AUSSIE BLOGGIN'

Odds 'n Ends

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Flush Backwards?

Funny how we get certain questions over and over. To Leah and Jacob, no our toilets do NOT flush backwards. To Peter and Anthony, the water in our sinks and bathtubs empty in the SAME direction as everyone else.

There are a couple of reasons Australian toilets do not flush backwards. First, the Australian toilet flushes straight down. This question is generally asked by Americans. The toilet bowl in America holds a lot of water while the Aussie version hardly has any water in comparison. So when you flush an American toilet, what's there goes round and round before it disappears. An Aussie toilet simply flushes straight down.

We have an article on our website all about Aussie toilets, with a bit of humour thrown in.

Direction water travels

Second, it's a common mistake that the direction water travels when a toilet, sink or bathtub empties is different in the Northern hemisphere where the USA is from the Southern hemisphere where Australia is. This is often attributed to the Coriolis force and even some teachers incorrectly tell their students this.

The Coriolis force only acts on large bodies such as the earth. Things such as toilets, bathtubs, and sinks are too small to be affected. What causes the water to spin clockwise or anti-clockwise is simply how the container is made and how the water empties from it. More Information

Direction dogs circle

In case you were wondering about the direction Aussie dogs turn round and round before laying down, it's the same as in the rest of the world ...  whatever the dog wants to do. And yes, we have had this question too. We love your questions and doing the research is always interesting.

Daylight Savings or Daylight Saving ?

David from NSW wrote to us asking which is correct Daylight Savings or Daylight Saving (with or without the 's' at the end) ?

It's acceptable to use daylight saving, daylight savings and even daylight-saving. Merriam-Webster Dictionary shows it all three ways. The most common spelling in Australia is without the 's'. So why do we use it with the 's' on our website? Because we can?!

WA Tries DST - Huh?

What do you think of when you hear the words "daylight savings time"? For some people it's fighting words and for others, it starts a discussion (?) about cows and curtains fading.

Yes, after failing 3 times to get a Daylight Savings Referendum passed (' 75, ' 84, ' 92), Western Australia finally decided to just do it. So for the next 3 years they'll try it and THEN ask for a vote to keep it ... or try it before you buy it. So as of 3 December 2006, WA now has daylight savings time.

One of the reasons some people do not want DST is because they think getting up an hour earlier would disrupt their sleep. People move to different time zones all the time, such as from Sydney to New York or WA to Sydney. They adjust quite nicely after a few days. The reality is the human body is very adaptable.

We've all heard the jokes about the cows being confused over milking. The cows need milking at the same times of day as before. They are not confused. It's the humans who need to "think" differently. When you milk the cows is the same as always. However, your "clock" will show it as 1 hour later.

Speaking of jokes, some people really do believe their curtains will fade if they have daylight savings. Try this experiment ... set your clock so it says 9pm in the middle of the day. Did your day change to night? Of course not. The clock only rules people, not the environment. So moving your clock forward 1 hour will not fade your curtains any more than they fade now. We promise.

Having said all that, does WA really need daylight savings? Is there a real benefit or just government hype?