The Amazing Eye: 20 Facts You Didn't Know

We have spent the last several posts writing about the importance of protecting your eye. But how much do we really know about the eye other than the fact that it helps us see and enjoy all the beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis. So in honor of these orbs of awesomeness – I decided to crawl through the web to find as much unique and interesting trivia about the eye as possible. I have done my best to weed through all the facts that I found and only present those that will simply surprise, impress, or completely bewilder you! I hope after you have made it through our top 20 list, you will have a new found respect and appreciation for your incredible eyes!

1. A human eye is composed of approximately 2 million parts – that’s equivalent to all the parts needed to make 67 Toyota cars (Toyota states on their website that their cars have approximately 30K parts each).

2. Don’t let its size fool you – the eye heals quickly – with proper care the eye can heal a minor corneal scratch in about 24 to 48 hours.

3. The cornea is the only tissue in the human body that has no blood vessels running through it. Cornea needs to be clear so that it can properly refract light. If blood vessels are present it would interfere with the process.

4 .Despite what we might think, images that the eye sees are actually upside down and backward. The brain uses 50% of its processing power to actually combine and process the images that we see.

5. All humans originally had brown eyes; about 6,000 years ago blue eyes appeared as a mutation. Currently, 55% of the world’s population has brown eyes.

6. If you have green eyes, you’re in luck. Only 1-2% of the world’s total population has green eyes. Still, that’s 150 million people which is roughly equivalent to the population of Russia.

7. The eye is the fastest muscle in the human body, each blink lasts about 100 to 150 milliseconds. Hence the saying “in the blink of an eye”.

8. Ever wonder why your child is so tired after an hour-long iPad session? When looking at a computer screen or reading the eye blinks 50% less than it normally does.

9. All babies are born color blind – at birth, they can only see black, white and some shades of gray. Full-color vision is usually fully developed by 6 months.

10. Babies blink a lot less than adults. Babies typically blink 1 to 2 times a minute while adults blink on average 15 to 20 times per minute. There are various theories some research believe babies blink less because they have smaller eyes and therefore require less lubrication. Others believe that tired eyes blink more and since babies sleep so much, they are less tired therefore blink less.

11. Newborns don’t actually produce tears when they cry as tears do not start coming in until weeks 4 to 13.

12. Red-green color blindness is primarily found in men. The red-green receptors are found only on the X chromosome, so men have 1 set and women have 2. Therefore, even if one set is faulty, color vision will still continue normally for women.

13. Instead of 50, the human eye can differentiate 500 shades of grey. 

14. The human eye weighs 26 grams which is about the same weight as 4 quarters. It is 24mm wide which is about as big as a gumball that you get at the grocery store gumball machine.

15. The human eye is fragile – that’s why only 1/6 of the human eye is exposed and the rest is hidden in the eye socket.

16. The human pupil dilates by 45% when looking at something pleasant.

17. The eyes reflexively close when it senses potential danger, like when objects are too close or there is a sudden bright light.

18. Currently, the human eye cannot be transplanted. There are over a million nerve cells in the optic nerve connected to the brain. The biggest challenge surgeons are facing today is how to reconnect the optic nerve and its million+ nerve cells y to the brain properly so that the images seen can be processed correctly.

19. Forget the 4-digit pin or the fingerprint scan as a way to protect your smartphone. Opt for the iris scan. The eye has 256 unique characteristics vs. a fingerprint’s paltry 40 unique characteristics. It’s a no-brainer the eye is a much safer bet.

20. Just like your skin, your eyes can get sunburned. Before you start slathering your baby blues with SPF 60, you should know that your best line of defense is a good pair of sunglasses. Even on cold, gray, wintery days, you should still wear your sunglasses since eye burns actually develop slowly over a period of time.

The human eye can do some pretty amazing things, so next time your little ones are outside playing. Don’t forget to put a pair of sunglasses on them so you can protect their peepers and keep their beautiful little eyes healthy for years to come. Check out these full collection of toucca kids sunglasses that will let your little ones look good while protecting their eyes.