Anne TootillMoonstruck
February 28th 2008 20:56
Can the moon affect human behavour? Well according to Arnold Lieber a psychologist from the University of Miama it can. Researchers collected homicide data in Miama over a period of 15 years, a total of 1887 murders. When they matched them to the phases of the moon they found that they rose and fell together for the entire 15 years. As the full moon approached the murder rate rose sharply and decreased during the first and last quarters of the moon.
In the 1700's an Englishman could plead "lunacy" if he commited the crime during the full moon and could got a lighter sentence as a result.
Dr. Lieber speculates that perhaps the human body which, like the surface of the earth, is composed of almost 80 percent water, experiences some kind of “biological tides” that affect the emotions. When a person is already on psychologically shaky ground, such a biological tide can push him or her over the edge.
Thankfully, I haven't felt like killing anyone lately but I do know what it's like to be moon struck. On a recent holiday I got to sit outside one night when the moon was full and slowly watched it move across the sky. Sweet operatic arias were wafting through the caravan window, the chardy was cold, the moon was shining on the river and all was right in the world. I thought about the old Aussie saying "You wouldn't be dead for quids", and at that moment knew it was true. Yep, I was definitely moonstruck.
I tried to take a photo of the moon as it moved across the sky behind the ghostly gum trees but they didn't come out, my new camera obviously isn't good enough or more likely, it's me.
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