ROTARY AVOIDABLE BLINDNESS FOUNDATION

Facts About Eyes

FACTS ABOUT EYES

Our eyes are one of the most fascinating and complex sensory organs. Almost every living being rely on them for daily life. How much do we really know about the following facts on eyes? Here are a few facts that you might like to know.

  • THE WORLD’S MOST COMMON EYE COLOUR IS BROWN.
  • THE EYE HAS THE FASTEST MUSCLE IN OUR BODY – THAT’S WHY WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS QUICKLY, WE SAY ‘IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE!’
  • WE SEE WITH OUR BRAIN, NOT WITH OUR EYES. OUR EYES FUNCTION LIKE A CAM- ERA, CAPTURING LIGHT AND SENDING DATA TO THE BRAIN.
  • WE HAVE TWO EYEBALLS IN ORDER TO GIVE US DEPTH PERCEPTION – COMPARING TWO IMAGES ALLOWS US TO DETERMINE HOW FAR AWAY AN OBJECT IS FROM US.
  • YOUR EYE COLOUR IS DETERMINED BY THE AMOUNT OF MELANIN IN YOUR IRIS.
  • 20/20 VISION SIMPLY MEANS THAT YOU HAVE NORMAL VISION.
  • THE EYES BECOME TIRED WHEN YOU READ OR STARE AT A COMPUTER; BECAUSE YOU BLINK LESS OFTEN.
  • ALTHOUGH OUR NOSE AND EARS KEEP GROWING THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, OUR EYES REMAIN THE SAME SIZE FROM BIRTH.
  • YOU BLINK MORE WHEN YOU TALK.
  • EYELASHES KEEP DIRT OUT OF OUR EYES.
  • EYEBROWS PREVENT SWEAT DRIPPING INTO THE EYES.
  • HETEROCHROMIA REFERS TO A CONDITION WHERE EYES ARE OF TWO DI ERENT COLOURS.
  • OUR EYES ARE PROTECTED BECAUSE THEY ARE POSITIONED IN A HOLLOWED EYE SOCKET.
  • THE EYES ARE THE SECOND MOST COMPLEX ORGAN AFTER THE BRAIN.
  • WE ALL HAVE UNSEEN, AND HARMLESS, MICROSCOPIC CREATURES LIVING IN OUR EYELASHES.
  • THE MUSCLES IN THE EYES ARE 100 TIMES STRONGER THAN THEY NEED TO BE TO PERFORM THEIR FUNCTION.
  • WHEN THE EYES ARE WATERING IT MAY BE A SIGN OF DRY-EYE; THE EYES ARE PRODUCING MORE MOISTURE TO COMPENSATE FOR IT.
  • EYES START TO DEVELOP JUST TWO WEEKS AFTER CONCEPTION.
  • THE OLDER WE GET, THE LESS TEARS WE PRODUCE.
  • THE EYES CAN PROCESS 36,000 PIECES OF INFORMATION IN A SINGLE HOUR.
  • COLOUR BLINDNESS IS MORE COMMON IN MALES.
  • READING IN DIM LIGHT DOES NOT DAMAGE THE EYES BUT IT MAY TIRE THEM OUT.
  • ONLY ONE SIXTH OF THE HUMAN EYEBALL IS EXPOSED.
  • IF YOU LINED UP ALL THE EYELASHES SHED DURING ONE HUMAN LIFE, THEY WOULD MEASURE 98 FEET.
  • YOU SEE THINGS UPSIDE DOWN; IT IS YOUR BRAIN WHICH TURNS THE IMAGE THE RIGHT WAY UP.
  • THE SPACE BETWEEN YOUR EYEBROWS IS CALLED THE GLABELLA
  • EVERYONE HAS ONE EYE THAT IS SLIGHTLY STRONGER THAN THE OTHER.
  • THE EYEBALL WEIGHS AROUND 28 GRAMS.
