<P> In the English Middle Ages and renaissance, the moon was held to be the god of drunkards, and at least three London taverns were named "The Man in the Moone". The man in the moon is named in an early dated English nursery rhyme: </P> <P> The man in the moon came tumbling down And asked his way to Norwich; He went by the south and burnt his mouth With supping cold pease porridge . </P> <P> The Man in the Moon is made up of various lunar maria (which ones depends on the pareidolic image seen). These vast, flat spots on the moon are called "maria" or "seas" because, for a long time, astronomers believed they were large bodies of water . They are large areas formed by lava that covered up old craters and then cooled, becoming smooth, basalt rock . </P> <P> The near side of the moon, containing these maria that make up the man, is always facing earth . This is due to a tidal locking or synchronous orbit . Thought to have occurred because of the gravitational forces partially caused by the moon's oblong shape, its rotation has slowed to the point where it rotates exactly once on each trip around the earth . This causes the near side of the moon to always turn its face toward earth . </P>

Where does the expression man on the moon come from