Eyepatch: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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In the years before advanced medicine and surgery, eyepatches were common. They were particularly prevalent among members of dangerous occupations, such as [[ |
In the years before advanced medicine and surgery, eyepatches were common. They were particularly prevalent among members of dangerous occupations, such as [[sailor]]s and [[blacksmith]]s. Today, with [[Ocular prosthetics|prosthetic eyes]] increasingly accessible, eyepatches are no longer common. |
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==Sailors== |
==Sailors== |
Revision as of 08:03, 1 September 2008
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Ophthalmic_eyepatch.jpg/220px-Ophthalmic_eyepatch.jpg)
An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the treatment of amblyopia. (See orthoptics and vision therapy.)
History
In the years before advanced medicine and surgery, eyepatches were common. They were particularly prevalent among members of dangerous occupations, such as sailors and blacksmiths. Today, with prosthetic eyes increasingly accessible, eyepatches are no longer common.
Sailors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Piratey.svg/220px-Piratey.svg.png)
Eye patches may have had a more practical purpose for sailors and pilots. Sailors (stereotyped by the eye-patch-wearing pirate) who often went above and below deck, used eye patches to have one eye adjusted for the top deck and the other eye already adjusted for the darkness when suddenly going below deck. The strong sunlight while above deck on an oceangoing vessel could require minutes of adjustment to the dim lighting below deck. With virtually no light sources below deck, sailors would have to rely heavily upon their eyes to adjust. In the critical moments of modifying the rigging, navigating, and especially during battle, those minutes were too precious. A simple switch of the patch from one eye to the other saved time and was more convenient than being temporarily blinded when going between decks. This was deemed plausible on the January 17, 2007 episode of MythBusters.
Pilots
Similarly, pilots at one time would also do the same, when flying at night over brightly lit cities, so that one eye could look out, and the other would be adjusted for the dim lighting of the cockpit to read unlit instruments and maps. When flashlights with red bulbs, backlit instruments, and other modern instruments came along, that no longer was necessary, just as boats and ships evolving into being well lit made eye patches a thing of the past.
Some military pilots have worn a lead-lined or gold-lined eyepatch, to protect against blindness in both eyes, in the event of a nuclear blast or laser weapon attack.[1][2][3]
Amblyopia
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Child_eyepatch.jpg/220px-Child_eyepatch.jpg)
Eye patching is used in management of children at risk of amblyopia (lazy eye), especially strabismic or anisometropic amblyopia. These conditions can cause visual suppression of the dissimilar images by the brain, resulting in blindness in an otherwise functional eye. By patching the good eye, the amblyopic eye is forced to function, causing vision to be retained.
Famous eyepatch-wearers
- Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (Russian Field Marshal)
- Xavier Shepard
- Moshe Dayan (Israeli military leader and politician)
- Jan Zizka (Czech general and Hussite leader)
- Jan Syrový (Czechoslovak general and polictian)
- Bushwick Bill (Rap singer with the Ghetto Boys)
- Gabrielle
- Momus
- John Ford
- Raoul Walsh
- André De Toth
- James Joyce (he was known to wear one even though he never lost an eye)
- Wiley Post
- Andrew Vachss
- Slick Rick
- Yagyu Jubei
- Dale Chihuly
- Date Masamune
- Mother Angelica
- Tegan Quin (of Tegan and Sara)
- Melissa Rojas
- Marie Colvin - Reporter
- Xiahou Dun
- Christopher Conway
- José Millán Astray
- Jamey Sheridan (temporarily, during treatment for Bell's palsy)
- Ray Sawyer, lead vocalist for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
- Claus von Stauffenberg
- Rich Williams, Kansas Kansas guitarist
- Sammy Davis Jr. (singer, entertainer, member of the infamous "Rat Pack", lost eye in an auto accident 1954)
- Nivek Ogre, singer of Skinny Puppy
- David Bowie (British singer)
- Pete Burns (Leader sing of British New Wave band, Dead or Alive)
- Ron Hamilton
- Victor Page
- Barbara Boggs Sigmund
- Dick Curless
- Jean-Marie Le Pen (French far-right politician, lost his left eye in a brawl)
- GX Jupitter-Larsen (Noise Musician/The Haters)
Fictional eyepatch-wearers
- Miss Astrid, from the burlesque show The Va Va Voom Room (actrss Katherine Valentine)
- Antoine, an Agent of the Upright Citizens Brigade
- Lockon Stratos, Gundam pilot from Gundam 00
- Snake Plissken (Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. protagonist)
- Deathstroke A fictional character, a supervillain and sometime anti-hero in the DC Comics Universe.
