Body changes crossing the Equator
 

Just a thought! If water flows down drains the opposite way south of the Equator than the north and the tides and weather patterns are opposite than the northern hemisphere....does our blood and digestion change as well???!!!
DISCUSS!!!

It sure does. I couldn't believe the pictures I saw of people who live below the equator walking on their hands, until I was on a ship cruising around the Galapagos. Evertime the ship went below the equator, people flipped upside down. :^o

Right handed people become left handed, and vice versa.

Deloris, there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers. I don't have an answer but if you're serious do some research because it seems no one has an answer here. Good Luck!!!

I worked with a woman who came to USA from Fiji islands, high school graduate. Once she seriously told me: the weather changes because the Equator is moving.

OK - so now I feel guilty for my answer - so I did some research on various search engines - both medial and non. I was unable to find ANY indication that there are any body changes when one crosses the equator. A few references to things like how to arrange furniture in Northern versus Southern hemisphere for proper karma, but nothing on any physiological changes.

I've flown across the equator a dozen times and have typically experienced turbulance in flight, but nothing else. One DOES, however, notice things like the drains, the configuration of the stars in the sky (even tho I'm no star gazer). You DO have a feeling that you're somewhere else IMO!

You're cute Gail. You made me laugh. That was sweet of you.

What I can tell you around the Equator is that it's HOT and HUMID. Other than that I haven't noticed anything really.

Actually I thought the first couple of replies were said in jest, no offense intended, IMHO. Deloris I am glad you got your answers. Are you thinking of going that way?

FYI:

The twisting effect of the Coriolis force is real and does influence certain large things like the movement of air masses, but the effect is so small that it plays no role in determining the direction in which water rotates as it exits from a draining sink or toilet. The Coriolis effect produces a measurable effect over huge distances and long periods of time, neither of which applies to your bathroom. Toilets and sinks drain in the directions they do because of the way water is directed into them or pulled from them. If water enters in a swirling motion (as it does when a toilet is flushed, for example), the water will exit in that same swirling pattern; as well, most basins have irregular surfaces and are not perfectly level, factors which influence the direction in which water spirals down their drains. The configuration of taps and drains is responsible for the direction of spin given to water draining from sinks and bathtubs to a degree that overwhelms the slight influence of the Coriolis force.

The belief that the Coriolis force influences the direction in which water drains from plumbing fixtures is widespread and has been repeated as fact in a number of venues, including popular television shows (such as world traveler Michael Palin's Pole to Pole) and even in textbooks. We can only speculate on why people are so enamored of this snippet of misinformation, guessing that it has something to do with the desire to find some of the mysteries of science in the realm of the everyday.

AND:

One thing that people seem to find interesting has to do with water in the toilet swirling in a different direction depending on what side of the equator you happen to be on -- it turns out that this is just a myth. Apparently large swirling things, like tornados, are subject to the pull created by the rotation of the Earth, referred to as the "Coriolis Effect," and they do spin in different directions on either side of the equator. However, the spinning water in a toilet is too small for the Coriolis Effect to have, well, an effect. The direction of the spinning water is actually determined by the direction of the spigots that dump the water from the tank into the toilet.

Just the thought of people on vacation staring at the water in the toilet to see which way it swirls has me laughing! Usually I find something more interesting to do when I travel.

Hey Jed, were you on our ship in the Galapagos last week???!!!!
We went over the equator 2 times that evening sailing over the north end of Isabella Island. Then of course flying down and back= 4 crossings in 10 days.
Just got me thinking as we get a kick out of playing with this phenom in the bathroom! (Nothing good on TV!) The blenders in the bars go the usual way!
On our trip to Kenya a few years ago, the roadside amusement is a group of locals who have a large tub, a funnel, a tongue depressor and a bucket of water.They pour the water thru the funnel into the tub and drop the stick in the funnel as you watch it spin in one direction.
Then they cross the street, which is also the other side of the equator, and repeat the project so we see the stick spin the other way. THEN they put their hands out for a tip! Just a touch of Equator entertainment!Crossed it many times over the years and the ceremonies are different and interesting.

The answer, Deloris, is a simple "no."