By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 11/21/2010 01:27:13 AM PST
There will be a full moon tonight. Most Humboldters probably won't be able to see it, but you never know. We can hope for an unusually clear night sky.
We do know that tides will shift strongly, animals and people may act weird and strange things will happen tonight. Anecdotal stories about animals' reactions to the effects of the full moon abound.
According to a July 2007 study by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, full moon emergency room visits for pets increase compared to the rest of the month, to 23 percent higher for cats and 28 percent higher for dogs.
Why? No one really knows.
Animals are more sensitive than humans to the natural world. I think we can all agree on that. We shiver at tales of werewolves baying at the full moon. A full moon can be a great setting for a horror movie or a romance.
In China, the dark shadows on the moon are seen as “the toad in the moon,” not the “man in the moon” of Western culture. The toad is considered one of the five poisons of yin. It is believed eclipses occur when the “toad in the moon” tries to swallow the moon itself.
There's loads of evidence that full moons affect humans. Doctors report an increase in epileptic seizures and bleeding ulcers at the time of the full moon. A recent poll showed 86 percent of casualty nurses and 64 percent of doctors believe a full moon affects patient behavior.
Researchers at psychiatric hospitals in New York found a dramatic rise in admissions on the days of full moons. Law enforcement studies nationwide show motiveless crimes trebled around the time of full moons.
Experts tell us Earth is about four times the size of the moon. If you were to fly once around the moon (however unlikely that sounds) it would be the equivalent of a round trip from New York to London. If the moon were placed on the surface of the continental United States, it would extend from San Francisco to Cleveland (2,600 miles).
Here's more perfectly useless trivia about Luna (you don't have to be a Latin student to know that Luna means moon):
* Golfing enthusiasts may find it interesting that astronaut Alan Sheppard once hit a golf ball that went 2,400 feet (nearly one-half mile) while he walked on the moon. What a course, eh?
* With no competition in sight for the foreseeable future, it looks like the Apollo lunar rover will hold the surface speed record on the moon at an exhilarating 10.56 miles per hour.
* The U.S.S.R. captured the first photo of the moon taken from space in 1959, an image of the dark side of the moon. Fourteen years later the rock band Pink Floyd made an album by that name. If there's a connection, let me know.
* The footprints left by the Apollo astronauts will not erode since there is no wind or water on the Moon. Men and women sporting lab coats and degrees in science say the footprints should last at least 10 million years. I wonder how they know that?
* For all you lefties out there, astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon with his left foot. Take that, you righties!
* Your desktop computer contains five to 10 times more computing power than was used to land a man on the moon. Think about that for a moment. OK, you're cleared for takeoff!
* Everyone knows who the first man on the moon was, but did you know that in 1972 Gene Cernan was the last man to step on the moon?
* NASA claims when the Apollo 12 astronauts landed on the moon, the impact caused the moon's surface to vibrate for 55 minutes. It appears we made quite an impact.
Quick! What was the name of the guy/gal who timed it? Now there's some serious trivia for you.
As It Stands, look out for lunatics and if you see the “Toad in the Moon,” would you please report your encounter to CNN, MSNBC or Fox News?
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