12 fascinating eye facts – And even more reason to protect them

Most of us don’t spend time contemplating the incredible complexities of our eyes… that is, until something happens that leads to impaired vision.

Our eyes are amazing machines that help us process life visually and provide us with a lifeline to everyday tasks and moments.

These 12 facts will get you thinking more about just how high-functioning, complex, and vital your eyes are. (And give you just a few more reasons to protect them properly.)

Did you know?

1. One eye consists of more than two million working parts. Eyes are incredibly complex, highly productive, and resilient organs that can adjust to different conditions and environments immediately.¹
   
   
2. The muscles that move your eyes are the fastest and strongest muscles in your body, relative to their function. They’re 100 times more powerful than necessary.²
   
   
3. After the brain, your eyes are the second most complex organ in your body.²
   
   
4. Most of us are familiar with fingerprinting – yet retina scans are now commonly being used for security purposes instead: your fingerprint has 40 unique characteristics, whereas your iris has 256.²
   
   
5. On average, we blink 5.2 million times in a year.²
   
   
6. Your eye can detect over 10 million color hues, but it can’t pick up ultraviolet or infrared light.²
   
   
7. Information overload: Your eyes are capable of processing 36,000 pieces of information per hour. They efficiently deliver data to your brain to process so that you can contextualize and evaluate it immediately. This is how we understand activity, art, movies, social media, and other stimulating pieces of visual information. ¹
   
   
8. Each of your eyes has a small blind spot on the back of the retina where the optic nerve attaches. The hole in your vision isn’t noticed though; your eyes work together to fill in each other’s blind spot.⁴
   
   
9. The function of tears is to keep your eyes clean, but scientists still haven’t figured out why we cry when we’re upset.²
   
   
10. Your eyes will process 24 million images in your lifetime. Overall, your eyes contribute to 85% of your total knowledge.¹
    
    
11. About 40,000 corneas are transplanted yearly in the United States.³
    
    
12. 80% of vision problems worldwide are avoidable.⁴

This is just scratching the surface of the intricacies your eyes are capable of, which only reinforces why eye protection is so important. The statistics don’t lie, eye injuries on the job are a very real risk.

HexArmor® can help

Our eyes are too important to settle for eyewear that’s underperforming. HexArmor® is changing that standard.

Through our joint venture with a German-based, European leader in safety lens technology, we’ve pioneered the best-performing eyewear in the Americas made from the highest quality materials that feature permanent anti-fog and scratch-resistant coatings.

Plus, all of HexArmor's safety eyewear is Z87+ approved, so you know you're getting the best eye protection on the market - see our safety eyewear technology.

Let us know if you need help or if you're ready to start a trial - our Solution Specialists are ready to work with you. Call 1-877-MY ARMOR or send us a message.

Browse all HexArmor® eye protection

Sources:

¹ https://www.optometrists.org/general-practice-optometry/guide-to-eye-health/how-does-the-eye-work/

² http://www.thefactsite.com/2013/10/amazing-eye-facts.html

³ http://www.huroneye.com/cornea.html

⁴ https://www.vsp.com/eyes.html