The middle of the world, the equator

Apparently the center of the world is pretty interesting. When we visited Quito, Ecuador, the equator was a must-do activity. When we got there, we were blown away by all the education we received that day. 

Here are some of the mind boggling knowledge we filled our heads with that day:

The Incas had a handy dandy sun dial which was made from a nail and a piece of stone. From this, they could tell the time. Ahead of their time, I tell ya. 

We had an obligatory guide that was full of fun facts. 
He showed us how the water in an eddy would swirl clockwise on one side of the line and counter clockwise on the other. Groovy stuff, man. 

Ecuador actually means equator in Spanish. 

You can try to balance an egg on the top of a nail at the equator. If you succeed, you get a certificate. Dinh succeeded. 

Our guide said that it was impossible to walk along the equator with your eyes closed and arms out. Dinh and I tested if out for ourselves, and sure enough, we both walked like a couple of drunks. We would have failed the sobriety test miserably. At first I thought it was a sneaky trick they played to make the equator seem a little more interesting than it really was. 
But, I can attest firsthand to the off-balance properties of this "special" line. As I was standing on the big red line that depicted the actual 0 degree equator, I took my camera out of my backpack to snap a few photos. I lost my balance and also the grip of my camera. In slow motion, I fumbled with my camera in mid air, "nnnnooooooo!!!!" until eventually it crashed hard on the cement ground. I watched in horror. Crrrrrruuunnnccchhhh!!
Oh, that didn't sound good. 
I picked it up and inspected the damage. The LED screen was broken with multiple horizontal black lines obstructing the screen. Crap. 

I was thankful that the camera still worked, even though it wasn't as cosmetically pretty as it was before. Beings it was a more expensive  camera, a few choice words came to mind. 
I moped for a few minutes and Dinh kept apologizing that it happened, even though he had nothing to do with it. 
Although it was unfortunate that it happened, it honestly put me in check. Materialistic things can be replaced. We shouldn't become so attached to them. I can always buy a new camera, I just have to work a few more shifts, that's all. 
So, please, take care with your camera if you visit the equator line!!

on the way back

Also, make sure you go to the real equator. There is another site that claims to be the equator, but it is not the real McCoy. 

Overall, I thought the whole thing was pretty cheesy. But, it's kind of a must see, so we went. Oh well, I guess we can say we were there.