Many people believe that every full moon is a sign of an apocalypse world—especially a blue moon. Even more believe that when the moon is full, emergency rooms and jails are packed, if not overflowing. These same people blame everything from increases in crime and psychotic behavior to stock market fluctuations and traffic accidents on the “lunar effect” of a full moon. If you ask me, they’ve read one too many romance fantasy novels.

History books reveal that in 19th-century England, lawyers often used the “not guilty by reason of the full moon” defense to get their clients off the hook—and it worked. Psychiatrist Arnold Lieber wrote a best seller, How the Moon Affects You, where he posited that since the human body is 65 percent water, the moon has the same effect on it that it has on the pull on the ocean’s tides. In actuality, he may have read too many romance fantasy novels himself.

While it’s easy to fall into the mindset that the full moon could bring the onset of an apocalypse world, especially with all the Mayan calendar hype, I would bet my life that it’s impossible.

Many studies have been conducted over the years, attempting to show that there really is such a thing as a “lunar effect.” A study of homicides in Dade County, Florida claimed that there was an upsurge in killings in the 24 hours before and after the full moon. However, other researchers in the same county claimed this to be pure urban fantasy due to the dubious statistical methods the other researchers has used. When the study was reevaluated, the findings were shown to be incorrect.

Another study claimed that more traffic accidents occurred during a full moon. More urban fantasy—the study was conducted on a weekend, when traffic accident statistics are higher in general. In 1985, two famous scientists, Rotton and Kelly, did what “meta-analysis” of 37 studies of the “lunar effect.” Their research culminated in this fact: the moon accounted for less than 3/100 of 1 percent of the monthly variation.

Just like all the other rumors of the impending apocalypse world, these claims of a lunar effect fall apart when looked at closely. You don’t need to be a historian to realize this—you just need to be able to look at the facts. The reasoning about the moon having the same pull on our bodies as it does the ocean’s tide doesn’t make sense. Tides don’t occur just once or twice a month like a full moon does—they happen once or twice a day. At full and new moons, the sun, earth and moon are lined up, resulting in higher tides. Plus, the change in tides rarely is greater than 10 feet.

Keep reading your science fiction and fantasy books, but don’t let them get you in a tizzy. Chances are you have absolutely nothing to worry about, except for a nightmare or two.

Source: wayseers.eu