Talk:Man in the Moon

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Man in the moon in different cultures[edit]

Is there a list of cultures where the "man in the moon" perception is commonplace? Is it an English-centric thing, or is it present in different languages/cultures? Personally I've never heard of such a thing except in English-language sources, but I only speak two languages, so that may be misleading. (The article does mention other cultures, but only to list what non-man objects those culture recognize in the moon, and without any sources.)

The written description is somewhat hard to follow to anyone not versed in moon crater names. For people who have problems "seeing" the face, it might be beneficial to include an actual drawing that, superimposed to an actual image of the moon, outlines the position of the perceived "facial features". Hniksic 10:07, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)

i probably would, but it's harder to see the face close up in a picture... i've never seen anything but a human face... -hexhunter 16:32 GMT 30.09.05

Certainly not unique to English, but I suspect it may be a European thing. However, what the article doesn't explain is the origin myth of the man in the moon. --MacRusgail 20:20, 22 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Erm... the most obvious man in the moon reference seems to be missing... as in the rhyme . The man in the moon Came down too soon, And asked the way to Norwich. He went by south, And burnted his mouth By eating cold plum porridge. I'm new to changing things and so thought that someone else might like to change the page. Thanks, Phipli 19:48 BST 9th Aug 2006

Pictures[edit]

I agree with the post that the highlighting would be useful. However, I believe that one of the eyes is improperly referred to. At the top of the article, it states that "the figure's eyes are the Mare Imbrium and Mare Serenitatis". But in the diagram with the four pictures of the moon, the two eyes circled are Mare Imbrium and Mare Tranquillitatis (for reference, see http://media.skytonight.com/documents/GettingStartedNorth.pdf)


This article would benefit from pictures highlighting the various features of each 'image'. I for one, can see none of them. This makes me sad. :(  -- Run!  22:28, 6 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest you swipe and upload locally this image. 68.39.174.238 15:16, 15 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That link takes me to what I assume is a missing image page on the german wikipedia. This makes me sad :(  -- Run!  21:10, 15 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh nevermind, turns out it's the Netherlands wikipedia, not the german one. I decided to use the cross-language link from this article instead and found it on the german wikipedia anyway. Cheers.  -- Run!  21:15, 15 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The position of the "bowl" and "pestle" seem to be somewhat off in the rabbit image. Compare [1]. --207.245.10.221 20:50, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The outlines on the lower-left image: Is that it? Is that the traditional, "classic" Man in the Moon that many people see? 163.192.21.44 16:03, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Isn't it more than just a face? I was wondering what the Man in the Moon was and before I came here I saw this page http://www.planetfusion.co.uk/~pignut/see_man.html -

i have to say, from england, the man-in-the-moon's face is totally different to what you have delineated. i'm not at home right now and i cant see any good pictures on line either, but honestly, the face is not vague at all- he looks like a jolly fat farmer- almost like a buddha face actually- really smiling- and really detailed. i was surprised to see what other people consider to be the face.Good european 22:05, 22 August 2007 (UTC)[reply] 

149.175.110.83 07:05, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Disambiguation[edit]

This page should be a disambiguation-page, because of some films, like

Puck 21:23, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Is it really sensible to do that when none of those articles exist yet? I'm genuinely unsure on that particular aspect of disambiguation pages so I don't know.  -- Run!  21:32, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Redlinks on disambiguation pages are fine. The two dab links that are at the top of this article already would go along with them, so it wouldn't be completely redlinks — in any case, it would go at Man in the Moon (disambiguation) rather than this article, because the subject of this article is the primary topic.--SB | T 21:55, 2 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The disambiguation should also include the phrase Man on the Moon, which is easily confused.--MacRusgail 14:25, 28 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Not only culture[edit]

The fact that some people around the world see different pictures in the moon is not only because of culture. In different countries they actually see the moon differently. For example, Australians are seeing it up-side-down compared to Europeans... because compared to them they are standing up-side-down! 201.50.214.34 23:23, 25 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Woman in the moon[edit]

