Happy Australia Day.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

I believe this string of conversation is referring to the false belief that water flows down drains (and toilets) in one direction in the Northern Hemisphere and the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere. This is not true.

That's not necessarily what they're talking about. The toilets in Europe are weird, in that the seat is generally higher off the ground than ours, they have less water in them, and the shape of the bowl is very different. I found myself trying to figure out how to flush the thing on many occasions, too.

[Alex]

No, I was referring to the supposed effect of the Coriolis Effect on a flushing tolet (or a draining sink).

And I meant it purely as a joke. I am completely aware (having been involved in debunking it many times) that the Coriolis Effect only has a role in the airless, frictionless, non-elastic world that only exists in the word problems at the end of chapters in physics textbooks.

Since it was essentially a joke that has also appeared in The Simpsons (which I don't watch but it appears everybody else in the world does) I assumed it could pass without explanation.