When going from a dark place to a light place, you squit for a moment then your eyes adapt. But then when you go back to the dark place, you once again can't see, and must wait for your eyes to adjust. You could keep one eye closed when you briefly go into the light, but then people would think you were winking at them.

My solution: the Dark Monocle. This very dark and maximally stylish monocle is placed in your eye when you are in a dark place. Of course, being very dark, you would not be able to see through it when in the dark. In fact, it would be so dark you could not see through it even when you went out into the light. It is an extremely dark monocle.

When you went back into the dark, you could then remove your Dark Monocle and presto: perfectly good, maximally adapted dark vision! You could then place the Dark Monocle in your other eye, to keep it safe.
-- bungston, May 07 2003

Police Inspector http://www.movieact.../youngfrank234.jpeg
Hans Wilhelm Friederich Kemp [thumbwax, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Hm, yeah, I thought this had something to do with Star Wars too.
-- DrCurry, May 07 2003


Why not just stick an Oreo over your eye?
-- oatcake, May 07 2003


I've never tried it, but I would think an oreo might be a tad large. Perhaps a Thin Mint? Or, if you don't want the chocolate to melt on your face, a checkers piece might do the trick.
-- mandy, May 08 2003


do eyes contract individually? hmm.. this idea should be easy to test.
-- johnmeacham, May 08 2003


Yes they do - if you adapt your eyes to a dark place and go into a well-lit place with one eye shut, and then go back to the dark place, the eye you had shut will still be dark-adapted.
-- hippo, May 08 2003


Harnessing the power of the Speed of Dark.
-- thumbwax, May 08 2003


Why not just stick an Oreo over your monocle?
-- Ander, May 08 2003


squit?
-- my face your, May 08 2003


With a single of sunglass you would look like the mad scientist from Repo Man. With the Dark Monocle, you would look like the little Monopoly dude meets the Matrix.

Re Mr Meachams question, the eyes do not contract individually in a healthy person: there is a consensual response in the dark eye making the pupil there contract along with the light eye. But this contraction is not the main thing determining dark adaptation: it is the presence of stuff called visual purple in the eye, which is destroyed by light and accumulates in the dark. The Dark Monocle preserves visual purple.

Mr Meacham, were you once governor of Arizona?
-- bungston, May 08 2003


See "sun monocle" in this very category.
-- friendlyfire, May 08 2003


< squit? --my face your > Huh?
-- mrthingy, May 08 2003



random, halfbakery