# Poll: What does "Dark side of the moon" mean **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768 "2010-05-08T22:25:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/1 "2010-05-08T22:25:33Z")
What does the phrase “The dark side of the moon” mean to you? Please vote before reading posts or checking wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/2 "2010-05-08T22:32:32Z")
I always took this phrase to mean the side of the moon you can’t see from the Earth. But according to some people this phrase is wrong because it implies that one side of the moon is always dark. I disagree and think that in DARK in this phrase means unknown. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/3 "2010-05-08T22:33:25Z")
I agree with above. Also, I thought of it as never illuminated to the earth. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/4 "2010-05-08T22:33:48Z")
I always assumed it was the part of the moon facing away from the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/5 "2010-05-08T22:49:44Z")
According to the Wikipedia: The dark side of the Moon may mean either: [ol] [li] The lunar hemisphere that is not currently lit by the sun (which is “dark”)[/li][\*] The far side of the Moon, the side that is permanently turned away from the Earth. (which is not actually “dark”: as the Moon is always rotating with respect to the Sun, this hemisphere receives as much light as the near side).[/ol] ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/6 "2010-05-09T01:16:08Z")
I took it to mean the side of the moon facing away from Earth, even though I know that that side is illuminated by the sun monthly. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/7 "2010-05-09T01:31:32Z")
The half that is unlit. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/8 "2010-05-09T01:35:44Z")
There is no dark side of the moon really. As a matter of fact, it’s all dark. The only thing that makes it look light is the sun. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/9 "2010-05-09T04:28:32Z")
It’s the part of the moon not visible from Earth. But what first comes to my mind when I hear the phrase is the Pink Floyd album. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/10 "2010-05-09T05:00:59Z")
All of the above. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/11 "2010-05-09T05:07:31Z")
Everything. I know it as the Pink Floyd album, I think of it as the side of the moon facing away from Earth and I know that it gets just as much sun as the near side of the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/12 "2010-05-09T05:25:15Z")
I know what it means, and I also know it’s a misnomer. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/13 "2010-05-09T06:05:53Z")
I think of the side not facing earth. The word “dark” is a metaphor–it’s the side of the moon we previously could not see, and thus were “in the dark” about it. The reason I believe this is because the first time I heard of it was in some science fiction where it turned out that’s where all the life on the moon hid. Seeing as they were in a fixed location, it would have to be place that didn’t move, unlike day and night. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/14 "2010-05-09T06:08:55Z")
we came in? > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > There is no dark side of the moon really. As a matter of fact, it’s all dark. The only thing that makes it look light is the sun. Isn’t this where ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/15 "2010-05-09T06:13:21Z")
I think of it synonymous with “far side of the moon” (i.e. the part never seen from earth, or first answer)- a perfectly natural metaphor for a place that is barely but eternally beyond reach. It’s one of those words like ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’ that was made an inaccuracy by scientific discoveries but is so in the lexicon it’s still said. I’ve heard conflicting reports for “blue moon”, but the version that I go with (other than its use as a vague “long time between two points” term) is the second full moon in one calendar month, which happens I believe about twice every three years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/16 "2010-05-09T07:16:04Z")
It’s the part where you can see the munchkin hanging. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/17 "2010-05-09T07:20:59Z")
I voted “The part of the moon not visible from Earth.” However, the phrase has become SO synonymous with Pink Floyd that the album is always the first thing I think of, but the “All I know is” part does not apply. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/18 "2010-05-09T11:34:27Z")
I hadn’t really thought about it, until an amateur astronomer friend of mine pointed out that it should be “FAR side of the moon” as when the moon is new it’s light on the unseen side. This was twenty years ago, and ever since I have mentally corrected any instance of the incorrect phrase being stated. Sometime I am Sheldon Cooper. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/19 "2010-05-09T11:38:16Z")
When I was little I remember hearing about how when we sent men into space we were seeing the dark side of the moon for the first time. Thus, to me, it’s the side that’s perpetually facing away from the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768/20 "2010-05-09T12:10:00Z")
I voted Pink Floyd because it’s the first thing that comes to mind; “All I know” didn’t apply. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-does-dark-side-of-the-moon-mean/538768.md?page=2)