Just like a windscreen wiper wipes the mirror of a car – our eyelids blink to clean the eyes. Blinking is simultaneously opening and closing the eyes. Blinking is an involuntary response that assures eyes are kept moist. It also protects from germs damaging the outer surface of the eyes. When we blink the eyelids create a film of mucous across the surface of eye to prevent it from drying out. Knowing how important it is we have gathered astonishing facts about blinking.

Read on to discover the hidden blinking facts

How many times do we blink per minute?

Would you believe blinking lasts just one tenth of a second? Humans blink 10 times per minute. An average human eye blink 11, 500 times per day and 4.2 million times in a year.

Women blink more than men

Although there is not much to support this claim, still it is believed that women blink two times more than men. Pacific University College Oregon has published a study in which it is concluded that women who take pregnancy pills blinks more than those who don’t take.

Zombies don’t blink 

Probably, you may have observed that zombies don’t blink their eyes. That’s why their eyes have millions of scratches. Also zombies have milky-colored eyes due to scratches.

Fastest moving muscles

The fastest moving muscles in our body are the one that help in blinking eyes. Orbicularis Oculi and levatorpalpebraesuperioris muscles control blinking of eyes. The contraction of levatorpalpebrae muscles opens the eye while the relation of Oculi muscles closes it.

Frequency of blinking  

Frequency of blinking changes in different situations especially in adults. One scenario is for the Airforce pilots where frequency of blinking is checked by whether they are flying over enemy or friend territory. It is concluded that pilots blink more if they have to gather less information which is mainly in the friendly zone. But they blink less to gather more information – when they are in enemy territory.

Moreover, people suffering from emotional stress also blink more.

Eye blink during vocalization 

Eye blink occurs most commonly at the beginning of speech or when someone is uttering vowels.

With blinking you can find listener’s interest

Sometimes people blink their eyes for 2 to 3 seconds to block the view of the talking person. It happens when a person has no interest in others’ speech.

Babies blink less    

Maybe babies sleep most of the day that’s why they blink less. Or maybe they are too excited to see the new world. As they grow they start to blink frequently.

Blinking became an inspiration for Ford Motors

Robert Kearns was an employee of Ford Motors. According to Kearns, he got the idea of the windshield wiper system from the blinking of eyes. “Flash of Genius” movie also follow the same story.

Blinking in animals  

Majority of animals blink in the same manner as humans. Some animals like birds, sharks, lizards etc. blink with the help of a Nictitating membrane. It is called their thirds eyelid which slides across the eye keeping it moist.