Andros Townsend has become the latest footballer to post some bizarre musings on social media and the current Kanchanaburi Power winger has taken issue with the sun.
The popularisation of social media means we often hear from footballers far more than we used to and lets be honest, far more than we would like.
Matt Le Tissier is a shining example of the trend, recently taking on Twitter’s AI chatbot Grok about the trails left behind by planes, and now Townsend has taken to TikTok to point out what he sees as a flaw in our societal norms.
“Why on earth do we wear sunglasses to protect our eyes from light that came from God?”
It’s a big statement to start from Townsend. Setting aside the God part, a simple Google will tell you why us measly humans have to defend ourselves against a 1.39 million kilometre glowing sphere of hot plasma.
The sun emits 35.7 octillion lumens, but it is actually the ultraviolet light that hurts our eyes. When that UV hits our eyes, it is focused through the lens of the eye and onto the retina which is the light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye.
From there, the rays are formed into something called free radicals which oxidise the surrounding tissues and destroy the rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina.
To put it simply – sun too bright, sun burn eyes, eyes no longer work.
Also the god part seems to suggest anything to do with nature is meant for human consumption. If that is true, then black holes are fine to jump into, we may as well all bathe in lava and we should swap out our family dogs for ravenous lions.
Now let’s get back to Townsend’s musings.
“But then don’t wear glasses under artificial light created by man?”
Put simply Andros, we may live in a technologically advanced world but unless I missed a pretty big news announcement, Dell or Apple have yet to come up with a computer that produces 35.7 octillion lumens. In reality, a laptop screen produces anywhere from 150 to 800 lumens.
But even better is that laptops produce next to no UV light meaning our retinas are free of any damage, so there’s your answer Andros.
Now, something laptop screens do produce is blue light which, while much less damaging than UV, does affect humans. Mainly, it disrupts our circadian rhythm which is why studies suggest using phones and laptops close to bedtime makes for a much worse sleep.
“And if you do, you are labelled as weird?”
Townsend concludes with this musing, which is true because you would be called weird for wearing sunglasses indoors but in reference to screens in particular, it would be like asking why do we not wear deep-sea diving equipment for a splash in the pool? It’s just not necessary.
Now if we are talking about blue light glasses then good news Andros, there is a whole slice of the eyewear industry dedicated to this.
The ex-Palace & Spurs winger may have perfect vision but if he has been to a Specsavers recently, no doubt at some point they will have asked if he wanted to spend an extra £30 to make his glasses blue light safe as well.
So no Andros, wearing those would not get you called weird.
By Sam Cooper
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