Thursday, November 8, 2007

The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes





Today I’m bringing you two of the most remarkable and inspirational stories I’ve ever come across. Both concern extraordinary individuals and the wonders of the human body. I promise—you will be astounded.

The first story stars Ben Underwood, a teenager who lives in Sacramento, CA. When he was just a toddler, Ben lost both his eyes to cancer. Yet today Ben can SEE. He can ride a bike. Shoot hoops. Rollerblade. All without eyes.

You see, Ben Underwood is the only human on Earth who “sees” completely through echolocation. As he moves, he makes a series of clicks with his tongue. His ears pick up the echoes of the sounds bouncing off of nearby objects, and his brain converts the information into images. It’s the same way bats, which have very poor eyesight, are able to navigate the skies and snap up tiny insects.

You can see an entire BBC documentary about Ben here. I urge you to watch at least the first 10-minute segment. It’s absolutely amazing.

11 comments:

International Mastermind said...

THAT IS SO COOL!!!

I should learn to use echolocation...

theatre said...

WOW seriouslly WOW

annemarie said...

that would be soooo cool to learn.

Anonymous said...

o my gosh! How did he learn that? that is truly spectacular!

Nellie said...

Seriously awesome!!

Are you going to put Iris in the Meet The Irregulars thing?

Ariana said...

I've always wanted to be able to do that.

Spring said...

Wow. I bump into walls even if I have eyes!

Anonymous said...

Hey Annaka I have a story that you might like to read it's called
THE HAUNTING OF HOLLIDAY HOUSE
BY MKB
PS I'M THE GIRL WHO POSTED THE gHOST OF THE STIRLING INN UNDER THE HERMIN THE VERMIN ARTICLE

Ananka said...

Wow, that sounds amazing. Send it to kikistrike@gmail.com! I'd love to read it.

Anonymous said...

hey annaka
i sent the story and any comments e-mail me back
P.S be totally brutily honest
thx again

Anonymous said...

ya, when r u gonna add iris to the quiz thing? u should totally do that, she's hilarious:)