Middle of the Earth

Yesterday we rode a public bus to the middle of the earth or Mitad del Mundo in Spanish. It´s the equator at latitude of 00º00'00". We first visited an outdoor museum and did several experiments to show the effects of gravity in the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. Perhaps the most familiar experiment is the one with the toilet bowl. Which way does the water rotate when a toilet is flushed in the northern hemisphere? What about the southern hemisphere? To answer these questions our guide poured a bucket of water into a tub with a plug. Then she pulled the plug and we watched the water drain straight down when it was over the equator. Then when the tub was in the southern hemisphere it drained counter clockwise and then clockwise when it was in the northern hemisphere. In physics it´s know as the Coriolis effect (but Snopes.com suggests it´s a myth).

Patricia managed to stand a (raw) egg on top of the head of a nail directly over the equator. The neutral gravitational forces pulled it down evenly on all sides.

The museum was fun. But the $0.40 1-hour bus ride also deserves a couple lines. On the way there one guy who entered, gave a sales pitch and tried to sell key chains to the passengers. He didn´t have many takers. A little later a couple kids got on. One stood in the front and the other in the back and they sang. Sometimes together, sometimes only the one in front and other times only the one in the back. We gave them some coins. Then on the way back we had a couple comedians ride part way with us. With one if the front of the bus and the other in the back they got most everyone to smile at one of their jokes. We also gave them coins.

It was a fun day.