Looking at the full moon

I don't know why people believe that a full moon is a time of increased odd behavior, but it is older than America, and it is not just an American superstition, although certainly many Americans believe that. The word lunatic, which means someone who is crazy, is created from the Latin word for the moon.

A psychologist from the University of Miami (in Florida) did a study of police records in Dade County, Florida (where the city of Miami is located), and claimed that the murder rate always increases during the period of the full moon. He then claimed that the same increased murder rate during the full moon was evident in the records of Cuyahoga County, Ohio (where the large city of Cleveland is located). However, statisticians--people who study the meaning of numbers in records--say that Lieberman, the psychologist from the University of Miami, used flawed statistical methods, and that when a proper statistical analysis was applied, there was no evidence of an increased murder rate during the full moon.

But the idea has remained popular--so yes, many people in America believe that people behave in a "crazy" manner during the full moon.

I think people are apt to act differently during a full moon, although I have absolutely no data to back that up

The moon is strong enough to draw the tides in and out, we are mostly water.

I can't help but believe that has an effect.

I've heard the actual data supports Setanta's post. My personal observations while working nights in a motel with lounge attached differed from the formal data.