The wife surprised me yesterday by relating some ‘fact The Phantom had passed on when he was here a few years back. According to the wife at least, he said in order to find ‘North’, you look at a crescent moon, draw a line from tip to tip and extend it to the horizon. Where it touches… there’s North. I was as much amazed she’d remembered it all these years and trotted it out when she needed it as I was about the suggestion! 🙂
The reason it came up was that she was coming home and looked at the moon. Last night it was almost a perfect crescent… except the visual part pointed towards earth and it was horizontal… much like a smile in the sky!
The problem is of course that if you drew a horizontal line across it and continued it… it would never reach the horizon! Maybe the Phantoms suggestion only works in the UK??
The Eclectic Interweb 
Sorry to come so late to the party!
Actually, I seem to remember the technique points South. I too am amazed your good lady remembered it though.
As for the “smile”, I can’t see how that could happen. The appearance of the crescent moon is caused by the shadow of the Earth falling on the moon. I can see how the crescent might appear to point to the opposite side depending on the hemisphere the observer is in, but not rotated round by 90 degrees.
Atmospheric pollution? Drugs? 🙂
Don’t ask me how it happens but we regularly get ‘smiles in the sky’ depending on the time of year.
The wife was asking at the time if I had a camera with me (as I usually do) but alas this time I didn’t.
I’ll try to remember next time it happens! Let’s jut hope it doesn’t take until this time *next* year! 😀
Well ok… I tried posting the picture I got from a friend on the AO forum but it wouldn’t show… I’ll go make a ‘proper’ post! 🙂