05 Apr 2011

At the Copa, Copacabana

Shameless Self-Promotion 6 Comments

For those of you who will be in the southern hemisphere over the weekend…come check us out.

I am going to settle once and for all whether the Coriolis Effect really means toilets flush the other way. I may talk some Austrian econ too, if I can fit it in.

6 Responses to “At the Copa, Copacabana”

  1. Jake says:

    Hopefully you don’t get punished with a booting.

  2. Colin Ward says:

    Is experimentation really necessary to confirm the Coriolis Effect. You’re an Austrian after all, the theory should be enough 😉

  3. Sam says:

    The coriolis effect DOES NOT make the water in you toilet flush cw or ccw, that is determined by the geometry of your toilet as well as the jets in the flushing process. This is a consistently perpetuated MYTH that I have even read in text books, but its not true. The coriolis effect would take over if you let water sit, completely undisturbed for a long period of time (void of all left over turbulence from pouring etc) and put a small hole in the center of the container…stick to the econ. Bob(you are dominant), and fight the good fight

    • bobmurphy says:

      Sam, if it matters, I actually was being tongue-in-cheek. I know what the Coriolis Effect really is (with regard to weather systems) and I know that it is inappropriately applied to toilets and sinks.

      • Daniel Hewitt says:

        So that Simpsons episode about Australia was wrong? 😉

  4. Sam says:

    bob, sorry if I came off serious…I was pretty sure you were joking. But A LOT of people actually believe it, and I’m an engineer, so its a pet-peeve of mine. I meant no offense.