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1: The moon makes you crazy
An idea that has been pondered for centuries, the moon is often associated with odd behavior. Whether it is from the fear of werewolves or demonic creatures, a full moon was once something that caused terror in the streets of Rome and other ancient civilizations. In fact, the words "lunatic" and "lunacy" come from the Roman goddess of the moon (Luna) who was said to ride her chariot across the dark sky every night. no wonder we draw tales of fear from these full moon events.
Even the father of modern medicine as we know it (Hippocrates) believed there was a strong connection between the moon phases and psychology. in the 5th century BC he wrote: "one who is seized with terror, fright, and madness during the night is being visited by the goddess of the moon.”
This was so commonly believed that there once was a time where a man could get off on a lesser charge from his crime due to sighting a full moon during the dubious or destructive event. If you were a harsh criminal during this time you could expect being chained up during a full moon so your further damages could not be done.
Photo credit: Kellepics
2: Aliens inhabit the moon
The aliens are out there somewhere... probably not on the moon though. While this idea seems a bit preposterous by today's standards, in the mid-1800's it was a common tale told by astronomers. It was not only commonly accepted but truly reported on by great astronomers like Sir William Herschel from Great Brittan. He detailed a full civilization of aliens living on the moon and would regularly report on their advances as new "structures began to appear.
He and his colleague Franz von Paula Gruithuisen a Bavarian astronomer wrote about these "Lunarians" who inhabited the moon and would build remarkable structures, roads, building, and anything else his misguided imagination could conjure up. This relentless passion resulted in a naming of one of the craters on the moon for his work in the space - no pun intended. Some even say our Levitating Moon™ Lamp contains secret alien technology.
3: The moon has control over a woman's fertility
Many ancient civilizations feared and respected the moon for a variety of reasons. In theory, it makes sense to those lacking scientific knowledge, if the sun develops the crops what does the moon bring as it takes away this life-giving resource? Death to some maybe life to others. This was the case with fertility and the moon as we know it. Coincidentally the moon cycles similar to that of the menstrual cycle, it can also explain why the moon gods are almost always female.
In the 195's a Czech doctor named Eugene Jonas stumbled across an ancient astrological text stating that women were fertile during certain phases of the moon. He took this advice to heart and developed his birthing practice around this premise. He told his patients that they were ovulating when the moon was at the phase when they themselves were born.
there is a more recent theory that persists to this day regarding full moons and the suspected uptick of mothers-to-be in labor. While there is not much statistical information to back up this claim (what no moon lobby?) it's interesting to remind ourselves that the idea of the moon influencing large bodies of water (AKA us) is not a far fetched idea at all. If the moon can move tides, can it break a woman's water?
4: the Nazis had a base on the moon
What came first Nazis on the moon or the Americans? Neither! All kidding aside after world war || rumors began to surface regarding a secret Nazi base residing on the moon. While the Nazis had an interest in the moon the rumor was likely started due to the flyer saucer sightings from the Roswell New Mexico incident that followed in 1947. There have been pictures of Nazi drew flying saucer schematics that have surfaced over the years. Were they inspired by something they saw or merely looking for a new design to craft their planes from? some even believe that Hitler faked his own death in order to flee to his secret moon base.
Photo credit Wikilmages Pixabay
5: We never really landed on the moon
Forget the Nazis, some of us believe that we never really landing on the moon in the first place. Despite the mounds of evidence that we did, naysayers try to debunk this common knowledge by citing the technology was not strong enough at that time for astronauts to land and return safely. Others say the lie to the American public was done in the name of democracy to win the arms race during the cold war with the Russians. If we did land on the moon nearly 70 years ago why has no other nation tried to do it again? These are all strong claims with some validity to their reasoning, but try saying these to the second man who supposedly landed on the moon. One debunker did just that, what followed was a punch in the mouth by the famous retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin himself. Ask yourself a serious question, if we didn't land on the moon then how did we get all of these moon lamps!