Unexpected Accusations on the Moon
The moon has always been blamed for the incidents that are beyond the understanding of humans. Most of these unexpected accusations are absurd because there isn’t any logical evidence to support such claims. In some cases, future investigations did reveal that these allegations were actually correct.
Irrespective of the authenticity of blames, the following are some of the unexpected accusations that were leveled against the moon.
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Childbirth
A lot of people believe that there is an association between childbirth and full moons. They believe that the gravitational pull of the full moon affects the amniotic fluid in the body of pregnant women. As a result, the moon causes the water to break and is responsible for inducing labor. Despite the fact that it is NOT true, this misconception has been around for several centuries.
It is one of those unexpected accusations that wouldn’t die, even after a lot of studies (against it). The most extensive of them was published in 2001 that covered the details of 70 million childbirths. Daniel Coton was the researcher who analyzed the records of children born over 20 years. His findings clearly revealed that this connection is nothing but an allegation.
Acute Hemorrhagic Conjunctivitis
This painful eye condition is caused either by Enterovirus 70 or Coxsackievirus A24. The obvious symptoms of this infection include reddening and swelling of eyes. Similarly, you will have pus dripping out of the infected eyes. This non-lethal disease generally takes about a week to disappear on its own.
The first case of Acute Hemorrhagic Conjunctivitis was reported in Ghana in 1969. It was the same year when Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed on the moon. A lot of people believed that the crew of Apollo 11 brought these viruses (from the moon) to the Earth. For this reason, native Africans labeled this eye condition as ‘Apollo’.
Although this disease is commonly observed in Africa, cases of Acute Hemorrhagic Conjunctivitis have also been reported in other countries.
The Great Crypto Crash
In January 2018, the value of all cryptocurrencies depreciated by nearly 80% in less than 30 days. Owing to the catastrophic impact of this devaluation, it was named as The Great Crypto Crash. When all the investors and analysts were looking for a reason, Alexander Wallin blamed the moon for this crash.
Wallin is the CEO of Sprinklebit, an investing platform. He claimed that this drastic drop in the cryptocurrency market was caused by the Lunar New Year. The fact that the Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar made moon the culprit.
According to Wallin, Chinese investors sold their Bitcoins to fund their New Year celebrations. Due to the excess of Bitcoins in the market, the prices crashed. This random connection makes it one of the most unexpected accusations on the moon.
Accidents
Full moons are often blamed for causing horrific traffic accidents. The researchers from the University of Toronto and Princeton University conducted a study to determine the accuracy of these claims. In their research, they studied motorcycle accidents (over a 30-year period) in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.
The results showed that there were 5% more accidents on the nights with full moons. The situation became even worse during super moons as the probability of accidents rose to 27%. This is because the light of a full/super moon can prove distracting for riders (and drivers). Similarly, the increased visibility can urge the riders to go faster than their usual speeds.
The Death of Thomas Jackson
This unfortunate incident refers to one of those unexpected accusations on the moon that were actually correct. On 2nd May 1863, the Confederates launched an attack against the Union that led to the Battle of Chancellorsville. This was the night when General Thomas Stonewall Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own troops. He died a week later due to complications.
A couple of researchers from Texas State University analyzed the case and claimed that the full moon was responsible for this misunderstanding. Generally, it is believed that full moons enhance visibility. However, this assumption can be wrong if the moon is right in front of you. In that case, everything appears as a dark, featureless shadow.
This is exactly what soldiers of the 18th North Carolina infantry saw. They couldn’t determine the presence of their own men because all they could see were approaching black shadows. Consequently, they opened fire to protect themselves. In the process, Stonewall was struck by three musket balls that killed him.
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