Brainstorm
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Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook.

Today, we reinstitute a flashback from Weather Notebook's past-the Brainstorm.

To refresh your memory, a Brainstorm is simply a question we ask you-the listeners-to figure out or explain. Naturally, it is always a weather-related issue, but some of the answers we have received have been quite far-ranging and VERY interesting. And if we use your answer on the air, we will send you a magical Weather Notebook mug, suitable for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or [to store] those spare pencils on your desk.

Are you ready? Here we go. Gaspard de Coriolis is famous for explaining mathematically, why global winds appear to curve: to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, and to the left south of the Equator. These winds curve right or left regardless of whether they are initially traveling North to South, or the reverse.

So, can you explain why this happens, in 30 seconds or less? And for extra credit, what-if anything-it has to do with your toilet bowl? We will sport the answers on an upcoming program.

To get your answer to us, you can e-mail us at brainstorms@weathernotebook.org or give us a call toll free at (888) RAIN-001. That's (888) 724-6001. If you want to revisit this question, or get the contact information again, visit us at our website: www.weathernotebook.org.

Good Luck!

The Weather Notebook comes to you from the Mount Washington Observatory, through funding provided by Subaru, which turns equally well to the right or left.