![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Le_loup_et_le_renard_Chauveau.jpg/640px-Le_loup_et_le_renard_Chauveau.jpg&w=640&q=50)
The Moon is made of green cheese
Fanciful belief used as a metaphor and proverb / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about The Moon is made of green cheese?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
"The Moon is made of green cheese" is a statement referring to a fanciful belief that the Moon is composed of cheese. In its original formulation as a proverb and metaphor for credulity with roots in fable, this refers to the perception of a simpleton who sees a reflection of the Moon in water and mistakes it for a round cheese wheel. It is widespread as a folkloric motif among many of the world's cultures, and the notion has also found its way into children's folklore and modern popular culture.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Le_loup_et_le_renard_Chauveau.jpg/320px-Le_loup_et_le_renard_Chauveau.jpg)
The phrase "green cheese" in the common version of this proverb (sometimes "cream cheese" is used),[1] may refer to a young, unripe cheese[2][3][4][5] or to cheese with a greenish tint.[6]
There was never an actual historical popular belief that the Moon is made of green cheese (cf. Flat Earth and the myth of the flat Earth).[upper-alpha 1] It was typically used as an example of extreme credulity, a meaning that was clear and commonly understood as early as 1638.[9]