Trip to the Equator

When I was in Ecuador, I figured that a trip to the Equator would just be a stop at an artificial line, take a picture, and move on.  Boy, I really had no idea what wonder awaited me.  Visiting the Equator turned out to be one of the coolest, natural sites I’ve ever experienced.  Here’s why.

At the Equator site, the guides perform numerous science experiments on the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the Southern Hemisphere.  It is amazing how performing the same task six inches in a different direction yields a different result.

One experiment was the explanation of why water flows down a drain counter-clockwise (Tornado/Hurricane action) in the Northern Hemisphere and why water flows in down a drain clockwise (Cyclone/Typhoon action) in the Southern Hemisphere.  Yet on the Equator, water flows straight down a drain.  It was amazing to witness this first hand.

An egg can be balanced on a nail head only on the Equator.

Walking heel-to-toe can be done in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, but not on the Equator.

Another trick is to hold one’s forefinger and thumb together like in the “okay” symbol.  On the Equator, another person cannot separate the finger from the thumb.  Similarly, if the fingers are interlaced on the Equator, another person cannot separate the other person’s hands.  Yet step into either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, and the separation is performed with ease.

Our world is simply amazing.

~Bella