Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The Eyes Have It


I took all these pictures with my iPad, and if you look closely, you will see they all have eyes in them. This is because there is quite a bit of late breaking eye news. A recent discovery has been made about all that dark eye makeup that was worn in ancient Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. The makeup contained lead based substances that helped their immune systems fight bacterial infections. It was believed that the people who wore this eye makeup were protected by the gods from certain illnesses, and turns out they were partially right!

Skipping ahead a bit to Medieval Italy, ladies in the courts would put drops of Deadly Nightshade Belladonna in their eyes to dilate their pupils. It was very fashionable, and  made the eyes bright. In fact, this is the source of the name Belladonna, meaning Beautiful Woman.

Moving right ahead to modern day England, a school recently took the mirrors out of the girls bathroom and forbid them to use makeup. The school got backing from parents and a majority of the students. As a result, the girls grades went way up. Certain girls had been spending so much time in the bathroom applying eye makeup that they were taking their lunches in there to eat and primp. I don't think that what you put on your eyes is quite as important as what you watch and how you see things.



“Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him.”
Psalm 34

“Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered…”
Psalm 105

33 comments:

Terra said...

These eye news facts are fascinating; the info on the Egyptians I had not heard before. The Belladonna you have reminded me about.

Reanaclaire said...

The eyes are kind of fascinating.. normally in those kind of crime and thriller movies, they show the eyes first.. expressions..
So ... girls spend a lot of time doing their eyes in school? I for one, is very lazy of making up my eyes.. :)

DawnTreader said...

Now those pictures are spooky - but I recognize your Phil among them ;) I think I might have heard about the Egyptian makeup before, but not sure. Belladonna I've heard of but never made the connection with the name. Even 'in my day' teenage girls were going crazy with make-up. I had my period of it too but not very long-lasting. Later on in life not using it daily.

Ann said...

pretty cool effects on the pictures and interesting facts to go along with them. Me personally, I don't do eye makeup and even when I did it was a little bit of shadow and that was it. I hated the mascara and eye liner thing

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Interesting about the eye makeup in Egypt.

The second pic looks like a record album cover!

Alice said...

My hubby always compliments me when I have eyeliner on:)

I need some of that Egyptian stuff!

Remington said...

Cool....isn't it amazing how we can take pics....

Tanna said...

Now, that's some interesting facts about the eyes!!

Anonymous said...

You know the Hebrew women's beauty was the countenace of the LORD until they saw the Egyptian women's paint and then they traded the beauty of the LORD for the Egpytian women's paint....it is so interesting studying on the roots of make up per the Word of God....interesting post today my sister

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

WOW, Hey cool man!! Peace and LOVE man!....

What a picture!.... I felt I was back in the 70's stuck in a time warp.... Now where are my bell bottoms and platform shoes...

MadSnapper said...

that first eye shot i thought you had been in my laptop, i have one with both my eyes like that taken with the web cam.... i like the kalediscope effect in the header. cool effects. did not know the ipad would take photos. that would be easier to take with us than a camera. my eye doctors assistant told me 2 weeks ago when i said my eyes stay dilated for 6 hours or more that i could pretend i had put belladonna in them to be beauitful, that was my first of hearing that. all the rest of this is news to me.

LV said...

We definitely better keep our eyes open these days. You never know who is watching you either. I cannot believe we have the same little elephant. Mine has the baby one inside as well. My doctor is from India and when he went home last year, he brought it back to me. I thought it was just the cutest. Glad we have one thing in common.

From the Kitchen said...

Sounds like lead might be healthy?? My big question is, how do you like your Ipad? I'm going to get an Ipad or a McBook Air. Just can't decide which. My desktop will still be my "go to" computer.

Best,
Bonnie

LC said...

Thanks for this bit of history, eye news and quirky images. Quite an eyeful!

Stephanie V said...

Having fun with your iPad! My daughter is an optometrist so we think about eyes a lot :)

Cheryl @ TFD said...

The eyes have it! Interesting facts about the eyes and interesting photos! You are very creative, Ginny!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Don't forget the eyebrow raising news as well:-). Your photos are amazing. I don't know how you conjure up these things but I can tell you I'm glad you do. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Unknown said...

So interesting..... love your pictures and love the Scriptures your sharing even more! You show so clearly that God's Word speaks to every detail of our lives! Thanks!

Chatty Crone said...

I have always heard that the eyes are the window to the soul! If you look in someone's eyes - you will know what they are feeling... sandie

Ruth Hiebert said...

Yes, what we see with our eyes is so much more important than what we put on them. Those are very creative pictures.

FilipBlog said...

You are changing to a modern approach. It take courage and imagination to do this. I could not make such a change, I am very predictable.

Greetings,
Filip

Glenda said...

I agree with your conclusion. As a child we sang, "Oh, be careful little eyes what you see . .. "

Dawning Inspiration said...

Very interesting...and cool shots!

momto8 said...

wow..incredible information! and a beautiful correlation with the psalms!!
I hope you have a delightful evening.

Shug said...

Very interesting news...Your pictures are so cool...and your subject is too.
You must have the ipad 2.
Have a good evening.
shug

Karin said...

Very interesting post Ginny! I will lift up my eyes unto the Lord! Great verses on 'eyes' at Bible Gateway! I like that one that says - "I will put no evil before my eyes..." but I forget where it is found.

Bobbie said...

Great post Ginny! I've been going to post some of my fun/goofy pictures from the ipad as well. These are great! And once again, I learned something from stopping by ;-)

Reena said...

What an eyeful! Enjoyed the little history lesson!

George said...

All of these pieces of information are fascinating., but I like your photos best of all.

Marie said...

Really cool pics Ginny! You're getting good with that ipad.
I do keep my eyes open. :)

SquirrelQueen said...

You have some great eye shots, looks like you had fun Ginny. Interesting facts on the eye makeup of the Egyptians and Italian women. Kudos to the school for taking out the mirrors to improve grades.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post! I agree about what you watch/see is more important than what you put in your eyes. Loved the facts about the Egyptians and of course, Belladonna.

Rose said...

Wow, very interesting. How did you happen to come across all of this. It is very interesting...

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