[ Middle of the Earth ]
(A mini detour)
Before heading south to Latacunga, I first had to back track to the O° latitude and see if the myth about the toilet flush direction had any merit.
Either Ecuador has the worst signage I have so far seen, or I have completely lost my navigation skills. When there are signs, they are so haphazard and confusing that you wonder whether if they exist just to mess with your head. How does a "So-and-so (straight arrow)" sign help me when it's followed by an even split, or a roundabout that has no straight continuation? But the more common placement is, long AFTER you've made your random selection at the cross-roads.
After many wrong turns, road side chats, and an involuntary visit to yabadabadoo village, we made it to Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world), and rode all the way up to the symbolic (& incorrectly placed) middle point for the obligatory "look ma" picture.
Then it was time to visit the toilet, or to be more precise, the hydro-dynamics experiment at the Museo Solar Inti Nan. Past the somewhat interesting replica of an ancient indigenous tomb, etc., I was standing over the allegedly GPS-calculated celestial equator, ready to see how a sink full of water would drain on and at either side of the line. (I couldn't disagree that using a sink was more appropriate than a toilet bowl) With the rest of the tourist pack from all around the globe, I ooh'd and aah'd as the water spiraled down in different directions at either side of the line, and poured down straight when right on it. Wow! Even when so close to the equator line! How incredible!
I didn't actually see the experiment with my own eyes as I was recording it all on video, and watched it live through the little Leica's screen. But questioning a simple demonstration at a museum hadn't crossed my mind anyway. It was truly unbelievable, and I had it on video!
Or so I thought. Press to record, press again to pause. Get really excited and it also works to record people's feet, then to watch the action through the screen while it's on pause. Excellent.
The following "experiments" were far from being meaningful, and silly at best. Still, we all took their word for the point they were trying to make. As an example, balancing an egg on its butt doesn't prove that it can only be done at the equator.
But the punch line came several days later, in Puerto Lopez. Mark dropped it on me casually, and I felt dumber than ever. I was made a complete fool of at a cheap clown show, and not being alone didn't help one bit. To get the facts about the Coriolis effect, see Wikipedia, etc.
Keep smiling. Chances are the coordinates are fake too.
In their defense, the museum(!) had some other things (perhaps even real) to see, and was kind of fun.
Until only 50 years ago, the indigenous here had been "shrinking heads", and I got the skinny for you...
Below: the step-by-step instructions for preserving the spirit (& head!) of your loved one.
The desired result
If yours doesn't look like the example above don't be discouraged. Practice makes perfect.
Before heading south to Latacunga, I first had to back track to the O° latitude and see if the myth about the toilet flush direction had any merit.
Either Ecuador has the worst signage I have so far seen, or I have completely lost my navigation skills. When there are signs, they are so haphazard and confusing that you wonder whether if they exist just to mess with your head. How does a "So-and-so (straight arrow)" sign help me when it's followed by an even split, or a roundabout that has no straight continuation? But the more common placement is, long AFTER you've made your random selection at the cross-roads.
After many wrong turns, road side chats, and an involuntary visit to yabadabadoo village, we made it to Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world), and rode all the way up to the symbolic (& incorrectly placed) middle point for the obligatory "look ma" picture.
Then it was time to visit the toilet, or to be more precise, the hydro-dynamics experiment at the Museo Solar Inti Nan. Past the somewhat interesting replica of an ancient indigenous tomb, etc., I was standing over the allegedly GPS-calculated celestial equator, ready to see how a sink full of water would drain on and at either side of the line. (I couldn't disagree that using a sink was more appropriate than a toilet bowl) With the rest of the tourist pack from all around the globe, I ooh'd and aah'd as the water spiraled down in different directions at either side of the line, and poured down straight when right on it. Wow! Even when so close to the equator line! How incredible!
I didn't actually see the experiment with my own eyes as I was recording it all on video, and watched it live through the little Leica's screen. But questioning a simple demonstration at a museum hadn't crossed my mind anyway. It was truly unbelievable, and I had it on video!
Or so I thought. Press to record, press again to pause. Get really excited and it also works to record people's feet, then to watch the action through the screen while it's on pause. Excellent.
The following "experiments" were far from being meaningful, and silly at best. Still, we all took their word for the point they were trying to make. As an example, balancing an egg on its butt doesn't prove that it can only be done at the equator.
But the punch line came several days later, in Puerto Lopez. Mark dropped it on me casually, and I felt dumber than ever. I was made a complete fool of at a cheap clown show, and not being alone didn't help one bit. To get the facts about the Coriolis effect, see Wikipedia, etc.
Keep smiling. Chances are the coordinates are fake too.
In their defense, the museum(!) had some other things (perhaps even real) to see, and was kind of fun.
Until only 50 years ago, the indigenous here had been "shrinking heads", and I got the skinny for you...
Below: the step-by-step instructions for preserving the spirit (& head!) of your loved one.
The desired result
If yours doesn't look like the example above don't be discouraged. Practice makes perfect.
posted by Serdar at
5:18 PM
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