Posted by Dr. Science on 05/25/2012 in
Question |
With all the rivers running into the ocean, why doesn’t it get any fuller?
———- from R. Fanning of San Luis Obispo, CA
Have you ever filled your bathtub full and then gotten into it? What happens? The water level rises as your body displaces a large volume of water (how large a volume I won’t hazard a guess…this is cyberspace). Where does the extra water go? Some of it spills onto the floor, but most goes down the auxiliary drain that bathtub manufacturers wisely installed near the top of the tub. And, indeed, there is such a drain near every ocean, usually cut into the side of a mountain within a few miles of shore. Quite often this drain is camouflaged by vegetation, a rock formation or an apartment complex…but it’s there. So relax and focus on the real problems of your life…lack of employment, defective relationships, whatever…