A comment on the lunacy column: Cecil wrote that in all probability nothing would happen should the moon disappear from the face of the, er, Earth. However, some naturalists believe that each female mammal, should she be consistently exposed to moon light (sleep outside, etc.) will in time have her menstrual cycle in sync with the lunar cycle. This is supposedly true for female humans, too. So, should the moon be obliterated it is possible that one of two things could happen with regard to females; 1). No more menstrual cycles (whoopie!), or 2). perpetual PMS - I don’t have to elaborate on what that could mean for human relations, world peace, nuclear proliferation, and water cooler conversation. Not a gambler by nature, I implore - please, please, don’t blow up the moon.
And the column about blowing up the moon is: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/001027.html
Cecil has also written about how the menstrual cycle relates to the moon, I believe
Yes, he has.
What’s the link between the moon and menstruation?
Welcome, Rebekah. I’m with you on this one.
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment.
Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site.
To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space before and after the text of the URL).
Cecil’s column(s) can be found on-line at the links kindly provided by JillGat, former moderator of this forum and esteemed member of the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, and bibliophage, link provider extraordinaire.
moderator, «Comments on Cecil’s Columns»
A good friend of mine works as a janitor in an office building. Due to the nature of the ventilation system, everyone in the building is exposed to the subtle hormonal aromas of all the women in the building. My friend tells me that the “sanitary products” trash in the ladies’ restrooms is at least three times the normal volume during the week before the full moon.
Conclusions:
- It’s interesting, what a janitor pays attention to.
- Perhaps there’s a link between aromatic signals and menstruation triggers.
- There may be no link between burgeoning round gobies and dying mergansers. (Woops.I shouldn’t type while listening to “Science Friday.”
Does he also work part-time in a hospital ER? I hear they’re overflowing around full moon time. :rolleyes:
AskNott’s example doesn’t provide any evidence of a calibration to the lunar cycle, just a calibration to the cycles of other women (a well-documented phenomenon). Since the lunar cycle coincidentally happens to be almost the same length as the human menstrual cycle, the relative phase will stay pretty constant for a good while. Presumably, if that same janitor is at that building ten years from now, he’ll find that the peak for the tampon trash is three days before the full moon, or a week and a half before, or five days after, or whatnot.
Coupla more Straight Dope columns, relevant to this thread:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_306.html (Is it true the menstrual cycles of women living together tend to synchronize? )
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_337.html
(Do things get crazy when the moon is full?)