Insanity, werewolves and the lunar eclipse tomorrow.

We all know that the full moon turns you into a werewolf or just plain stark raving mad. Well at least according to this website:

The full moon is credited for a lycanthropic man's moonlight metamorphosis into a dangerous howling beast - the werewolf (in North American cultures, or a horse or goat in Brazil, or a tiger in India, and so on). In a less Anthropomorphic vain, many believe that the full moon is responsible for an increase in abnormal psychological behaviors such as suicides and violent crimes. As I shared the introduction of this article to this point with the nurse at my doctor's appointment today, she told me, as many medical professionals will, that she KNOWS it!

While there are many studies, offered by proponents of such theories, that suggest a correlation between the full moon and such phenomenon, there are an equal number of studies by skeptics that portend to refute any association. Before you jump on either band-wagon, consider the following paragraphs.

We all know werewolves are imaginary beasts, right? In fact, medicine has even given a name to those who believe they transform by the light of the moon. The name is a mental disorder called lycanthropy (Lycanthropy http://www.the-cma.org.uk/HTML/werewolf.htm). Yet, while these believers are classified as mental patients, medicine also provides the foundations for the possibility of such anomalous phenomena with the identification of several other very rare diseases such as Porphyria, (see Porphyria http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/porphyria/ ) that caused a Mexican family to recluse from society and another to make a living as a Werewolf attraction in a traveling circus. They have also identified rare blood diseases that interfere with the normal enzyme production and cause failures or abnormalities of red blood cells and leads to craving for red meats - for the blood. One disease is even named after the wolf man - Congenital hypertrichosis universalis is also known as human werewolf syndrome and is manifested by abnormal hair growth NOT mental irregularities!

What I wonder though, is what happens during a lunar eclipse?! Do you all of a sudden go completely sane?
Well, we'll certainly be finding out tomorrow since there will be a lunar eclipse.
According to NASA:

The next eclipse is right around the corner: Saturday, March 3, 2007. Stuck on Earth, we can't see the ring of fire, but we can see the red glow it produces on the moon. The phenomenon will be visible from parts of all seven continents including the eastern half of North America.

If you want the best view you should be getting on a plane in the next couple hours to head on over to Africa (or Europe really... but Africa sounds cooler). Here's the map of where/when the best effect is.