"Scout" wrote in message
...
"Jeff Morris" wrote
[snip]
So take your pick, either explanation works, and I'm sure there are others. However,
I hope you can appreciate that explanations like "gravity creates the inner bulge,
centrifugal force creates the outer bulge" makes physicists wince!

Yes, I can, as I've watched my physics teaching partner wince quite a bit this week as we
discussed this thread. He was quick to cover our whiteboard with formulas and drawings. It's an
interesting thread though, and notwithstanding my oversimplified analogies, I've learned a lot
from it. By the way, I saw that same wince from a black history professor when I suggested that
the Civil War was fought to free the slaves, and then again when I suggested to an ancient lit
professor that The Odyssey has all the earmarks of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Probably
explains why I like a good fart joke.

Sort of like the wince I got from an African-American/Cherokee friend when I asked him how he was
going to celebrate Columbus Day?

jeff

ps So how does your partner rate my explanations?