Controversy over what causes the water to swirl in our sink as it drains, has puzzled many for years. Studies have suggested that the direction in which water whirls as it drains depends on the hemisphere it is located in. It is known that air circulating through the Northern hemisphere is flowing in a clockwise manner, while air in the Southern hemisphere circulates counterclockwise. These opposing circulations are known as the Coriolis Effect and are proven to be caused by the earth rotating on its axis. But is the Coriolis Effect truly responsible for the spin direction of water as it drains in each hemisphere? No. The Coriolis Effect is extremely weak on small bodies of water, so it plays a minimal role in waters rotation down a drain. In fact, the rotation of water depends mostly on how it is introduced to the drain and the geometric structure of the sink. Many factors can alter the rotation of draining water in each hemisphere, but the cause is most likely to be the manufacturing of the appliances. Although the influence of the Coriolis Effect on spin direction does exist, it is generally only seen on very large scales, like trade winds, cyclones, and hurricanes. Trade-Winds are constant blowing winds that flow steadily in the direction of the equator. The Northeast winds are entering from the northern hemisphere while the southeast winds enter from the southern hemisphere; these are the two trade wind belts that circle around the earth. The earth’s trade winds are flowing from high-pressure belts to the lower-pressure zones at the equator. High-pressure zones generally indicate a forecast of clear weather, where Lower-pressure zones produce tropical storms such as cyclones or hurricanes. These storms are guided across the oceans by the trade-winds circling the earth. Winds that do not follow these Northeast or Southeast routes are known as Westerly winds and blow towards the earth’s poles. Cyclones and hurricanes are pro