Fun Eye Facts…..Because Why Not?

Fun Eye Facts . . . Because Why Not?

The past few blogs I’ve written have been serious with a little bit of fun, but this time I thought I’d change it up and do a fun blog while still incorporating some seriousness.  Researching this has been really interesting, and I hope you find reading it is the same.

  • The average blink is about 1/10 of a second. We blink anywhere from 15-20 times a day and will blink about 4.2 million times a year.
  • The corneal epithelium (the first layer of the cornea) is the quickest healing tissue in the body and can heal itself from a minor scratch in about 48 hours.
  • Human corneas are very similar to a shark’s cornea. Shark corneas have been used in eye surgery.
  • Your retina sees the world upside down, and the brain flips it right side up.
  • The cells in your eyes come in different shapes. There are about 120 million rod-shaped cells in the eye that help you see at night better and about 7 million cone-shaped cells in the eye that help see colors and details.
  • Smoking reduces night vision.
  • There is no successful way to transplant an eyeball. This is due to the sensitivity of the optic nerve (the nerve that connects the eye to the brain).
  • Newborns do not start producing tears until they’re around 4-13 weeks old.
  • All babies are color blind at birth and can see objects about 8-15 inches away.
  • Your eyes are about an inch across and weigh about 28 grams.
  • The first blue-eyed person was thought to have lived about 10,000 years ago. Before that, everyone had brown eyes.
  • Ommatophobia is the fear of eyes.
  • It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open due to the nose and eyes being linked by a cranial nerve.
  • A fingerprint has 40 unique characteristics. An iris has about 256.
  • Eyes can get sunburned. This is called photokeratitis and can make the corneal epithelial cells slough off similar to how sunburned skin sloughs off. **Wear your sunglasses.**
  • Some people are born with two different colored eyes called heterochromia. Think of celebrities Kate Bosworth, Henry Cavill, or Jane Seymour– just to name a few. While many think David Bowie had heterochromia, he actually had a condition called anisocoria. Anisocoria is unequal pupil size. Because his pupil was so dilated (the result of a fistfight when he was 15 years old), it gave the false appearance of a dark iris color.
  • Everyone has a natural blind spot in the back of the retina where the optic nerve attaches. You don’t notice this spot because with both eyes open, they work together to fill in each other’s blind spot.
  • The muscles in your eyes (there are 7 in total) are the most active muscles in your body.Have a beautiful, FUN day!!