- Jesse Custer (Preacher main character)
- Man from Estwyck - Survivor of a Wendol attack in the movie The 13th Warrior
- Nao Yuuki manga/anime character from My-HiME
- Lucia Nahashi manga/anime character from Venus Versus Virus
- Captain Harlock manga/anime character appearing in various works by Leiji Matsumoto
- Hortense Toomey (Earthly Powers sister of main character)
- Natsuo Sagan (Loveless (manga))
- The Wicked Witch of the West (Land of Oz villain)
- Demian Martinez Guerra (Mundo de Fieras villain)
- Bazooka Joe (Bazooka (chewing gum) comic strip main character)
- Beatrix (Final Fantasy IX character)
- Captain Pip Bernadette of the Hellsing manga
- Big Boss, aka Naked Snake (a central character in the Metal Gear series)
- Sally Brown in Peanuts wore one to treat amblyopia.
- Fuhrer King Bradley (Fullmetal Alchemist character)
- General Chang (played by Christopher Plummer in Star Trek VI)
- Gotrek Gurnisson (main character in the Gotrek and Felix novels)
- Chris the Ninja Pirate - from Weebl and Bob
- Rooster Cogburn (played by John Wayne in True Grit and Rooster Cogburn)
- Captain Francesca 'Franky' Cook (played by Angelina Jolie in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow)
- Fancy Crane (Passions; following a 2006 eye injury)
- Dalton (Chrono Trigger)
- Dangermouse
- Chihiro (Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two)
- Dee (Preacher character)
- Elle Driver (Kill Bill villainess)
- Nick Fury (Marvel Comics superhero)
- Monica Geller (Friends, "The One with Chandler in a Box")
- Gippal (Final Fantasy X-2 character)
- The "Man in the Hathaway Shirt" (advertising campaign of the 1950s)
- "Wildcat" Chris Harris (currently wearing an eyepatch in kayfabe as part of his character in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling)
- Jarlaxle (Forgotten Realms dark elf rogue)
- Steve "Patch" Johnson (Days of our Lives)
- Katsuichi (Usagi Yojimbo character)
- Deunan Knute (Appleseed Main Character)
- Emilio Largo (James Bond villain)
- Mikhail Bakunin (A character on the TV show Lost)
- Zakuro Mitsukai (Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan)
- Wolf O'Donnell (Star Fox villain)
- Patchy the Pirate (SpongeBob SquarePants)
- Seamus (Family Guy character)
- Random Hero (Haggard: The Movie character)
- Lavi (D.Gray-man character)
- Commander Red (Dragon Ball character)
- Yagyu Retsudo (Lone Wolf and Cub main villain)
- Sagat (Street Fighter character)
- Saito (Ghost in the Shell character)
- Ramon (King of Fighters character)
- Phil Ken Sebben (Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law character)
- Piotr Skut – Estonian aeroplane pilot in The Adventures of Tintin
- Solidus Snake (Metal Gear Solid 2 antagonist)
- Lans Tartare (Tactics Ogre villain)
- Big Dan Teague (O Brother, Where Art Thou? character)
- Col. Saul Tigh (Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series))
- Captain Typho (Star Wars character)
- Umanosuke (Samurai Champloo character)
- Akito/Agito Wanijima (from "Air Gear")
- Xigbar (Kingdom Hearts II)
- Kenpachi Zaraki (Bleach character)
- Nnoitra Jiruga (Bleach character)
- Zatch (Surf Ninjas Character)
- Molotov Cocktease and Master Billy Quizboy (from The Venture Bros.)
- Number Two (Austin Powers movies)
- Captain Ron (Kurt Russell in the movie Captain Ron)
- Xander Harris (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- Rose Wilson,Ravager (Teen Titans)
- Takuma Fudo (GetbackerS)
- Commandant Spangler (Malcolm in the Middle)
- Sven Vollfied from Black Cat
- Matthew from The Law of Ueki
- Nadine Hurley (Twin Peaks)
- Lily Charles from Pushing Daisies
- Halloween Jack (David Bowie alter ego)
- Barasuisho ( Rozen Maiden Träumend )
- Kirakishou ( Rozen Maiden Träumend )
- Hatake Kakashi (Naruto Manga)
- Russel (Happy Tree Friends)
- Fay D. Flourite (from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle)
- Shin Natsume (Tenjho Tenge)
- Zegram from Rogue Galaxy*
- Matthew Taylor Shoegazing musician*
- Elle Driver (Kill Bill)
- Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (note that this eyepatch was a cybernetic surveillance and data processing tool, not a necessity; Snake still had two functioning eyes, and could remove the eyepatch at will)
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)