OT - A Poll and a place to Chat.

[fe3333au]

Here's something that I was pondering while watching xmas revellers drinking to excess at the pub.


Background.
We ran out of Jager Meister at the pub which was not a good thing
Foolishly I have played not a small part in making this drink very popular at the Tavern.
We have even developed a ritual in its drinking
One that evolves which each nationality of backpacker that stumbles into our bar and joins in and survives the Fern Tree Jager Meister experience


The Ritual
This basis is a vaguely remembered Austrian verse (which a mate was taught when travelling and drinking the flammable rocket fuel called Heistengeister (shortly after which he fell from a small walkway bridge and cracked his skull on a rock)
The grip of the shotglass is Swiss (thumb on glass rim and little finger on base)
The German in me insists that one must also make eye contact with all involved as glasses are clinked.
The evolution so far is the added Irish and Japanese words for 'Cheers'.
Oh the memories of evolution at work and the lovely multinational cross-cultural hijinx that ensued
The process is repeated until all have paid for a round.
AND Australian ettiquette is that one cannot leave a round until they have paid for their 'shout' (as it is known Downunder)


Getting to the Point
It came to me as I was thinking back on the night before when shot after shot was consumed by the young uns who now complained bitterly of hangovers and 'Oh what a great night it was, if only they could remember how it ended' that some of them may well have suffered head spins (I know that in my youth that these things were not uncommon)

I have vague recollections that the dreaded Head Spin scenario for me was a clockwise motion.

This got me thinking more ... Tequila does this to me, and I was determined that the 2 worms floating in the bottle were mine.


The Question
Does the spinning sensation rotate counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere and if this is correct
... and what happens on the equator ???

Can anyone fill in some gaps for me

Warning To answer this question one may have to engage in research and experimentation

 

[AutomatedTeller]

the dreaded spins... I think they are worse when sleeping outside, and the stars start spinning.

I do not remember whether it goes clockwise or counterclockwise, however.

 

[fe3333au]

They (Head Spins outside) worked for Douglas Adams

 

[peter grimes]

I strongly doubt that the perception of headspins is affected by the rotation of the earth. Human bodies aren't capable of directly sensing the motion of the earth. Remember all that stuff about frames of reference and the fundamental fact that motion and absence of motion cannot be determined from within the system itself?

And let's not forget that bogus idea about toilets flushing differently in the northern and southern hemispheres. No acceleration = no force = no change in momentum.

 

[fe3333au]

I strongly doubt that the perception of headspins is affected by the rotation of the earth. Human bodies aren't capable of directly sensing the motion of the earth. Remember all that stuff about frames of reference and the fundamental fact that motion and absence of motion cannot be determined from within the system itself?

And let's not forget that bogus idea about toilets flushing differently in the northern and southern hemispheres. No acceleration = no force = no change in momentum.

Ummmm I was under the impression and taught as well in Physics that the direction of water down the plug is indeed affected by which pole you are closest to.

 

[donsig]

Ummmm I was under the impression and taught as well in Physics that the direction of water down the plug is indeed affected by which pole you are closest to.

I never took physics but I heard that, too. Well, we can now test that hypothesis. Everyone to the john, flush away and report both the rotation of your flush and the hemisphere you are currently in.

Note: Please do this expriment while sober so that any head spinning will not affect results.

 

[Niklas]

It is definitely bogus. Problem is that middle-school teachers also often believe the myth. The Coriolis effect most certainly exists, but as PG pointed out it is way too weak to affect things like toilets or bathtubs. Don't know 'bout head spins though.

 

[peter grimes]

Yeah - it basically is an issue of scale and strength. Local perturbations - the orientation of the outlets that let the water flow into the bowl, the shape of the toilet bowl, smoothness of the surface, and so on - are so much stronger than the effect of the spin of the earth.

However, if we happened to flush toilets on different planets with faster and faster rotations (read: higher angular momentum on the surface), then I suppose it's possible to get to a point where the global effect outweighs the local effects. Not being a physicist, I really can't begin to figure out even an order of magnitude range for this to happen, but I'd bet good money that you'd need the planet spinning at a rate human brains have trouble comprehending

EDIT: Anyone hear about balancing an egg at the equinox?... I had never heard of this one until a couple of years ago. I haven't tested (or researched) it, but I imagine it's also bogus for roughly the same reasons. There is no difference between systems that are in motion and systems that aren't. On the Equinox, the earth is not undergoing any change in acceleration; therefore there is no reason the egg should not be able to be (or not to be ) balance on any other day as well.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

you certainly can balance an egg on it's end on the equinox, if you have the right egg and the right amount of patience.

of course, you can do it on the solstice the same way

 

[Paul#42]

could we play a turn, please

 

[peter grimes]

of course, you can do it on the solstice the same way

My point is that you could do it on any day of the year you please. The gravitational pull between the egg and the earth vastly overpowers that between the pull of the sun and the egg.

 

[General_W]

could we play a turn, please

Indeed! ... where is Donsig? And who will play if he dosn't show up here soon?

And since I don't want to kill the fun mood…

If you had a barn located directly on the equator, and at noon on the Summer Solstice a rooster lays an egg right on the point of the roof (roof looks like a " ^ " ) – which way will the egg roll?

 

[zyxy]

If you had a barn located directly on the equator, and at noon on the Summer Solstice a rooster lays an egg right on the point of the roof (roof looks like a " ^ " ) – which way will the egg roll?

Down.

xclxcl

 

[Niklas]

I guess if roosters start laying eggs, then who can tell what other laws of nature will be still in effect by then.

 

[fe3333au]

nicely played gentlemen

 

[AutomatedTeller]

My point is that you could do it on any day of the year you please. The gravitational pull between the egg and the earth vastly overpowers that between the pull of the sun and the egg.

That's what I meant, too the days least like the equinoxes are the solstices, so...

well, sometimes I think I'm funnier than I actually am...

 

[peter grimes]

the days least like the equinoxes are the solstices, so...

Of course, you are right. I didn't get that until you spelled it out for me

well, sometimes I think I'm smarter than I actually am...

 

[tomasjj]

Oh my God!

I am surrounded by nerds....




















That's all right -

I am one too.

 

[peter grimes]

Of course

We all wouldn't be here if we were'nt - Civ is, after all, the thinking man's Chess

 

[fe3333au]

Happy Australia Day Mates

I was really happy and proud on hearing that Professor Tim Flannery an environmental scientist, author, explorer and future thinker was awarded Australian of the Year.

This guy has been warning us about Climate Changes for many years now and was openly critical of Australia not signing the Kyoto Proticol. In his acceptence speech he mentioned that he will continue to be passionately outspoken of our government if they continue to take the 'ostridge logic' approach or only take bandaid meassures to this issue. It was good to see our PM made uncomfortable and visibly cringe.

So open some beers and throw another shrimp on the barbie cobbas