A diligent reader of this column, one G.T. writes, “Mr. Anthony, is it true that people get weirder when the moon is full?”

Well, Mr. G.T., I am not qualified to answer this in astronomical, psychological or geophysical terms, but as a layman (and arguably, a weird person), I can fill you in on what I’ve learned over many moons.

It seems that the bulk of modern studies done on full moon bozo-ness do not fully support the idea that people necessarily go mad, dance naked, become insominiacs or grow longish teeth and hair in unusual places.

However, one study done in Finland did veer toward the idea that suicides were slightly higher when the big cheese is showing.

Still, on those three or four nights a month when ‘la luna’ is directly opposite the sun by 180 degrees, with the earth in between, folklore abounds with stories of people, animals and combinations of the two who claim to be affected by what has been called ‘the transylvania effect’, full on ‘lunacy’ or just plain being ‘moonstruck.’

I have a good friend, a retired cop who told me that after a couple of years on the job he learned to avoid shifts when the moon was loud and proud.

He believed that domestic violence increased during full moons.

His position is backed up in at least one study done in Dade County, Florida in 1978, where researchers found "Homicides and aggravated assaults demonstrate statistically significant clustering of cases around (the) full moon."

But in the same study, Florida hospitals seemed to show just the opposite effect, "Psychiatric emergency room visits cluster around first quarter and shows a significantly decreased frequency around new and full moon."

Ultimately, the study concluded that there was still "existence of a biological rhythm of human aggression which resonates with the lunar synodic cycle."

Naysayers of this supposition will tell us that increased human aggression on the aproximate twelve nights a year when the dead gray satellite is out is noticeable mainly because, when the moon is full, it’s more likely that people will mill about outside, including those with bad intent.

This idea is supported by another study which claimed that an unusual number of traffic accidents occurred during the evenings right around the full and new moons (Templer, Veleber, and Brooner, 1982).

Later researchers showed that during the time period studied, a disproportionate number of full and new moons fell on weekends, when traffic accidents are always higher.

Another bit of research from a less-than-scientific work by one Arnold L. Lieber claims a "biological tides theory" which explains that the lunar cycles which cause tides in the ocean also cause them in the human body, since the human body is almost 80% water.

When I tried this theory on Mrs. Anthony to explain my need to buy a sports car, she corrected me by saying the 80% in my case is more likely to be prune juice.

Also, many studiers of moon madness believe this phenomenon to be chalked up to ‘communal reinforcement’ (the effect of media and historical word of mouth) and cognitive bias, ( if you are looking for nutball behaviour, you are more likely to find it.)

So to finally answer your question G.T., about whether the full moon makes people loony, I believe we can surmise that it’s mostly a subjective situation.

If you ‘want’ the events around you to seem unusually negative, then you may reap what you sow, however, it might be possible to spin this positively as well.

Some American Indian tribes considered the full moon to be the best time to detox and take part in "sweat lodge" rituals. And there is research that shows that crops planted near or on the full moon date tend to prosper more easily into rich yields.

So as you ponder the next waning, gibbous moon on November 2, think about the good stuff.

And on this note, did you hear about the great new restaurant on the moon? The food is excellent, but there's no atmosphere.