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Francisco José Machín Jiménez, Profesor Titular de Universidad. Oceanógrafo Físico, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Does the direction water rotates down the drain depend on which hemisphere you're in? Debunking the Coriolis effect in your sink

The idea that the Coriolis force influences how water drains frequently appears in popular culture and urban legends. frantic00 / Shutterstock

In countries near the Earth’s equator, tourists are often dazzled by a demonstration of a mysterious physical phenomenon. A presenter will position three buckets of water – one in the Northern Hemisphere, one in the Southern Hemisphere, and one directly on the equator – and let the water drain out.

Tourists are shown that, as the water drains, the water in the northern bucket rotates in one direction, the water in the southern bucket rotates in the other direction, and the water at the equator doesn’t rotate at all.

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