In Bulgaria people regard the moon as a woman, not as a man. They see it's "face" as a woman that is a bit sad or worried. look at some pictures and you will find that the moon can also appear as a woman. 83.228.121.186 (talk) 19:55, 18 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Oh brother; does it ever end? The myth is about the man IN the moon, not the gender OF the moon, which is historically regarded as female anyway. This is not an appropriate place for revisionist feminism. Signed 173.181.5.250
Notice that the original comment was in 2008. "Does it ever end?" Then why are you replying to a 4.5 year old comment that everyone else has ignored?  Stepho  talk  03:59, 7 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Jewish origins???[edit]

  • Regarding: "One tradition, both Christian and Jewish, claims him as Cain" -- what are your sources for this? Certainly, citing Dante's Inferno does not prove any Jewish connection!
  • Regarding: "There is also a Talmudic tradition that Jacob is on the moon" -- what are your sources?

192.118.76.130 (talk) 11:05, 6 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Popular Culture[edit]

I deleted this from the intro:

"It may have also been referenced in the cult comedy series The Mighty Boosh. Sometimes during the show, the moon will spin round to reveal the face of a man who will make comments or tell vague stories."

Just moving it here in case someone feels like adding a "man in the moon in popular culture" section later. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.236.235.151 (talk) 00:51, 24 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If a Popular Culture section is added, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic probbaly needs a mention for Nightmare Moon. 92.28.207.151 (talk) 18:43, 26 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Jewish Origins???[edit]

  • Regarding: "One tradition, both Christian and Jewish, claims him as Cain" -- what are your sources for this? Certainly, citing Dante's Inferno does not prove any Jewish connection!

You are quite right to question this. From what I can find now, the myth seems to be medieval Christian in origin. The only Jewish connection seems to be the original story of Cain, which has no lunar component. The statement was badly phrased, if not wholly incorrect.

  • Regarding: "There is also a Talmudic tradition that Jacob is on the moon" -- what are your sources?

Wolfson, Elliot R. "The Face of Jacob in the Moon" in The Seductiveness of Jewish Myth: Challenge or Response? S. Daniel Breslauer, ed. This essay has 35 pages on the identification of Jacob with the moon in Jewish lore, including the idea that Jacob's face is engraved on the moon.

Harley, the Rev. Timothy, FRAS [Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society]; Moon Lore; 1885. "... though the Jews have a Talmudic tradition that Jacob is in the moon, and though they believe that his face is plainly visible, the Hebrew Scriptures make no mention of the myth."

I've edited the article to add the references and change the inaccuracy. Thanks.

D.Helber (talk) 04:43, 5 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Can you please identify which tractate and page in the Talmud that book says Jacob is inscribed in the moon? I wasn't able to find it when going through the limited preview, and a citation of the original source would be better than a secondary one. Althepal (talk) 19:32, 27 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Image copyright problem with File:P&G logo.jpg[edit]

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Máni - mannlegr???[edit]

Where does this come from? The name Máni simply means "Moon", but sounds very similar to the Old Norse for "human" mannligr.??? Máni has the same root as mánuðr (Icelendic: mánuður) that means month. [2] But Máni has nothing to do with mannligr (Icelandic: mannlegur). --194.144.23.124 (talk) 20:48, 4 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

True. Take it out. --88.149.99.14 (talk) 20:28, 12 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Skeleton, Dragon and Angel! Oh My LSD![edit]

So there's no reference for the ridiculous skeleton, dragon and angel entries? More power to you, person who takes the brown acid and can see this stuff. But why is this here? What's the cultural reference? Historical reference? Please give something other than a report of your own experiences of browse the NASA website while doped up, or just remove this. 67.124.149.181 (talk) 15:29, 12 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Miscellaneous[edit]

Since the moon is perceived up the other way in the southern hemisphere, there is a strong potential for alternative "faces" to be interpreted there - some mention of that might be very useful. In particular, if one takes the example image and rotates it so the top-left corner points straight down (135 degrees rotation anticlockwise), a simple face is apparent. This is the most common face people "see" in places like New Zealand. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.21.26.162 (talk) 04:45, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The moon flips completely from up to down between moonrise and moonset and depending on the viewer's angle, it has little to do with hemisphere. I have several pictures of the moon taken in the northern hemisphere, and none match the orientation provided on this page — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.43.24.186 (talk) 19:24, 14 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Does anyone know what "other cultures" see in the moon?

