THE FOOTNOTES

This was perhaps the most interesting part of my entire Ecuador trip - the visit to "Mitad del Mundo," the "half of the world" right on the equator. In this photo, I am standing LITERALLY on the equator, so on one side (1 foot away) water will drain clockwise; on the other (just 1 foot in the other direction), water drains counter-clockwise. It's like being in high school science class all over again, but this time it's a lot more fun! I also balanced an egg on the tip of a nail and tried to walk heel-to-toe (like a sobriety test). The egg balanced well (so cool - when do you ever see an egg doing that? But then again, when do you ever want to see an egg doing that? ha!), but I would have flunked the sobriety test due to the absence of expected gravitational forces, or maybe it was the conflicting forces, or maybe the 5 shots of tequila I had while I waited in line....can't remember, but it was cool.

We often forget how magnificent and fascinating basic science can be. Every kid should come to this place. You'll never watch the water drain in your sink the same way! You'll always remind yourself that it's going that way due to your hemispheric location. Fun, fun, fun.