An interesting observation: to the north of the equator, the water swirls clockwise when draining, to the south, it swirls counterclockwise. And if you drain water exactly at the equator, the water does not twist at all. This is the simple way sailors in ancient times recorded the crossing of the equator.
Translated from the Latin, the word means "alignment." Indeed, the equator divides our planet into two, almost equal, hemispheres - the Northern and Southern. Why "almost"? It is known that the shape of the Earth is not a perfect sphere.
For the first time, quite accurately, the length of the equator was calculated by the ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer Erastophanes of Cyreno According to his data, the length of the Earth's meridian is 250,000 stadia, that is 40,000 kilometers. As we can see, the figure is not very different from modern, much more accurate, measurements.
The word "equator" is present in the names of some states. For example - Ecuador and Equatorial Guinea. It is interesting that Ecuador is crossed by this conventional line, but Equatorial Guinea is not, although this country is close to the equator. Most of the state is north of the equator, on the opposite side is a small island called Annobon in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Congo River, which flows in Central Africa, crosses the equator twice. The Congo is the most full-flowing river in Africa, over 4,000 km long and more than 200 meters deep in some sections.
According to an old maritime tradition, a Neptune Festival is held on ships crossing the equator. Novices must undergo a rite of passage. The scenarios for this rite are endless: the novice can be smeared with fuel oil, bathed in a pool or even in the open sea, shaved with an axe, and so on. But, after all these tests, the sailor receives a corresponding "document" that exempts him from such procedures in the future.
The Brazilian city of Macapa is located simultaneously in the northern and southern hemispheres, as the equator passes through it. Macapa even has a monument to the equator, Marco Zero. This is a high stele, the top of which is cut through a circle through which you can watch the starry sky. Well, the residents of Macapa call their city rather modestly - "the capital of the middle of the world". By the way, the local soccer stadium is located exactly on the equator.
It is always summer on the equator, and day and night temperatures do not vary much. This is not surprising, because this is where the sun's rays warm the earth's surface evenly.
But, even at the equator, there is a glacier. This is the summit of Cayambe volcano in Ecuador. On its slopes lie snow, which even the equatorial sun cannot melt. The top of this volcano is at an altitude of 5,790 meters.
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