Lunar Tunes and Many Maladies

"I don't believe in leprechauns at all. But they're there, all the same." -- Pug Mahoney's grandmother.

   Some scoff at the idea that a full moon influences behavior. But ask any cop, bartender or hospital staffer and the response will be, "Of course it does."
   Many will add, "I don't care what the scientists say. I know what I see. When there's a full moon, people go loony. That's where the word comes from."
   Which leads to the issue of folk wisdom and the question of whether a full moon affects behavior. Note the number of times a reference to the moon -- full or otherwise -- appears in song. Here are just three examples:
--  "Full moon and empty arms."
-- "Blue moon, you saw me standing alone." 
-- "Howlin' at the moon."
   A blue moon, by the way, is when a full moon appears twice in a calendar month. And some things only happen once in a blue moon.
   Also, the medical term "influenza" originated in Italy, and the full term to describe the disease was "influenza della luna," or "influence of the moon."
   The word moon also rhymes with June, a favorite month in which to marry, after much romantic behavior during times of a full moon.
   So whether you believe the moon influences human behavior or not, it's doesn't matter because it's there all the same.