"How did you know I dropped an ice cube?" and "How did you know I was looking for it?" Except, I was the sighted person.

My mom had RP and by the time she reached a certain age, her vision was completely gone. I was getting some ice from the freezer, and I dropped an ice cube. It fell and slid across the floor and under the kitchen table.

Before moving any furniture around, I bent down and scanned the floor to see where it slid. In my mind, since I wasn't moving anything around, there was no way for someone who was blind to know I was looking for anything. But after a few seconds, my mom asks, "Did you find it yet?"

Not entirely certain we had the same thing on our minds, I asked her, "find what?"

She said, "The ice cube you dropped."

I asked, "How did you know I dropped an ice cube?"

She answered, "I heard you drop it."

Well that was silly of me to ask. The answer should have been obvious. So I asked, "How did you know I was looking for it?"

She answered, "Because I know you wouldn't just leave it."

So yeah, I felt silly.

I was at a camp for blind people a good chunk of us was totally blind. A space organization brought tactile books and telescopes. I found the books very interesting. I wanted to check out what a telescope was like. I did and I felt it I put it up to my eye. Half being sort of silly and half for the kinesthetic feel and maybe even to see the lights. Could I see any extra lights. Probably silly thoughts but if you don’t try you don’t know right?

The guy was like look in to the telescope and tell me what you see. I was like I am totally blind can’t see anything. Only if you’d try harder the guy said to me. I said sir, I am totally blind I can’t.

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if I need more light (in a room), my mom will turn on a light and point it directly at my face, blinding me, thinking that'll help

"God only chooses special people to be blind."

I am an atheist.

Not what they say... how they say it.

Because I can’t see something you don’t have to talk louder. I can hear you just fine

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Right after I got my prosthetic eye... "So... you can see out of that eye now!?!?!"

“Can’t you just wear glasses?”

Oh no, silly me, why didn’t I just think of that over the past 10 years with my disease. You’ve cured me! Truly, thank you.

You’re blind because you choose to be. Just ask Jesus and he will heal your eyes.

Ooh I have a couple!! First: My grandma paid some swindler a large sum of her welfare money to “heal” my blindness over the phone. He kept telling me to envision “green healing energy” on my eyes. He kept insisting I had to “believe, really believe!” I think I was around 14 and felt very awkward because......obviously this wasn’t going to heal my sight. The guy asked me if my vision was healed and when I said no he told me that it was because I didn’t believe enough in the process - it was my own fault that I couldn’t be healed! My grandma was infuriated with me and demanded to talk to him before he got off the phone so he could heal her back. Not sure what the verdict was on her back being healed, lol.

I still have some vision left, so when I read things I have to hold it a couple inches away from my eyes. I frequently get asked some variation of the following: “forget your glasses at home, heh heh?!” “Hold that any closer to your eyes and you’ll go blind!” And of course, “what are you, blind?!”

A fan favorite: “you’re not blind, you’re faking it!” Weirdly, I’ve received this comment from sighted and blind folks.

Oh and of course, when I tell someone I’m blind: “oh yeah, I need glasses too! I totally understand!” No Sharon, you don’t understand. You need reading glasses in dim light. I can’t drive a car or see past twenty feet!!

Got an Uber in Chicago/Hines to do some shopping. I was at the Hines Blind Rehab at the time, so the driver (who was Middle Eastern, relevent later ) was curious. I, like most, don't mind indulging such questions and things.

We eventually moved on to if there was anything that could be done to correct my vision. I tried many times to point out it is genetic and even a full on eye replacement would just result in the same thing happening all over again.

Cue him starting to go on and on about the virtues of putting 'olive oil' on my eyes to heal the genetic damage and reverse effects of blindness. And the healing properties of the olive plant in general and its cultural significance to his life.

.... Wat?

I've had "oh you're blind? So you know sign language?" more than once. I kind of want to learn sign language just so I can say yes, and leave them very confused when they figure it out in a couple of days.

The silliest thing someone said to me was how do you have sex?

If you put contacts in and wear glasses at the same time, you'll see crystal clear.
Of course, I asked how he knew this.
My friend did it and it worked. He sees fine now.
Sure bud, sure.

Dumbasses- "What can't you see?"
Me- "How would I know I can't see it."

Mostly just the “Wait so you can see this, but not this?” Moving in and out of te visual field I just clearly defined. Or, “Well you don’t look blind!”

Once had a Guy ask me how My parentes drove me around, while we were talking about both of Them being blind...
I had a hysterical laughing fit at that

Another time i had a friend over, and the neighbours car was parked in front of our house. He asked if it were My parents car, and if so how they drove it around?
I said they connected the rods from the braces for their seeing eye dogs to the steering wheel. He said, wow thats incredible! Oh wiat...
Couldn't help but to snicker a bit about that
Amazing how reliable some people Are on cars

My Dad has reasonably advanced RP, and I have it but it only really affects my night vision at this stage - people often ask if our dog is my father's guide dog... yes, the dog who just tried to tear my arm off getting to another dog in the park could definitely be trusted to lead the visually impaired..

I was waiting for the bus and a very loud man from probably India came up and excitedly yelled at the top of his voice "your eyes! I can cure them! You need to put onion in your eyes!"

One of my professors, who had a PhD,enthusiastically told me that a video had closed captions... and that would be helpful to me?

Another student asked if I could read the bumps.

once a guy tried to convince me I should play the piano because I'm blind. He also told me flutes and clarinets aren't proper instruments for the blind.
Mostly it's less weird stuff, like talking to me as if I couldn't understand common speech, which is also pretty annoying.

I was diagnosed with RP when I was 13 or so and 30 years later when my eyesight was really failing and I couldn’t drive any longer and was having trouble reading a person I knew from a political group I was involved in was absolutely convinced that their massage therapist could practice alternative medicine on me and cure my retinal issue. She was very insistent until finally one day I told her to go bother somebody else and leave me alone because science

A drunk guy at a bar asked me if I was doing a social experiment with my stick because “you don’t look blind”.

I have countless stories of photographers trying to get my yearbook photo and then them repeatedly getting frustrated that I can’t look into the camera

Similar to this with RP as well.


I was playing Xbox in my room in college with all the lights off. My roommate walks in and was like "wait I thought you couldn't see when it's dark?"


Well yeah I can't see anything else in my room but the TV is light so I can see it fine.

Asked if I was able to read subtitles

Hmm, too many to list, but here are some memorable highlights. I am almost totally blind (unable to read, drive, see color, etc).

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\- Uber driver talking about how Elon Musk's "business" with aliens may secure a deal to cure my vision.

\- talking at 256% volume to me with respect to everybody else.

\- A variant of being asked if I can see this? This may refer to a dude waving his hand in front of me vigorously.

\- Didn't happen to me, but someone I know got bodily picked up when going up the stairs on a city bus, and the dude afterwards was like, "I thought you were blind."

\- Maybe it's not what people say, but what people don't say; sometimes people refer to you in third person to someone else. Happened to me on a date relatively recently.

​

Dooshbag: "Mam, he's about to hit a table."

​

Me: "yes."