Sep 14

Interesting Facts About Your Eyes

Our eyes are our window onto the world! They are amazing parts of our bodies that are vital to our everyday lives.

We collected some phenomenal facts for you to peruse:

With the help of six muscles, your eyes blink an average of over 4 million times a year and these muscles are the fastest moving in the body.
Your eyes grow until you are about 2 years old and stop, while your nose and ears can keep growing.
Brown is the most common eye color and blue is the second most common. Green eyes are the rarest to have. Your eye color is genetically determined and is contingent upon how much melanin or pigment is in the front layers of the iris.
Some people have two different colored eyes – a condition called heterochromia.
Millions of retina cone cells are how you see color and 100 million rod cells allow you to see in the dark. Eyes can see about 10 million different colors.
More men are color-blind than women. It is caused by missing color-detecting cone cells. Someone who is color-blind will not see colors as others do and it is often hard to distinguish between greens and reds.
Tears go out the way they come in. Babies cannot produce tears until about six weeks old and older people produce fewer and fewer tears as they age. Chronic dry eye is an inflammatory disease that results in lack of lubrication for your eyes.
Your brain and eyes work hand in hand on so many aspects of vision. Your eye lenses send an image to your retina, it is actually upside down and backward. It is your brain that makes it look right to you. Your eyes function like cameras capturing light and sending the information back to your brain to put the picture into perspective and focus.
An average eyelash hangs out about 5 months, while the rest of your hair’s lifespan is two to four years.
In the animal world, dolphins can sleep with an eye open, dogs do not see reds or greens and scorpions can have as many as 12 eyes.
Only ⅙ of your whole eyeball is visible. Each eye weighs about .25 ounces.
It really is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open!
Your eyes use about 65 percent of your brainpower and don’t actually “see” anything, but capture light and info for our brains to process.
Approximately 80 percent of vision problems around the world are avoidable and often curable.

Our Eye Experts Are Here for You

If you are having any problems seeing or other issues with your eyes, it is time for a comprehensive exam! Our team at Trumansburg Optical offers all of the services that you may need, including emergency eye care. Our optometric practice can help you with new glasses, contacts and of course, keeping your eyes as healthy as possible. Contact us today for an appointment.