Luna-cy!!!

[Lostinthestates]

Extra police officers are to patrol the streets of Brighton on nights when there is a full moon.

It follows research by the Sussex force which concluded there was a rise in violent incidents when the moon was full - and also on paydays.

Insp Andy Parr said he compared crime statistics for Brighton and Hove with lunar graphs to discover the trend.

The legend that people can become violent, or even turn into wolves, can be traced back to ancient times.

And some say because people are made mostly of water, lunar gravity pulls them in the same way as it does the sea.


But nobody has been able to explain a link between lunar cycles and human behaviour.

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said: "Research carried out by us has shown a correlation between violent incidents and full moons."

More officers will be out on Brighton's streets during full moons over the summer months, she added.

'Strange behaviour'

Mr Parr has said he would be interested in contacting universities who may be interested in examining the link further.

He told the BBC: "From my experience, over 19 years of being a police officer, undoubtedly on full moons, we do seem to get people with, sort of, stranger behaviour - more fractious, argumentative.

"And I think that's something that's been borne out by police officers up and down the country for years."

Past research into the phenomenon includes a study by Professor Michal Zimecki, of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who argued that a full moon could affect criminal activity and health.

In 1998, a three-month psychological study of 1,200 inmates at Armley jail in Leeds discovered a rise in violent incidents during the days either side of a full moon.

Meanwhile in 1994, Jack Nicholson starred in a film called Wolf, in which a publisher becomes infected by a creature and turns into a wolf at full moon.
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This is fairly funny! I always knew the stories about werewolves were true

[faceless]

I've always had the opinion that because people think that a full-moon means that some people go mad that they perpetuate the myth by not caring as much as they might usually, because they can blame the moon for it...

[girldorksrule]

Yup...I kind of agree with you Face. Blame it on the moon!

[eefanincan]

Any nurse will tell you that people do change when the moon is full. Anywhere I've ever worked, it's always busy, weird things happen, people hurt themselves more. Sounds crazy, I know, but I swear it's true. Half the time I don't realize that it's a full moon until I go home and check.

[Bat]

[Mandy]

Isn't an obvious explanation that, on a full moon, people can see each other better, and thus land more punches / hits -- or more likely to start an argument "What are you looking at ?"

In the dark, people might be more worried about avoiding accidents, rather than fighting.

Ironic though that better lighting is supposed to reduce crime .. Maybe that is true when neither side are drunk.

[girldorksrule]

[6ULDV8]

People have known for years why the moon causes others to act oddly whilst full.

First as we know the moon is the reason we have tides, now look at people we are to a greater extent WATER.
Our brains are also pretty much water & suspended in other fluids...

Add to the gravitational pull of the moon that messes with any / all water, we also see that with the full moon we also see larger changes in pressure sytems...
Pressure systems too effect the way humans act / react.

Lets not get into sinus problems due to pressure etc too...


There are indeed many reasons for the moon playing a role in 'weirdness' during it's full phase.
The above listed are quite well documented & as far back as the mid 16th century people have noted this.

[luke]

i was chatting to a mate about this last night and he said the same kinda things as you 6ULDV8, i didn't realise but should have clicked but even the word lunacy originates from moon

[Middle English lunatik, from Old French lunatique, from Latin lnticus, from lna, moon; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]

[faceless]

So, if the full moon makes some people more unstable, then the moon at its 'weakest' should affect them in the opposite way too?

[SpursFan1902]