Tonight’s full moon will appear large and in charge according to Space.com, being the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox. It’s set to rise at 6:36 p.m. here in the beautiful Atomic City.
LiveScience claims that there’s no proof that full moons make people crazy… but they obviously haven’t met the people I know. Or worked the third shift at the Krystal on Cumberland Avenue, as I did for a little while as a college student.
My obstetrician swore that there were more babies born during a full moon, but I haven’t seen any statistics on it. He was right about everything else, so why not?
Still though, it’s pretty. It will be especially pretty tonight, since last night’s thunderstorms thoroughly cleansed the air and the colors and shadows are so sharp and crisp, it feels as though I’m wearing my glasses even when I’m not. It’s a good night to take the kids out for a moonlight picnic, and explain the great mysteries of physics like why the moon appears larger on the horizon — even though it isn’t.
Also check out these 10 cool moon facts to impress them — starting with the fact that the moon is actually escaping. How’s that for the start of a Halloween tale?
http://econrsss.anu.edu.au/pdf/DP532.pdf#search=%22birth%20statistics%2C%20full%20moon%22
These guys disagree with your ob guy.
Hmmm. This study was large enough, and over a long enough period of time, that it seems pretty credible, particularly if Australia’s rate of c-sections and other “scheduled” births (i.e., some through induced labor) is significantly lower that that in the US. I would guess that it probably is, but don’t really know.
Any US data on the subject would be suspect, since scheduling births seems to be the norm these days.
Good catch, daco. I knew this had to be superstition, but I didn’t realize someone actually tested the hypothesis. Thanks for the pdf.
Thanks Joel. Actually my mom was a labor and delivery RN at methodist for 40 years, and she’s convinced that she saw a huge increase in deliveries during a full moon.
I think people see what they want to see most of the time.