and I appreciate the quick explanation.

[kakayashi]

This is not a myth.. it's proven scientifically, it is called the coriolis force.. it's a fictitious force created by the rotation of the earth as we are in a rotating frame of reference.. i can show equations regarding this force but it wont be trivial. The force causes rotation counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. It is the same force that causes hurricanes.. Another example of a fictitious force would be the centrifugal force.. Physics student

[canadiandude1919]

@kakayashi here's a question, consider the change in the longitude (vertical i think) would be small, and from what very little i understand about the topic, isn't the effect due to the fact that the points closer to the poles actually move slower than the equator? We are talking about a distance of less than a metre causing such drastic rotational spin. Sorry i am a little skeptical that the only contributing factor to this is the coriolis effect, but i can't think of anything else... engineer

[kakayashi]

@canadiandude1919 if you are and engineer perhaps u will understand it right away by reading thru this.. it is true coriolis force is VERY tiny compared to the centrifugal force ( another form of factious force which causes TWO HIGH TIDES in a day) but the coriolis force is the one that caused HURRICANES ! and look under "Draining in bathtubs and toilets" it explains in quite well with experimental evidence.

heres the link : htt p:/ /en. wikipe dia.o rg/wik i/ Coriolis _fo rce

(close gaps)

[captain150]

@kakayashi But the coriolis effect is not significant at the scale of toilets or sinks. The rotation in a toilet is primarily influenced by the shape and direction of the jets in the rim of the toilet.

[kakayashi]

@captain150 please read all my comments.. it is true that the jets has more effect on it however in the video it shoots from the middle allowing coriolis force to be dominant...

[Turgorful]

@kakayashi "Fictitious"?? F=MA, Kay. The water definitely has mass and is definitely being accelerated within the reference frame. Where's the fiction?

[Dinoenthusiastguy]

@kakayashi The Coriolis effect actually only influences large spirals, like hurricanes, thunderstorms, and high pressure cells. It has no effect on toilets or sinks; at that scale it is too weak. It went counter-clockwise here because there is a 50-50 chance that it would.

[the1whoB34T5]

@kakayashi What if your on a plane from us to australia and then would it suddenly switch while your in the middle of going over there?

[Krafted06]

@the1whoB34T5 The Coriolis effect at the equator is said to be near zero, so you the spin could be either clockwise or anticlockwise, it would be purely chance.

[darknessb930]

@kakayashi Epic Winning -Charlie Sheen

[Username93611]

@kakayashi

The coriolis force exists. It is not anywhere near strong enough to cause water to rotate different ways in different hemispheres. It has everything to do with plumbing and the shape of the opening, and almost nothing to do with the coriolis force. You're a student, not an expert. That was proper labeling.

[tampicokeed]

@Username93611 U r 99.9% correct lol.People hav used tub drain tests 2 handily show the effect but it has 2 b a very controlld time consuming test.(remember a system as small as a swinging pendulm can ably show th effect) Also one could maybe use the internet to demonstrat th effect in tubs and sinks (not toilets), but i think human nature may mess with that experiment--(i leave th details of that test up 2 u)

[a1rh3add]

@kakayashi I think you may need to go back to school.

[charlesvan13]

@kakayashi

No. It is much too weak to have an effect on a toilet or sink. The direction of the water will depend on the toilet bowl shape.

Just think about it. The coriolis force is due to the toilet rotating, on the earth. But it is rotating at half the speed of the hour hand on a clock, 15deg an hour.

[jetdaved]

@kakayashi The Coriolis force will not affect the rotation of the water in an experiment such as this. If you know the equations then you should know how small the Coriolis force is in this experiment. In reality the direction of rotation is determined by many other factors, such as disturbance of the water, shape of the sink, etc. which are all far more important than the Coriolis force.

[whirl89]

Flow Backwards? doesnt it mean the water should come up from the toilet? XD troololo

[whirl89]

Flow Backwards? doesnt it mean the water should come up from the toilet? XD

[xdragon2k]

The big question is which direction does it swirl when it's exactly in the equator. Or does it not swirl at all?

[paulmag91]

@xdragon2k If you flush a toilet exactly at equator it creates a black hole.

[d3t0x22]

your a dumbass fuss0200

[mixton311]

wow seriously wow.

[mixton311]

wow seriously wow.

[fuss0200]

Australia is on the other side of the would so it will still be spinning the same a usa

[MrSweetmore]

its the size and shape that orients direction not other ends of the planet how did i get hear wtf?

[koiuki2]

it depends what type of flush you put it on in austrailia

[kawasaki2948]

most toilets in aus don't turn. they just flush around

[lukegllcc]

I'm in the us and my toilet flows counter clockwise.

[WatchPlayDownload]

5/5 and welcome to Australia. =D

[3rdPower]

Actually not really, the draining of the sink water would emulate the Australian toilet as the direction of the water draining in a sink or a toilet will be the same rotation EVERY time.

So the sink test actual does make the good case study.

[lukegllcc]

@3rdPower

no it doesn't. different toiliets flow in different directions. the earth is always rotating counter clockwise (if you're looking at it from the north pole) and gravit will always pull stuff straight towards the earth. so the only difference is which direction the water is aimed to flow in the toilet.

[tofushop193]

what an unfair compairison