Move Over Bradley Cooper, Now Everyone Has Night Vision

The body works in weird and mysterious ways. But some of those mysterious ways turn out to be amazing.

Everyone loves their body's odd little quirks. For example, when I apply pressure to a certain area of my right arm it makes the big toe on my left foot twitch - mega. But even better, and far more importantly, I can give myself night vision. And so can you.

Anyone who has seen Jack Reacher, a film starring Tom Cruise that features some epic sniping scenes, will know where this is coming from. Towards the end, Robert Duvall's character is asked why he's keeping his right eye shut. He replies: "I'm saving my night vision."

After a bit of research, it turns out it's a common technique used by snipers to improve their sight during the black of night. They simply shield one of their eyes to let it get accustomed to the darkness. The longer they cover the eye, the better their vision. Genius.

PA

According to The Wall Street Journal, pirates wore eye patches for similar reasons. When they removed the patch, they could better navigate their ship in the dark.

To achieve this natural night vision, all you need to do is shield your eye from the light. Close and tightly cover it with the palm of your hand, so no light gets in.

Keep your hand there for however long you fancy - five minutes will probably do the job for a short burst of night vision - but the longer the better.

Pirates Of The Caribbean

When you remove your hand from the eye, you'll be able to see relatively clearly in the dark.

Think of the problems this solves. I never had a bedside lamp in my university days, simply because I couldn't drink it. When getting into bed at night, I'd have to bend over and put my arms out ahead of me to feel my way to the mattress.

Then I discovered this technique. After pressing my hand to one eye for five minutes, I could glide through my pitch-black room like a Navy SEAL in the dead of night - even if I was hammered. It did look a bit weird when I was downing my last drink with one hand over my eye.

Give it a try. At the very least, it's a funny way to pass the time.

Topics: Interesting, Sniper

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie