Some curious health myths in Brazil

Great fun James!

In the Pantanal, some Pantaneiros believe that if the Black and Gold Howler Monkeys howl, which they do daily, it means it will rain.   I also had a maid in the 1980s that would put a wet cotton ball on my baby girl to supposedly protect her from the cold virus,  Widely believed in Brazil and elsewhere, and I may cause some controversy here, but water does not spin down the drains in a different direction, depending on what side of the equator you flush on.  Another is that swimming and playing in the water after eating lunch is not dangerous.  You can find this and others with a Google search for myth busters.

Cheers, Douglas

Hi Doug,

I knew I could count on you to come up with something of interest. While I have know about the Coriolis Effect from the meteorology part of my flying school days which causes water, clouds, storms, etc., to rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern, I didn't know about the monkey howl. It must rain every day in the Pantanal then, right?  LOL

I'm not to sure about the wet cotton ball either. Does wet hair have the opposite effect? Every time I've taken a shower before heading off to my toasty little bed if I don't blow dry my hair first I wake up with a cold if it was the least bit damp. Go figure!

Cheers,
James

Hi James,

Thank you!   The Coriolis Effect affects air and clouds, but the movement is too slow to move water, which is much heavier.   Tests using uniform basins and a way to "flush" without influencing the direction the water will spin, show that 50% of the time the spin is in one of the directions, and 50% in the other.   Also, on the equator, the water does not go straight down, as the myth alleges.  This is one of the most difficult myths to bust and is so widely taught and believed, but it is not true and easy to disprove.

I have been able to prove to my Pantaneiro guides that many of the myths they believe cannot be true.   I am not going to do the experiment with people showering and going to bed, but the cotton ball had no effect on my baby! 

I hope other will reply to this post....it will be rich(er)

Cheers, Douglas