>Yet as astronomer George Abell noted, a mosquito sitting on your arm would exert a more powerful gravitational force on your body than would the moon.
No it won't. The moon's gravitational force on you is roughly G * m * 5.68 * 10^5 N[1]. (G is the gravitational constant, m is your mass.) A mosquito weighing 2 mg[1] would have to be within two micrometres of your brain to have that effect[3].
I think it is easier to fix the argument (change the mosquito for a dog, or if needed change it for your car) than to fix the preconception that the moon really affect us so much.
Now, if we simply observe the changes that the menstrual cycle inflicts on women's mood, then this is something real and with a correlation (depending on a different phase of the moon for each women), but it is not because of the moon, it is because of hormones.
No it won't. The moon's gravitational force on you is roughly G * m * 5.68 * 10^5 N[1]. (G is the gravitational constant, m is your mass.) A mosquito weighing 2 mg[1] would have to be within two micrometres of your brain to have that effect[3].
[1] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28mass+of+the+moon%29+...
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_%28mass%29#...
[3] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2*10^-6+%2F+x^2+%3E%3D+...