  • WHEN YOU CRY, YOU GET A RUNNING NOSE, BECAUSE THE TEARS DRAIN INTO YOUR NASAL PASSAGES.
  • DIABETES IS THE # 1 CAUSE OF BLINDNESS IN ADULTS IN THE UK.
  • PEOPLE GENERALLY READ 25 TIMES SLOWER ON SCREEN THAN ON PAPER.
  • ALL NEWBORN BABIES ARE COLOUR-BLIND.
  • IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SNEEZE WITH YOUR EYES OPEN.
  • THE HUMAN EYE CAN SEE 500 SHADES OF GREY.
  • YOU BLINK ON AN AVERAGE OF 4,200,000 TIMES A YEAR.
  • THE CORNEA IS THE ONLY TISSUE IN THE HUMAN BODY WHICH DOESN’T CONTAIN BLOOD VESSELS.
  • THE HUMAN EYE CAN FUNCTION AT 100% AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT, WITHOUT NEEDING REST.
  • SMOKING REDUCES YOUR NIGHT VISION.
  • EYELASHES HAVE AN AVERAGE LIFESPAN OF FIVE MONTHS.
  • NEWBORN BABIES WILL CRY BUT NOT PRODUCE ANY TEARS UNTIL THEY ARE SIX WEEKS OLD.
  • OUR EYES ARE MADE UP OF OVER 200 MILLION WORKING PARTS.
  • UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS AND LIGHTING, HUMANS CAN SEE THE LIGHT OF A CANDLE FROM 14 MILES AWAY.
  • 80% OF VISION IMPAIRMENT WORLDWIDE IS CURABLE.
  • THE HUMAN EYE ONLY SEES THREE COLOURS – RED, BLUE, AND GREEN. ALL OTHER COLOURS ARE A COMBINATION OF THESE.
  • IT’S POSSIBLE TO BLINK FIVE TIMES IN A SINGLE SECOND.
  • THE HUMAN EYE ONLY SEES THREE COLOURS – RED, BLUE, AND GREEN. ALL OTHER COLOURS ARE A COMBINATION OF THESE.
  • YOUR EYES CONTAIN AROUND 107 MILLION LIGHT SENSITIVE CELLS.
  • YOUR EYES CONTAIN 7 MILLION CONES WHICH HELP YOU SEE COLOUR AND DETAIL, AS WELL AS 100 MILLION CELLS CALLED RODS WHICH HELP YOU TO SEE BETTER IN THE DARK.
  • A BLINK TYPICALLY LASTS 100-150 MILLISECONDS.
  • OUR EYES CLOSE AUTOMATICALLY TO PROTECT US FROM PERCEIVED DANGERS.
  • ABOUT HALF OF THE HUMAN BRAIN IS DEDICATED TO VISION AND SEEING.
  • 80% OF OUR MEMORIES ARE DETERMINED BY WHAT WE SEE.
  • OUR EYES HAVE SMALL BLIND SPOTS WHERE THE OPTIC NERVE PASSES THROUGH THE RETINA, AND OUR BRAINS USE THE INFORMATION FROM THE OTHER EYE TO FILL THIS GAP.
  • WHILE A FINGERPRINT HAS 40 UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS, AN IRIS HAS 256. THIS IS WHY RETINA SCANS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING USED FOR SECURITY PURPOSES.
  • JUST BEHIND OUR PUPIL IS THE LENS, WHICH IS ROUND, AT AND THICK TOWARD THE MIDDLE.
  • ALBINISM AFFECTS MELANIN PRODUCTION, PERHAPS RESULTING IN EXTRA SENSI- TIVITY TO LIGHT AND A RED-EYED APPEARANCE.
  • THE CORNEA IS THE TRANSPARENT COVERING OF THE IRIS AND PUPIL.
  • ASTIGMATISM REFERS TO A CURVATURE OF THE CORNEA OR LENS AND TORIC LENSES ARE PRESCRIBED TO AID THE INDIVIDUAL’S VISION.