Down The Drain

When I first came to Uganda I was very curious as to which way the water would spiral down the drain at the equator. I took it upon myself to test it when I had an opportunity. Since Bev and I only had a shower with no tub I had to do preliminary tests in the kitchen sink. These tests were inconclusive as every time I would attempt this experiment in physics one of the staff members would come in and ask what I was doing.

I love the people here dearly but they really don't have a desire to perform sophisticated drain water spiral analysis as I do. They would walk up to me and ask what was wrong with the sink. "Nothing" I'd reply. To which their answer would always be, "Good, I was afraid you had broken it." (I've always had the suspicion that my wife had told them to say that.) I would then be forced to defend myself and humbly mention that I was the one who fixed everything around here. I can still see the smirk on Bev's face when J.B. slowly pointed at the six ongoing repair projects in the kitchen and said "Like those?" In my defense, those things would have eventually been fixed, if parts had been available.

But finally after 6 months my opportunity came when Bev and I were asked to house sit for some friends. They had no shower, just a bath. So my first experiment in June of 1998 gave conclusive proof that at the summer solstice the water at the equator spirals the same direction as in America. Subsequent tests during the winter solstice showed the water spiraled the other direction. Further test on the spring and fall equinoxes showed that the water doesn't spiral at all but goes straight down the drain. I was so excited about these last findings that I immediately emailed my twin brother, Jim. I still remember his excited response, "You didn't break the tub did you?"

But the most important thing I learned from this is to be happy that the sink drains or the toilet flushes at all.

Homes in Uganda have three styles of toilet. The third world squat style which is little more than hole to a pipe with water in it. Effective but messy.

The US style, which has the tank mounted on the back of the throne, is better. The problem with this style is the African siphon valve used to flush it. They don't work well and many times to flush it you must pump the handle continually until it flushes and then there is not enough water to finish the job or it never flushes and you pump the handle until the water is gone. At this point the water is over and you must wait to try your luck again once the tank is filled. If you try again too soon it will not flush and you have to try yet again. I believe the ancient library in Alexandria began as a restroom and had instructions on how to flush the toilet. This expanded in size with the addition of How-to-books on flushing until the library was formed or the thing finally worked. This tradition carries on today in most American homes.

The third type is the two piece throne and tank. To function properly the tank must be precisely 105 millimeters above the throne. It never does because it never is. This style of loo is readily identifiable by the bucket of water next to the toilet. You just pour it in the bowl and your trouble is over. Plus it also works as a calendar, provided you watch which way the water goes down.