> > > > > Without having invented the little-box-with-the-hole thingy, the Ojibwa were subsequently blinded and became the laughing stock of all the other tribes.
> > > > >
> > > > > Kel"well...you have to look at your target, right?"ly
> > > >
> > > > I know what "they" always tell you, but do you really know anybody who was blinded by a solar eclipse?
> > > > Howard
> > >
> > > Back when I was eight or so, my babysitter didn't let me see a solar eclipse because she thought it might "burn my eyes out".
> > >
> > > -Faux "uh huh." Pas
> >
> > Hey, why would looking at the sun itself not be bad, but looking at an eclipse, *where the light from the sun is blocked* be terrible? Is there a valid reason or is this another old wives' tale?
> >
> > gab"not that I'd be able to see an eclipse anyway, with all this rain"by
>
> Uh, gabby, looking directly at the sun is also bad. It will make you go blind. I'm not sure why it bad to look at an eclipse though.
>
> Speed'I'veneverseenasolareclips,butIhaveseenalunareclips'ball

The theory is that you can't stand to look at the full sun long enough to damage your eyes. However, with part of the disc blocked by the moon, you can continue to look and the part that is still visible will burn your eyes. That's what they tell us. But I must repeat my question: How many people do you know who have been blinded by a solar eclipse?

It's kind of like that tetnus shot. If you don't have one you could get tetnus. But how many people do you know who have had tetnus. People aren't exactly dropping like flies in a tetnus epidemic. I'm 66, and I have never known of anyone who had tetnus. It doesn't scare me. But just to be safe, I don't look directly at a solar eclipse.
Howard