At what point does the toilet flush the opposite way?

Question

I live in the North Equator and I have heard that the toilet flushes the opposite way in the South Equator but at what point does it switch? I mean Longitude/Latitude point.

Answer 1

I've seen this! Its true! i thought it was a myth, but no my friend ;) the lochness monster liiiveeess!!!!! Um, not sure what part, as soon as you enter the southern hemisphere, idk what point though.  

Answer 2

That's just a myth.  The direction in which a toilet flushes has nothing to do with which hemisphere it's in.  It has a lot more to do with the manufacture of the toilet.

You can prove it for yourself...just find a bunch of different public toilets, flush them, and watch which way the water drains out.  I guarantee you'll see the water draining in both directions without having to cross the equator.

People who think there IS a difference usually blame the Coriolis effect.  The Coriolis effect IS real, and it does cause rotation in large weather systems and ocean currents, but not in small, rapidly rotating things like toilets and sink basins.

I hope that helps.  Good luck!

Answer 3

It's a common myth that drains have clockwise vortices in the northern hemisphere and ccl vortices in the southern. However, that is false. It is true of weather systems and ocean currents, but the scale is much large and thus the Coriolis force operates significantly. But in a washbasin or a toilet bowl, the Coriolis force is trivially small and has no effect.

Answer 4

As soon as you enter the Southeast trade winds the direction is reversed in comparison to the Northern Hemisphere. The winds begin to occur not terribly far, if not immediately, below the Equator. I don't think a latitude/longitude point is relevant here, as the none of the prevailing winds hold one exact point of latitude or longitude; rather, they circulate through constant intervals of distance. All of this, however, remains ineffectual in relation to something as small as a toilet. The Coriolis Effect is not significant enough to effect such small cyclonic systems. You won't find any contributing factor to the direction of drainage of a toilet other than the direction at which the water enters the bowl.

Answer 5

unless u turn it over it always flushes the same. ive been to australia, kiwi land  and several other places down south and every time i flushed everything went down. if you were talking rotation - corolios effect - soon as u r south of the equator. wonder what it does if u squat dead center