10 Amazing Eye Facts That Will Change How You See The World

Our eyes are one of the most complex organs in our whole bodies – second only to the brain. This makes them one of the most complex systems on the entire planet, and with over 2 million working parts, there are plenty of fascinating things to learn about the eye. That’s why we decided to put together ten of our favourite mind-blowing eye facts. Facts that are not only interesting, surprising, and sometimes unbelievable, but they might just change the way you see the world.

Human vision (and the many other types of vision possessed by other animals) is a miraculous feat that often stretches the limits of current scientific understanding. In fact, some people, seeing no possible worldly explanation, still believe that the human eye might just be proof that God exists. But while we can’t possibly confirm or deny this notion, let’s take a look at some of the amazing things we do know.

1. Clearer than the Most Powerful Camera

Over the years, cameras have become consistently more powerful and impressive – so much so that many of us now carry a camera in our pockets with more megapixels than a huge professional set-up would have been able to achieve just a few years ago. But this pocket power still pales in comparison to nature’s own cameras – our eyes.

If the human eye was an actual camera, it is estimated that it would have 576 megapixels (MP). To put this into context, many smartphones on the market today have upwards of 108 MP sensors – some even reaching 200 MP.

2. The Blue-Eyed Ancestor

Our eye colour is determined by how much melanin – a pigment compound. For example, people with more melanin tend to have brown eyes, while those with less may have green or hazel eyes, and so on. Having little or no melanin in the eyes makes for a blue eye colour.

In fact, blue eyes first occurred due to a genetic mutation. Evidence suggests that every blue-eyed person on the planet shares a single, common ancestor. This original blue-eyed human is thought to have lived between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago!

3. Changing Shades

While most of us will be certain of our eye colour, it can change. This has been known to happen for a variety of reasons, both temporarily and permanently. It can be attributed to something as simple as our pupils dilating, or being in different light settings.

But it’s also not uncommon for our eyes to become lighter or darker as we get older. Much like many kittens have blue eyes when they are younger and grow up to have green or even brown eyes, a similar process can occur in humans. This can be a result of sun exposure or simply ageing.

Still, such eye colour changes are not as dramatic as those seen in cats (though they are more noticeable in newborn babies). While minor changes are common (your irises may change by a couple of shades), it is extremely unlikely that you will experience a complete colour change. In fact, significant changes to your eye colour may be a sign of an underlying problem.

4. Game Plan

According to research, playing Tetris – you know, the 80s shape-stacker video game – isn’t just frustrating and addictive. It could help to treat lazy eye!

Lazy eye (amblyopia) occurs when one eye is weaker than the other due to being underdeveloped. It is estimated to affect between 1% and 5% of the population and usually occurs in early childhood. While common treatments include the donning of an eyepatch, studies have shown that playing Tetris could help to retrain the weak eye and improve vision.

5. Carrots for Night Vision

Most of us will have been told by our parents or carers, or even told our own children, that carrots can help us see in the dark. This popular myth is thought to have started circulating during World War II when the British government promoted the notion that eating carrots could boost night vision – an important asset for blackouts!

But that doesn’t mean that it is completely untrue. In fact, carrots contain a lot of eye-healthy nutrients. B-carotene, which is converted to Vitamin A in the body can help to enhance eye health, and even promote improved night vision! Unfortunately, eating carrots will never allow us to see completely in the dark.

6. Seeing in the Dark

Speaking of seeing in the dark… The retina at the back of the eye features two types of cells that facilitate our vision: rods and cones. While cones are essential for allowing us to distinguish different colours, rods enable us to see in low-light conditions.

Each of our eyes is home to approximately 130 million rods and seven million cones. It only takes a small amount of light to activate the rods, but this doesn’t help with colour vision – hence why we see everything at night – including the moon – in greyscale!

7. Superhuman Healing

Our eyes have an almost unmatched ability to defend and repair themselves. Not only can they filter out dust and debris and heal scratches in as little as 48 hours, but they also have a layer of antibacterial fluid to protect against infection!

Up there with the brain as one of the most active parts of the body, the eyes require a healthy circulation of oxygen and nutrition as well as the ability to quickly get rid of waste. Having access to these resources supports the eyes in their rapid healing.

8. No Eye is Perfect

Our eyes are truly incredible organs, but they aren’t perfect. Even people with exceptional visual acuity have a blind spot. In fact, the eyes’ blind spot is probably the most important thing that allows us to see. That’s because it is the result of the connecting point between the retina and the optic nerve.

Our eyes work together to form the picture we see of the world around us – and they do the same to compensate for each other’s blind spots. As a result, we never really notice this hole in our vision; however, there are some exercises you can do to find it. Try looking at these images to see if you notice yours!

9. 50 Shades of Grey

Far from picking up just 50 shades of grey, the human eye can actually distinguish between around 50,000 shades of the colour! This would be impressive if it weren’t for the colour green, of which we can see more shades than any other colour in the spectrum. That’s why night vision goggles are always green!

10. Small but mighty

Our eyes might be small – weighing only about 28 grams each and being approximately two-and-a-half centimetres wide – but it sure is mighty. Featuring six muscles (that’s three more than our glutes!), it is relatively one of the most powerful parts of the body.

And they certainly need this power. These muscles work together to achieve the precision that allows us to focus on and follow incredibly fast-moving objects, and react to stimuli even before we consciously see it!

Have these amazing eye facts prompted you to achieve the best vision possible? If you’d like to learn more about Laser Eye Surgery and whether it could be right for you, get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today.