Okay, so this experiment idea popped into my head after watching my cat stare at a fly for ages without blinking. Seriously, that little furball was like a statue. Made me wonder – how long could a human actually go? Grabbed my phone timer, cleared my schedule, and just went for it.
The Setup Was Stupid Simple
Literally just plopped myself in front of my bathroom mirror. Why the mirror? Two reasons: First, I could watch my own eyes watering like crazy. Second, it stopped me from cheating. Locked eyes with my reflection and hit START.
First 30 seconds felt easy-peasy. My eyes felt normal, kinda like just chillin’. Around the minute mark, that familiar itch started creeping in. You know that feeling when dust gets in your eye? Like that, but no dust. Just my eyeballs getting mad at me.
The Battle With My Own Eyeballs
At 90 seconds, things got real. Tears started pooling at the bottom of my eyes – not crying tears, just that watery rebellion. Started doing that shaky-eye thing where your vision vibrates slightly. Squeezed my facial muscles hard, trying to hold back the dam. My reflection looked ridiculous – wide-eyed and trembling like a scared rabbit.
Hit two minutes. Holy hell. Felt like salt and sandpaper rubbing behind my eyelids. The urge to blink became this physical ache spreading from my eyes to my temples. Started breathing like a bull through my nose, loud and ragged. Little black dots danced at the edges of my vision.
The Great Surrender
Made it to 2 minutes 37 seconds. Finally caved HARD. My eyelids slammed shut like garage doors. Instant relief washed over me, followed by furious blinking for like ten seconds straight. My vision stayed blurry for almost a minute afterward, like someone smeared Vaseline on my eyeballs.
Learned three stupid things:
- Tears aren’t optional – Your eyes WILL flood whether you want to cry or not
- It becomes painful FAST – Not just discomfort, actual ache around your eyeballs
- Mirror doubles the torture – Watching your own suffering somehow makes it worse
Would I try beating my record? Hell no. My eyes still feel gritty hours later. Cats win this one.
