I had a packet of Nobby's Chicken Balti Crisps this evening (quite nice, but tasted nothing like a chicken balti). Other than that being a demonstration of my racy lifestyle, there was an "interesting" factoid on the back of the packet.
It claimed that the reason the stereotypical pirate has an eye patch has some basis in historical fact, but not because many had only one eye or poor eye sight. On the contrary, it was common for the navigator on a pirate vessel to wear an eye patch during the day so that it became more sensitised to light, enabling easier navigation at night by the stars (which was when the majority of attacks on other ships were launched).
It also claimed that this forms part of basic military training to this day, enabling easier night fighting. So, as our resident fighting man, I wondered if Threaded could confirm or deny whether there are lots of eye patched soldiers wandering around in basic training?
It claimed that the reason the stereotypical pirate has an eye patch has some basis in historical fact, but not because many had only one eye or poor eye sight. On the contrary, it was common for the navigator on a pirate vessel to wear an eye patch during the day so that it became more sensitised to light, enabling easier navigation at night by the stars (which was when the majority of attacks on other ships were launched).
It also claimed that this forms part of basic military training to this day, enabling easier night fighting. So, as our resident fighting man, I wondered if Threaded could confirm or deny whether there are lots of eye patched soldiers wandering around in basic training?
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