Dennis, Dennis, Dennis...
>but afterward were sufficiently drained that they merely fell back
>toward the Equator. I think a combination of gravity and the Coriolis
>force came into play here.

Uh, the earth is a slightly flattened sphere with the diameter
pole-to-pole being slightly less than the diameter running
through the equator.

Thus, the equator is uphill from the Artic :)

True, the gravitational field is slightly less strong at the
equator, but this is also true on tall mountains. The fact
that you expend slightly less energy fighting gravity once
you reach the top of Mt. Everest doesn't mean you fall there
from base camp, though!

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>