Problem Statement: 1) Due to earth's coriolus force, water drains in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction in the northern or the southern hemisphere (don't ask me which).
2) Drains situated on earth's equator must therefore flow straight down without swooshing around.
3) Ecuadorians probably feel low self-esteem because of this.
Proposed Solution: Incorporate a helical, twisting ramp in the drain area of a bathtub in order to encourage the water to drain in a proper circular manner.
This ramp is carved directly into the porcelain surface so as not to call undue attention to itself (thus reminding the already sensitive Ecuadorians that they need a prosthesis on their basins).
UNRELATED BONUS INVENTION: Put live scorpions in teacups and serve in restaurants as a novelty.-- wylie_coyote, Nov 06 2006 Unless this is a *complete* joke http://www.discover...970523/skinny1.htmlMyth. [craigts, Nov 06 2006] clockwise / counter clockwise draining http://www.straight...com/classics/a1_161cites research [Zimmy, Nov 06 2006] quick, flush the scorpion down the sink.-- po, Nov 06 2006 Statement #1 is not really true.-- Zimmy, Nov 06 2006 Read [Zimmy]'s anno and then click my link.-- craigts, Nov 06 2006 craigts' annotation HAS to be correct because the DISCOVERY channel wouldn't dupe us (would they?).-- wylie_coyote, Nov 06 2006 Perhaps you misunderstood my title for the link... Let me explain.
As a joke I found this idea very funny. I was hoping the whole premise was a joke as well, but you never know with some of the ideas that come up on here. In retrospect, I will concede that your description was sufficiently crazy to assume that everything was a joke (i.e. *complete* joke).-- craigts, Nov 06 2006 random, halfbakery