> > 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

First, Coriolis Effect is a very weak force. It is usually described as a "tendency" for objects to rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise, depending on which hemisphere they are in. Ocean currents are a good example. The North Atlantic gyre rotates clockwise in compliance with Coriolis Effect, but other currents rotate counter clockwise in the Northerh Hemisphere. The Labrador Current is a good example.
As for the demonstration with the three bowls at the equator, I doubt if 30 feet one way or the other would affect the results. 300 miles, maybe.
Using wind currents as a example will get you into trouble, because air tends to circulate around a low counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, just as you would expect. But air around a high rotates backwards from what Coriolis Effect would dictate.
Try letting water drain from a sink. You can cause the water to rotate either way with just a swish of your hand. How do you suppose Coriolis Effect would change if the earth rotated faster?
How"old science teacher"ard