Amazing facts about the human eye

On average, we blink 12 times per minute – which equates to about 11,500 blinks per day and more than four million times per year

You cannot sneeze with your eyes open

On average, people read 25 per cent more slowly from a computer screen compared to on paper

The eyes remain the same size from birth

The external muscles moving the eye are the body’s strongest muscles for the job they have to do, being 100 times more powerful than they need to be

If the conditions are right, the human eye can see the light of a candle as far as 14 miles

The adult eyeball has a diameter of about an inch (2.5cm)

All babies are colourbblind when born

Your eyes contribute to about 85 per cent of your total knowledge

The eye is the only human body part able to function at an ability of 100 per cent at any moment, without rest

A human eyeball weighs approximately 28 grammes

According to research, wearing a tie too tightly can increase the risk of glaucoma in men

Your eyes focus on about 50 different things each second

Eyelashes have a lifespan of approximately five months

Males are ten times more likely to be colour blind than females

Everyone has microscopic creatures lurking in their eyelashes

The eye can see about 10 million colour hues

Sailors used to believe that wearing a gold earring would improve their eyesight

In an average lifetime, a human will grow 98 feet (30 metres) of eyelashes

Just 1/6th of the eyeball is exposed to the outside world

The only living tissue in the human body without any blood vessels is the cornea

The eyes are made up of more than two million working parts

The eyes of a baby do not produce tears until the baby is around six to eight weeks old

Your eyes are able to process 36,000 items of information each hour

Men can read fine print more easily than women

A human eye can distinguish 500 shades of grey

The eyes begin to develop two weeks after conception

The eyes never wear out

The older you are, the less tears you produce