
28. Lunacy
You’ve heard the word lunatic before, right? The terms lunatic and lunacy come from the Latin word for Moon, which is luna. Ancient philosophers like Aristotle and Pliny the Elder hypothesized that the full Moon could induce insanity in specific individuals. While it may seem ridiculous, their theory was based in science.
These philosophers believed that the Moon’s power over tides could affect the brain. Because the brain is made of mostly water, the lunar effect could cause psychosis. Even in modern times, people claim that there is an increase in hospital visits, homicide, traffic accidents, and other unfortunate occurrences during a Full Moon.