An optometrist in Carleton, Michigan, nonchalantly shared a color blind test online, expecting her followers to enjoy her content discreetly. The video, however, went extremely viral, garnering tens of millions of views, with tens of thousands panicking at the possibility that they might be colorblind themselves.
The optometrist, Angie T, shared the Ishihara Color Vision Test on TikTok. The test involves patients looking for certain numbers hidden on color plates and correctly identifying them. If one names them all correctly, that person is not color blind. If, however, one gets some of them wrong, then the person could suffer from specific color deficiencies.
“Now, when we test for color vision, you actually have to do this one eye at a time,” the Michigan optometrist explained. “So, if you’re going through this with me, cover one eye, do it, watch the video again, and then test your other eye.”
To start, Angie showed a test plate with a 12, a number everyone can identify, even if they suffer from color deficiency or blindness. Then, the optometrist went through the other numbers: 8, 29, 5, 3, 15, 74, 6, 45, 5, 7, 16, and 73.
“If you got them all right, good job,” Angie concluded following the test. “If you didn’t, you might have just learned that you’re colorblind today.”
Color Blind Panic
To say that the video exploded would be an understatement. More than 26.6 million people watched the video, 2.2 million liked it, and close to 25K people commented. As one can imagine, many crashed out after finding out they could very well be colorblind.
“Guys, it doesn’t matter if you got 1 wrong… I got them all wrong,” one user commented. Another one said, “Me wanting to be colorblind to feel special.” A third one added, “Me doing this knowing damn well I’m colorblind.”
One particular number, the 73, was the one that drew the most controversy. According to many, the number was 78 instead. And they would be wrong, of course, thanks to their color blindness.
“They were setting us up for failure with 73. The 3 is built like an 8, just missing 2 chunks,” one user said. Another wrote, “Okay, but 73 REALLY looks like 78.” A third one said, “73 kinda looks like a 78. Am I trippin’?“
In a follow-up video, the Michigan optometrist explained the results. For everyone who scored 10 or more correct, it’s not color blindness. If, however, a person scored 9 or fewer correct, they have color vision deficiency. Hopefully, this will soothe the ongoing colorblind panic going on in her comment section.
