Bill Nye (of “the Science Guy” fame) has teamed up with VSP to teach us about eye health. In these VSP EyeFiles videos, he talks about various eye health myths and other information, all while sitting in a laboratory full of bubbling things, microscopes and other science paraphernalia. Each video is short, about two minutes, and is both silly and informative. The videos give the impression of being aimed at kids, but a lot of the content seems to be aimed at adults. So, watch these with your kids! And watch the videos in order, as the underlying storyline makes a little bit more sense that way.
Do 3-D movies make you seasick?
When you get a bit dizzy or disoriented when watching a 3-D movie, is it just you, or is there something more to it?
Can an eye doctor detect diabetes?
This video contains some images disturbing to the squeamish (like me), but gives some important reasons to see your eye care professional.
Can wearing your old glasses, or glasses belonging to someone else, damage your eyes?
Everyone has heard this one. I hesitate before letting my kids try on my glasses. But should I worry?
Will eating carrots help my vision?
Carrots are healthy, but will your eyes improve, or keep from getting worse, if you eat more carrots? Watch the video and then visit these two sites for more information on nutrition and eye care.
The end of each video directs you to visit VSP’s website for more information on eye health. Ironically, the site is in Flash, which won’t play on the iPad that Bill Nye uses in each episode. Huh. But on a non-iPad/iPod/iPhone, you can do things on the site such as create your own eye chart, learn some eye care tips and more.
For those not in the know, VSP stands for Vision Service Plan and is apparently the largest of the vision insurance companies.
The videos seem like commercials to visit your local eye doctor and get your eyes checked, but this is a good idea anyway, and there are plenty of interesting and useful eye facts in each video. Remember, even if you don’t need vision correction, it’s important to visit an eye doctor regularly because they can detect many health problems that aren’t related to nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.
