OUR MOON HAS A FACE -- TO US HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES.

TO EAST ASIAN CULTURES THE MOON HAS A RABBIT
OR TOAD ON IT, HAWAIIANS SEE A TREE, AND IN

INDIA THEY SEE TWO HANDS.

WE HUMANS ALL LOOK UP AT THE SAME MOON, BUT
WE DON T ALL SEE IT THE SAME WAY.

THE RABBIT OR TOAD IN THE MOON COMES FROM
THE ANCIENT STORY OF CHANG E, A YOUNG WOMAN

WHO STOLE AN ELIXIR OF IMMORTALITY AND SWALLOWED
IT.

IN HER ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE SHE JUMPED AND FLOATED
TO THE MOON.

SHE MAY HAVE TRANSFORMED INTO A TOAD AS PUNISHMENT,
OR A RABBIT TO INDICATE HER BEAUTY,

BUT EITHER WAY THE ANIMAL IS WORKING A MORTER
AND PESTLE TO MAKE MORE ELIXIR.

THE POLYNESIAN STORY COMES FROM A GODDESS
NAMED HINA WHO MAKES CLOTH FOR THE GODS FROM

THE BANYAN TREE.

IN THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE THE WORD FOR MOON
IS MAHINA -- BASED ON HER NAME.

SHE MOVED TO THE MOON BECAUSE IT WAS SO NICE
THERE -- AND SITS IN THE SPACE UNDER THE BANYAN

TREE.

BUT THAT S NOT ALL

IN INDIA A MYTHOLOGY DESCRIBES TWO HANDPRINTS.

THESE PRINTS WERE LEFT, ACCORDING TO LEGEND,
BY ASTANGI MATA THE MOTHER OF ALL THAT

LIVED AND GREW ON THE EARTH.

SHE WANTED TO GIVE A GIFT TO HER CHILDREN
CHANDA AND SURAJ.

SURAJ BECAME THE SUN, AND CHANDRA, THE MOON.

AS MATA REACHED OUT TO TOUCH CHANDRA S FACE
ONE LAST TIME, SHE AND LEFT TWO HANDPRINTS

ON THE MOON.

THE OTHER MAN IN THE MOON ISN T A FACE LIKE
IN THE U.S., INSTEAD IT S A .

MAN, HOLDING A BUNDLE OF STICKS AND THIS SHAPE
PREDATES THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD, THE

OLD MAN IS REFERENCED IN THE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE
AND CHAUCER IN ENGLAND, AS WELL AS IN GERMANY

AND ELSEWHERE.

ALLEGEDLY, HE VIOLATED THE SABBATH AND WAS
DOOMED TO SPEND ETERNITY ON THE MOON AS A

REMINDER TO OTHERS.

THE GREAT THING IS, WHEN YOU HEAD TO THE SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE, THE ORIENTATION OF THE MOON APPEARS

TO FLIP!

THE MOON LOOKS DIFFERENT WHICH MEANS WE GET
A WHOLE NEW SET OF MYTHS!

FOR EXAMPLE, THE MAORI OF NEW ZEALAND HAD
A LEGEND WHERE A WOMAN, RONA FOUGHT WITH HER

HUSBAND AND THE MOON OVERHEARD.

WHEN RONA TRIPS IN THE DARK, SHE CURSES THE
MOON OVER AND OVER.

AS PUNISHMENT THE MOON PULLS HER INTO THE
SKY TO LIVE WITH HIM -- SHE TRIES TO STOP

HIM BY GRABBING A TREE, AND BOTH END UP IN
THE SKY.

EVENTUALLY, RONA REALIZES HER MISTAKES AND
SHE AND THE MOON FALL IN LOVE.

THE MOON GIVES HER THE ABILITY TO CONTROL
THE TIDES!

I LOVE THESE MYTHS BECAUSE IT HELPS US BETTER
UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER -- FOR EXAMPLE, THE

INDIAN SPACE AGENCY NAMED THEIR LUNAR LANDING
MISSION -- CHANDRAYAAN, AND THE CHINESE NAMED

THEIRS CHANG E -- BOTH BASED ON THESE MYTHS.

THE BRAIN S TENDENCY TO SEE SHAPES THAT
AREN T ACTUALLY THERE IS CALLED PAREIDOLIA.

HUMAN BRAINS WANT TO MAKE SHAPES AND PATTERNS
THAT FIT WITH OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD.

IT S WHY WE THINK CLOUDS LOOK LIKE ANIMALS,
WHY CARS LOOK LIKE THEY RE SMILING, AND

WHY WE MAKE SHAPES IN THE STARS, OR ON THE
MOON.

OUR BRAINS ARE FILLING-IN THE GAPS WITH OUR
OWN ASSUMPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES, CREATING

A STORY WHERE OBJECTIVELY THERE ARE SIMPLY
RANDOM CRATER IMPACTS, AND COLORED PATCHES

OF LUNAR SOIL.

NEXT TIME YOU RE LOOKING AT LUNA, TRY AND
SPOT THE RABBIT, THE WOMAN, THE TWO MEN, THE

TWO HANDS, THE TREE, AND -- OF COURSE -- THE
FACE.

ONE PERSON S MAN, IS ANOTHER PERSON S
TREE.

I M TRACE AND I M GOING TO GO TO POINT
MY FACE AT THE SKY TO TRY AND SEE EVEN MORE

SHAPES -- I HOPE YOU LL JOIN ME AND KEEP
LOOKIN UP!