The weird science myths New Zealanders believe in

Friday, 5 April 2019

What direction does the water in your toilet swirl? It's nothing to do with what hemisphere you're in.

Almost half of respondents to a large-scale science survey believe toilet water spirals in different directions depending on the hemisphere of the country.

It's a myth - and just one of the findings from a survey of New Zealanders' beliefs by Victoria University PhD candidate John Kerr, launched this week.

Bart Simpson sparked an international incident in 1995 when he contacted Australia to find out which ways its toilet flushed.

Kerr was surprised 48.5 per cent of the 1000 respondents said they believed the Coriolis effect - the rotation of Earth and its effects on weather and climate - extended to water travelling down drains.

The oft-repeated urban legend was that toilet water went down in different ways, depending on the country it was in.

*Eyes open for NZ [pseudoscience

](https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/111097348/eyes-open-for-nz-pseudoscience?rm=m)*Teen says mum became anti-vaxer via Facebook**

The myth was repeated in a popular Simpson's episode that aired in 1995. Lisa incorrectly explains the theory to Bart, who sparks an international incident when he collect calls a child in Australia to ask which way its water drained.

'(It's) a very common misconception - it doesn't affect water in your toilet or sink,' Kerr said. '[But] the more often we hear something, the more likely we are to think it is true.'

Results also showed 39.9 per cent of respondents thought the number of people alive today was greater than the number of people who ever lived, and 35.5 per cent believed hair and fingernails continue to grow after a person's death - both of those are false too.

John Kerr is a Victoria University PhD candidate conducting major research on what New Zealanders know about science and how their beliefs are influenced.

The respondents so far were educated, slightly older, and mostly white. 'That's something we have to be mindful of [with] these results is it doesn't give us a view of everyone as a whole.'

The results didn't mean Kiwis were stupid or gullible, and Kerr said he even once believed those myths.

'If we went around constantly disbelieving everything we heard, our relationships with others would get pretty strained.'

The results came from a section of the survey where participants were presented with various science-related claims, and asked if they were true or not.

So far, only 1 per cent of people were super-skeptical, pegging all the claims put to them as 'definitely false', but by and large the participants were quite sceptical, which showed 'the people who are answering the survey don't take anything at face value'.

'I'm pleased with the number of people who've done it so far, but I'm always keen to have more people do it.'

More participants will make it easier for Kerr to connect the dots between participants' beliefs, background, and environment and their level of scientific knowledge.

The survey encompasses more topics than science myths, spanning from topics including health and the environment too.

The survey can be completed here on desktop or mobile devices. Survey participants will go into the draw to win an 11-inch, silver iPad pro (email addresses are stored separately to survey responses, and the survey is completely anonymous). A winner will be randomly drawn after the closure of the survey in one week, and will be notified by email.