The Japanese see a rabbit. Actually, I've never been able to see a human face, but I can see the rabbit just fine. — Gwalla | Talk 00:42, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

There's also a movie with this title. Anyone want to stub it? --Alex Cohn 22:12, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Even with the lines you draw on it, I still can't see this "man" in the moon. I've tried so hard to see it. I've always seen a wolf howling at the moon myself, but I've never heard anything about what anyone else sees before today. I'm going to have to call shenanigans. I think you're making this up.76.29.225.28 (talk) 20:38, 23 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Images?[edit]

There is a textual description of some of the things that people see in the moon, but it would be helpful if there were images to illustrate. (Think of those star maps where constellations are drawn in.) Augurar (talk) 00:45, 20 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Discovery of a 3D holographic image of a Man on the Moon[edit]

A recent discovery of a Buddha form on the Moon is reported in http://sun-faced-buddha-moon-faced-buddha.blogspot.com. The discovery sheds new light on the phrase "Finger pointing to the Moon", a phrase that has been a topic of deep philosophical interpretation and discussion for centuries. Zenfinder (talk) 23:46, 20 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Crackpot dead link. Hyacinth (talk) 02:53, 25 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Southern Hemisphere perspective, with pictures[edit]

I have an old (2007) blog post with an illustration of the Man in the Moon as I've always seen it in Australia. It refers to an earlier version of this Wikipedia article, but don't let that -- nor the tongue-in-cheek tone -- distract you.

I won't add my interpretation to the article, as that would be uncomfortably close to original research. Better to leave it to others to paraphrase and to decide what is verifiable.

For evidence that other Australians see the Man in much the same way, here's a similar interpretation from another blogger (whom I don't know), and you can see in the comments that various people agree.

The interpretations differ in detail as one would expect, but they are united in declaring the Man in the Moon to be a face with eyes in Mare Nubium and Mare Tranquillitatis. Perhaps that is all that needs to be said.

118.210.64.39 (talk) 12:56, 11 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Personally, I've never been able to see any face in the moon without looking at a diagram. I'm Australia too.  Stepho  talk  14:11, 11 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I am the user who commented above as 118.210.64.39. Just to say I've re-written parts of the aforementioned blog post, giving it a more formal, less tongue-in-cheek tone. 118.210.79.253 (talk) 09:10, 11 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

From Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable[edit]

"E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

Man in the Moon (The).

Some say it is a man leaning on a fork, on which he is carrying a bundle of sticks picked up on a Sunday. The origin of this fable is from Num. xv. 32–36. Some add a dog also; thus the prologue in Midsummer Night’s Dream says, “This man with lantern, dog, and bush of thorns, presenteth moonshine;” Chaucer says “he stole the bush” (Test. of Cresseide). Another tradition says that the man is Cain, with his dog and thornbush; the thorn-bush being emblematical of the thorns and briars of the fall, and the dog being the “foul fiend.” Some poets make out the “man” to be Endym’ion, taken to the moon by Diana.

1.Man in the moon. The nameless person at one time employed in elections to negotiate bribes. Thus the rumour was set flying among the electors that “the Man in the Moon had arrived.”

2.I know no more about it than the man in the moon. I know nothing at all about the matter."

Just passing through looking for a picture of the man with sticks which doesn't appear so much at the full moon but at a phase. But I thought this ref might be helpfulJeremy (talk) 03:01, 23 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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"Examples and occurrence globally"[edit]

Are there citations to support the bits about Christ's crown of thorns and the cowled death's head? I'm not finding anything. PurpleChez (talk) 20:43, 1 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Ruhollah Khomeini[edit]

There was also a political myth that said Ruhollah Khomeini's face is on the Moon just before the 1979 Iranian revolution. Aminabzz (talk) 17:11, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Need references from reliable sources - WP:FACT, WP:RS.  Stepho  talk  21:43, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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