Watch Out for Those Flirting Eyes
Part 2

Your eyes are incredibly complex

The eye is truly a magnificent organ with a remarkable structure that we take for granted. The retina (back of the eye ball) is made up of 137 million cells. As we look out and study the world around us there are one-and-a-half million simultaneous messages going to the brain each moment. For efficiency, the data flow is reduced as most of the retina cells (130 million out of 137 million) see only in black and white. Only a relatively few cells (7 million) respond to color. This greatly reduces the amount of information the brain must process from moment to moment.

There are approximately 200 tiny hairs called eye lashes immediately above and below the eye. They grow only to a fixed length and then fall out in about 3 to 5 months. Each hair is replaced by another one and none has time to turn gray like other hair on the body. The life span of the hairs in our eyebrows is about the same but some of the replacement eyebrow hairs may become gray as we grow older.

Tear ducts in the eyes secrete a fluid to keep the eyes cleansed and lubricated. The tears are antibacterial and keep the eyes free of infection even though they are exposed to uncountable bacteria in the air. When we cry, the tears, facial expressions and sounds send body language messages to indicate happiness, sadness or distress. Most primates and land animals do not weep. However, there are reports indicating that seals and sea otters do weep and shed tears when emotionally distressed, such as when they have lost their young. A woman in Australia reported accidentally killing a kangaroo with her automobile and later seeing the mate standing over it and weeping.

The dark center of the eye, called the pupil, is constantly sending unconscious body language messages. Since the pupil can not be controlled consciously it is an excellent and reliable broadcaster of emotions. When the pupil is closed down to a small opening (when not in bright light) it indicates a lack of interest or something distasteful. Dilated (wide open) pupils indicate high interest. When talking to a partner of the opposite sex, this high interest really may be 'desire'. When a person looks around, at the mouth and maybe even lower body parts, there is 'lust in those orbs'!