On 19 Aug 99, at 6:01, James Daugherty wrote:
> This post caught my eye on the net some time ago. Can anyone refute
They're the same size other times, too
> any
> of these co-incidences or point to possible theories explaining them as
> necessary consequences of various physical laws?
>
>
> Weird Coincidences
> ------------------
>
> During a full eclipse, the disc of the moon is EXACTLY the same
> size as the disc of the Sun.
> This means that it PERFECTLY
> covers the Sun, no more no less.
>
> What are the odds I ask you, what are the odds.
>
This is the only one that's really a long-odds coincidence. So far the empirical odds are 1/N, where N=total number of moons in the solar system ... (it might be interesting to figure out if any of the others come close). One could quibble with EXACTLY here, too, since the moon's orbital eccentricity produces both full and annular eclipses.
>
> Our Moon's period of rotation is EXACTLY equal to its period of
> revolution around the earth.
Already explained, tidal lock. Oh, and it's not exact, either, the moon
wobbles.
> One more that comes to mind: The Symbol of the 2 ENTWINED
> SNAKES has long symbolized MEDINCE or the HEALING ARTS. Well
> two entwined snakes also just happen to look EXACTLY like the
> DOUBLE HELIX of a Strand of DNA.
[...]
The caduceus in its modern form looks somewhat like a double helix (it's usually tapered, though). The archaic depictions of it do not generally have the serpents so neatly coiled; most of the time they are just in a rough figure 8. The coincidence with the ida and pingala of Kundalini yoga is at least as striking.
The arts and ritual of the ancient world were full of spiral forms in general.
Oh, and the CLOSEST coincidence to the form of the intertwined serpents is ...
Well, OK, that involves DNA too :-)
> Also did you know that the word MONTH comes from the word MOON,
> and that a lunar cycle is 28 days long [same as a womans
> menstrual cycle and high tides]
Of course it matches the tides; the moon's gravitational field is the main driver of tides.
> and that 13 lunar months, or
> 13x28days is EXACTLY EQUAL to 364 DAYS AND VERY close to a
> year?? The question then beomes why on earth dont we use
> thriteen 28 day months instead 12 weird length months !!!!!! 13
> is very close to 12 and 13 equal length months, that are even
> delineated by full moons, would be too simple for the commoners
> to understand, maybe that is why they hosed with the calender,
> who knows !
Actually, lunar calendars were common in ancient times, but they don't line up with the seasons. The moon's mean period is NOT 28 days, it's slightly over 29, and variable, so the fit is actually pretty bad. A lot of lunar calendars have 12 months instead of 13.
Fun. Got more/better ones?