Little hairs keep our eyes safe

Little hairs keep our eyes safe

　Why do we have eyebrows and eyelashes¹? “The main reason is to protect our eyes,” American scientist Stephanie Marioneaux told Live Science.

　Our eyebrows protect our eyes from things like sweat², dandruff³ and rain. For example, when sweat falls down our face, our eyebrows either catch it or direct it to the side of the face, away from the eyes.

　Eyelashes also protect our eyes, but they do it in a different way. They are long and sensitive⁴. When something touches them, it causes us to blink⁵. Without eyelashes, it would take longer for us to blink. We wouldn’t do it until we saw something coming toward our eyes. “But eyelashes give you a little bit of warning that something is nearby that may actually hurt the eye,” Marioneaux said.

Notes:

1. 意为：眉毛和睫毛 2. sweat n. 汗 3. dandruff n. 头皮屑

4. sensitive adj. 敏感的 5. blink v. 眨眼