> Don "I sense some sort of scam here" Monkey

[Actually, after searching a bit on the net (and finding the linked-to page via About.com), I had to revise this post in mid-writing. Oh well, at least I've learned something new today. And I will never trust knowledge I've picked up in school anymore!]

I've seen this, too, in a similar program, but done like this: There was three round water containers with a plugged hole in the center of the bottom. The plug was put in from the outside, so you just had to pull its cord to get the water flowing with minimum disturbance of the water therein. Two containers were placed approx. 30 feet north and south of the equator, the last was placed directly on the equatorial line. A man put a matchstick in the northern bowl and pulled the plug. The match started moving around in one direction (can't remember which), as the water started spiraling, too. He then walked over to the southern one, and did the same thing, and the match moved the other way. With the container in the middle, though, the match stayed perfectly still.

It seems, though, according to the page I've linked to below, that it would be pretty easy to give the water just a little hint of motion, small enough not to be noticed before the plug was pulled and the draining water would emphasize the effect.

I've even heard (from the same teacher, I think) that they made a jet fighter which used this effect to determine what's up and down, but that they didn't think of the reversal of the effect. So when the plane crossed the equatorial line, it flipped itself upside down. I guess that's just an urban legend, too. *Sigh...* Ah, well, at least now I can be an advocate of the one and only TRUTH! :-)

Trav"still learning something new almost every day, and un-learning old stuff..."holt