10 Amazing Facts About Our Eyes and Vision

You may not realize just how amazing your eyes actually are.  After all, as long as your vision is clear (or it’s been appropriately corrected with glasses or contacts) you may not put a lot of thought into how they work.  Here are some interesting facts about our eyes that will probably surprise you.

1. Humans blink around 15-20 times in a minute. That equals an average of 900-1200 times per hour that you’re awake, which can typically add up to over 19,000 times a day!
2. Scientists estimate that the human eye can detect up to 10 million different colors.
3. Iris scans are a very effective and accurate form of security screening. For comparison, a fingerprint has 40 unique characteristics, but an iris has 256.
4. The muscles that move the eyes are the strongest muscles in the human body for the job they need to do. They are 100 times more powerful than they need to be.
5. Blind people, whether they were born with eyesight or not, can dream in visual images, as they have the ability to experience visual sensations in the brain.
6. The eye contains over two million working parts and is the second most complex organ in the body (the brain is number one).
7. Ommetaphobia is an extreme fear of eyes.
8. There has never been a successful transplant of an entire eyeball in a human (doctors have never been able to overcome the complex web of nerves, blood vessels and muscles involved).
9. Newborn babies do not produce tears when they cry, as their tear ducts are still developing (but crying without tears when they are older than a few months can be a sign of blocked tear ducts).
10. Heterochromia is a condition in which a person has more than one eye color. It can appear as two completely different colored eyes, such as one brown and one blue, or as one eye having multiple colors.

One More Fact About Eyes

Here is one more interesting bonus fact about vision – 80% of visual impairment can be prevented or cured.  That is an important one to know and understand.  That means that regular visits to your eye doctor can help to ensure healthy vision for life.  At Family Vision Development Center, our professional and experienced team will help protect your eyes and vision through our comprehensive vision exams, our state-of-the-art corrective lenses and our advanced, specialized vision therapy programs.  Contact our Aurora office at 630-862-2020 to learn more or to schedule an appointment.