Credits: Social Media
Cute theory about why we say ‘to the moon and back’ is melting people’s hearts
An adorable theory about why we say the phrase ‘to the moon and back’ in relation to love is taking over TikTok.
The expression is often said when telling someone how much you love them, to represent a huge amount.
Cute ‘to the moon and back’ theory
“Currently crying because someone just told me that your heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood a day, which is equivalent to the amount of gasoline it would take to drive from earth to the moon and back,” a viral TikTok video says.
“So when someone tells you they love you to the moon and back, they are basically saying they love you every time their heart beats, which is constantly,” the theory continues – and it’s warming people’s hearts.
One person commented: “THIS IS TOO CUTE.”
“This made my heart hot,” said another.
A third person added: “A tear went down my cheek.”
“This was actually cute,” another agreed.
The theory has been circling social media for years now and has some truth to it. An average heart does pump 2,000 gallons of blood per day, but the part about gasoline and driving to the moon appears to be fabricated.
Why we say the popular expression
While it is a very cute idea, it’s not actually the reason why we tell people ‘I love you to the moon and back’.
As explained by Better Help, the line is thought to have originated from a children’s book called Guess How Much I Love You by British author Sam McBratney. In the story, a father and child hare are having a conversation about how much they love each other.
Little Nutbrown Hare asks Big Nutbrown Hare “Guess how much I love you?”, and the pair use increasingly large measures to quantify how much they love each other, beginning with stretching his arms widely.
At one point in the story, the little hare thinks he has won by saying “I love you up to the moon,” but the father hare one-ups him again by replying: “I love you to the moon and back.”
Now, the expression is used when someone wants to describe their love as “boundless or unconditional” and it signifies a “deep connection between the speaker and the person to whom their affections are directed”.
