Gulliver's Travels Tells Of Two Mars Moons Before They Were Discovered

Gulliver discovers Laputa, the flying island (Surely this isn't a UFO!)

I do like old newspapers because they often show coincidences. The following is from The Montreal Gazette in 1924. It's a report on the Royal Astronomical Society, Montreal Branch, when a Professor A.S Eve gave a talk.

Mars has two suitably sized moons of its own, and Dear Swift, when he wrote Gulliver's Travels, had one of his imaginary characters mention the fact. Yet, at the time Swift lived, no one knew scientifically that Mars had moons.

"I said to a certain lady I thought this a strange coincidence," remarked Professor Eve, who lectured at McGill University last night before the Royal Astronomical Society. "She was, by the way, a lady with a strong spiritualistic tendencies. Her answer was, 'Not at all, Swift's astral body had been there.'"

The professor added he thought it a pity Swift's astral body had not traversed the entire solar system - it would have saved students of heavenly mysteries much trouble.

Just to clarify Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, and these were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall. Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver's Travel's in 1726 (amended 1735).

And what about Laputa, the flying Island, in Gulliver's Travels - not a UFO surely!

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