📚APR 2026 Cosmicomics #1 THE DISTANCE OF THE MOON
Original topic subject: 📚APR 2026 Cosmiccomics #1 THE DISTANCE OF THE MOON
Talk GoodThings I've Read
Join LibraryThing to post.
1DebiCates
Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino translated by William Weaver, collection first published 1965.
Discussion links:
Introduction
The Distance of the Moon (This page)
At Daybreak
A Sign in Space
All at One Point
Without Colors
Games Without End
The Aquatic Uncle
How Much Shall We Bet?
The Dinosaurs
The Form of Space
The Light-Years
The Spiral
Final Thoughts
Discussion links:
Introduction
The Distance of the Moon (This page)
At Daybreak
A Sign in Space
All at One Point
Without Colors
Games Without End
The Aquatic Uncle
How Much Shall We Bet?
The Dinosaurs
The Form of Space
The Light-Years
The Spiral
Final Thoughts
2DebiCates
What an amazing adventure! I am smitten, awed, and highly entertained. What timing too-- the Artemis II just launched on Wednesday, April 1.
First, some scientific background:
There was a real scientist, a geologist, named George H. Darwin. He was the son of Charles Darwin.
The earth and the moon used to be closer, possibly within a few Earth radii. In fact, the moon is continuing to distance itself from the us by roughly 3.8 cm per year.
When the two bodies were closer (scientists think they were once ONE body, split apart by a cosmic traffic accident), the moon would have had an even larger affect on earth's tides, making them much higher, much more frequent. The day length on the earth would have been shorter due to the affect of the moon's gravity. In fact, in this story it is very tides created by the moon that are pushing the moon away.
The moon is not made of cheese. That myth entered into the folklore from a fable where Wolf sees an appetizing reflection of the Moon in a well. He thought it was a wheel of cheese, went for it, and drowned.
SOME SPOILERS BELOW
Back when the moon was closer (much much closer) the narrator (the timeless entity with the name Qfwfq) tells how they used to take a boat when the tides were high. With a ladder they could climb up to the moon and while there scoop up Moon Milk (has a consistency of cream cheese, don't ask what's in it, it's not hygenic) and fill buckets of the stuff to take back. Theirs is a small group that makes the regular trip. It includes Qfwfq, his deaf cousin, the Captain Vhd Vhd and his wife, Mrs. Vhd vhd, and at one time at least, a little girl named Xlthlx.
Once, little Xlthlx falls overboard and like many of the lighter weight creatures in the sea she begins to float up, drawn by the moon's gravity. Along the way, she begins to eat some of the floating creatures causing her to present another gravitational attraction, and finally is heavy enough she drifts back down to the sea, is rescued, returns with all sorts of hitchhikers.
Qfwfq's unnamed cousin loves the adventures to the moon where he has a special affinity with the cosmic body. He doesn't care about the milk or even his own extraordinary physical abilities to swing up from the ladder and navigate the moon's surface. He likes being there, and sneaks off often to be alone there. The rest of the month not much else interests him.
There is also love in this story, but I won't tell you about that. It is unrequited, all the way around. It is the part of the story that suddenly transforrms it from a delightful flight of imagination, to a story about our love for the cold moon, who is always slowly moving farther away from us.
pic from https://bioeconometrician.github.io/figures/ladder_moon.jpg
You can read this story here
https://addsdonna.com/old-website/ADDS_DONNA/Science_Fiction_files/Calvino_Balla...
First, some scientific background:
There was a real scientist, a geologist, named George H. Darwin. He was the son of Charles Darwin.
The earth and the moon used to be closer, possibly within a few Earth radii. In fact, the moon is continuing to distance itself from the us by roughly 3.8 cm per year.
When the two bodies were closer (scientists think they were once ONE body, split apart by a cosmic traffic accident), the moon would have had an even larger affect on earth's tides, making them much higher, much more frequent. The day length on the earth would have been shorter due to the affect of the moon's gravity. In fact, in this story it is very tides created by the moon that are pushing the moon away.
The moon is not made of cheese. That myth entered into the folklore from a fable where Wolf sees an appetizing reflection of the Moon in a well. He thought it was a wheel of cheese, went for it, and drowned.
SOME SPOILERS BELOW
Back when the moon was closer (much much closer) the narrator (the timeless entity with the name Qfwfq) tells how they used to take a boat when the tides were high. With a ladder they could climb up to the moon and while there scoop up Moon Milk (has a consistency of cream cheese, don't ask what's in it, it's not hygenic) and fill buckets of the stuff to take back. Theirs is a small group that makes the regular trip. It includes Qfwfq, his deaf cousin, the Captain Vhd Vhd and his wife, Mrs. Vhd vhd, and at one time at least, a little girl named Xlthlx.
Once, little Xlthlx falls overboard and like many of the lighter weight creatures in the sea she begins to float up, drawn by the moon's gravity. Along the way, she begins to eat some of the floating creatures causing her to present another gravitational attraction, and finally is heavy enough she drifts back down to the sea, is rescued, returns with all sorts of hitchhikers.
We got the worst of it off her, but for weeks afterwards she went on pulling out fins and shells, and her skin, dotted with little diatoms, remained affected forever, looking--to someone who didn't observe her carefully--as it were faintly dusted with freckles.
Qfwfq's unnamed cousin loves the adventures to the moon where he has a special affinity with the cosmic body. He doesn't care about the milk or even his own extraordinary physical abilities to swing up from the ladder and navigate the moon's surface. He likes being there, and sneaks off often to be alone there. The rest of the month not much else interests him.
There is also love in this story, but I won't tell you about that. It is unrequited, all the way around. It is the part of the story that suddenly transforrms it from a delightful flight of imagination, to a story about our love for the cold moon, who is always slowly moving farther away from us.
pic from https://bioeconometrician.github.io/figures/ladder_moon.jpg
You can read this story here
https://addsdonna.com/old-website/ADDS_DONNA/Science_Fiction_files/Calvino_Balla...
3DebiCates
@AnishaInkspill what do you think of this first story? Do you like it?
4DebiCates
Oh boy, take a look at this video, a quick imagining if the moon was orbiting as close as the International Space Station.
Of course, if that were to happen, we'd only live to see it once.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBDZtt0vWD8&t=102s
Of course, if that were to happen, we'd only live to see it once.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBDZtt0vWD8&t=102s
5AnishaInkspill
>3 DebiCates: I'm stumped, not sure, and I was hoping it will all come together when I finish. What you say in is interesting in >2 DebiCates:, I've been looking through my books to see what I can find out about the moon.
6DebiCates
>5 AnishaInkspill: Uh oh, I'm not sure it will all come together...we'll have to see. It might continue to only be wild imaginings on the theme of what it would be like to experience these scientific cosmic theories.
It had me looking for more moon information, too! Just that sort of tangent rabbit hole hunting we go down from our reading, right?
It had me looking for more moon information, too! Just that sort of tangent rabbit hole hunting we go down from our reading, right?
