Water Down The Plughole
According to popular myth, in the Southern Hemisphere, all cyclones spin clockwise - and so does the water in toilet bowls, bath tubs and hand basins. The story is correct about the cyclones. But the water going down a drain - well, half the time it's right, and half the time it's wrong.
The supposed force behind this phenomenon is the Coriolis Force, named after Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis. He first described it way back in 1835. Actually, there's no such thing as "Coriolis Force" - it's just a fancy name for "Conservation Of Angular Momentum". You can see angular momentum being conserved or saved with an ice skater spinning on one foot. When the skater pulls in their arms close to the centre, or spin axis of their body, they speed up - and when they stretch out their arms, they slow down again.
