25 Interesting Color Blindness Facts

Color blindness is a color vision deficiency which affects how people perceive colors around them. People who are color blind cannot identify the differences among colors and may have difficulty in doing normal things that those who have perfect vision usually do. That is why it is important that we are also aware of different color blindness facts so that we can somehow make things easier for those who are color blind. You may enjoy all the colors that you can see but you can also encounter people who cannot.

Normal sight

Below are some facts about color blindness that you may want to share with your family and friends. Who knows, you might know someone who has the symptoms but are not just aware of how it can be addressed. Awareness and then sharing what you know can be a simple gesture but it can also be a great help to those who need it by being a source of information and motivation as well.

  1. The more proper term to use is color vision deficiency instead of color blindness but since the latter is easier to pronounce, it became the more common term.
  2. Color blindness is usually hereditary but it can also be caused by aging, eye diseases, cataract, or retina damage.
  3. It is more common among males than females because the most common form of color deficiency is encoded on the X sex chromosome.
  4. In the US, one in every 12 males may be affected by color blindness while for females, there is only less than one in 200.
  5. Roughly around 8% of men’s population are color blind.
  6. Only about 0.5% of women’s population are color blind.
  7. Among all color blind people, 99% are suffering from red-green color blindness.
  8. If a father is red-green color blind, he cannot pass it on to his sons.
  9. If a mother is red-green color blind, all her sons will also be color blind.
  10. There are three kinds of color blindness, based on the different kinds of cones found in the retina that respond to blue, green, and red light. They are called protan, deutan, amd tritan defects.
  11. The most common color blindness is red-green color blindness, next is blue-yellow color blindness, and the most rare is total color blindness which is the complete absence of colors.
  12. An even rarer form of color blindness is called unilateral dichromacy which means that one eye can normally see colors while the other eye is color blind.
  13. Color blindness can be categorized as slight, moderate, strong, and absolute in terms of severity.
  14. Unfortunately, there is no treatment or cure for color blindness.
  15. Contact lenses or glasses can help improve color blindness but they cannot give normal vision back.
  16. Normal color vision is required to get a drivers license in some countries. For instance, in Romania and Turkey, it is considered illegal for color blind people to drive. It was because of the fear that drivers who are color blind will not be able to distinguish the difference in traffic lights.
  17. The most accurate color blindness test is the anomaloscope. It was first developed in the 20th century and is used by eye specialists all over the globe. It is based on a color match where two different light sources have to be matched to get two same colors.
  18. To screen if a person has a color vision deficiency, the most widely used test is the Ishihara plates test developed by Dr. Shinobu Ishihara.
  19. Color blindness tests can also be taken online but they may not be as accurate as those taken with an eye specialist.
  20. If you want to be a police officer, a fire fighter, or an airline pilot, you have to have a normal color vision. There are other professions which also require perfect vision and most of them are related to public safety.
  21. During World War II, color blind soldiers were said to have an advantage because they can distinguish camouflage more easily. But today, color blind people will not be allowed to serve in the military.
  22. A lot of famous and succesful people are color blind. Some of them include former US President Bill Clinton, the Duke of Cambridge Prince William, American writer Mark Twain, Hollywood director Christopher Nolan, scientist John Dalton, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, NBC host Matt Lauer, and celebrities such as Keanu Reeves, Eddie Redmayne, Meat Loaf, and Paul Newman.
  23. The Facebook logo is blue because that is the dominant color that Mark Zuckerberg sees. Mark suffers from red-green color blindness.
  24. One of the most common problems that color blind people have to deal with is buying matching clothes and distinguishing ripe fruits from those which are not.
  25. Red-green color blindness may also affect the way people cook meat because they cannot see various shades of red.

There are other scientific facts that can come from eye doctors and specialists who can explain color blindness more effectively. These are just 25 basic and interesting facts which can give you a better understanding of color blindness. At least now you know that being color blind cannot keep a person from being successful in life. One color blind person even got the highest seat in the land while another one is a prince. A few celebrities became famous without people even knowing that they are color blind and there was also one who became the CEO of the most popular social media site of today.

Do you know of any more color blindness facts? Make sure that you share it so that more and more people will be aware of the things that color blinded people go through. It should not be considered a disorder but rather, a condition which allows other people too see things differently. Being color blind may have some drawbacks but it should not be taken as a deterrent to doing something that can make someone happy, successful, and contented.

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