Lunatic.

Not many people know... number 18

It's been a testing week, and although fortunately, I didn't get flooded beyond the porch last night, I didn't sleep very well.

At 3 pm today, I downed tools and took the dog for her walk while the sun was still shining. There was mist rising from the meadows in a blip-worthy fashion but then I noticed the moon.

It was only as I walked up the steep hill thinking I would get a closer shot of the moon from the top, that I realised that thought would probably have had me diagnosed as a Lunatic in the past!!

Not many people know that the term "Lunatic" derives from lunaticus meaning "moonstruck" and refers to people who are considered mentally ill, dangerous, foolish or unpredictable.

Philosophers such as Aristotle and Pliny the Elder argued that the full Moon induced insanity in susceptible individuals, believing that the brain, which is mostly water, must be affected by the moon and its power over the tides, but the moon's gravity is too slight to affect any single person.

Even today, it seems that admissions to psychiatric hospitals, traffic accidents, homicides and suicides increase during a full moon, although there is no scientific evidence to support such claims.

It sounds like the weather is going to become feisty again, so hold onto your hats - and have a great weekend.

Others in the Not Many people know series can be found here tagged notmany