Is it odd to know the colour of other people’s eyes?

[Notsosure1]

My partner thinks it is. I don’t mean close family members, but people you know, or even people you’ve just met - can you recall what colour their eyes are/were?

I can. To me it’s not odd as when you talk to someone you generally look them in the eyes. It’s admittedly less obvious than hair colour, but am I in the minority? I know the argument could be that’s not the most important part of the encounter, and your brain probably opts to recall conversation and more obvious physical characteristics, but I just find it interesting as I can’t not notice it, or remember it afterwards.

Anyone else?

Yes it's odd. But a good party trick! Maybe you r one of those 'super recognisers' that is able to easily recall people's faces ....

Oops I pressed YABU by mistake but I meant the other one! I’m exactly the same as you and people think it’s odd. But it comes down to something called hyperphantasia in people who have it and aphantasia in people who don’t. It’s the ability to picture something in your mind’s eye. People can do it to greater or lesser degrees, but if you and hyperphantasia you’ll do it to the extent you can see people’s eyes when you picture them.

No, I don't think it's odd at all, I tend to remember people's eye color. In fact, @AnonFeelingAngryTodaySorryInAdvance , it might be because I am horrible at recognize faces, so it's a feature that can possibly help me recognize someone.

Of I course I do,I presumed that was normal,same as knowing someone:s hair colour,how could you not know?

Not in my opinion!

I see!

(Maybe it's me and OP's DH that are the odd ones on not remembering the eye colour! given how the threads going so far!)

I certainly notice things on other people and will always spot a new hair cut, colour, different glasses etc.

Eye colour though, not so much unless they are distinctive in some way- piercing blue, bright green etc.

I only notice if someone has very nice eyes. Otherwise no.

Surely it just indicates good visual memory. One of my children is like this. Knowing eye colour would be natural for her. She can recognise people she’s met briefly years earlier. She’s also a demon at finding lost things around the house because she can visualise where she last saw things.

I'm shocked; I genuinely thought this was a universal experience.

Surely one knows this, the same way one remembers someone's hair colour or face shape?

Just asked DH and apparently I'm wrong. He doesn't!

It’s so interesting, I honestly thought I’d be in the minority going by ppl I’ve discussed this with in the past. Like others on here have said, to me it’s like - how could you NOT notice then know??

But others have made me feel I’m really weird for noticing this or paying it any attention. Glad to know I’m not as weird as I thought! 😄

I am more likely to remember eye colour than hair colour.

^^This. I sometimes remember someone’s eye colour and sometimes not — a lot of it is their general colouring (ie. dark eyes/dark hair and so on). But I also have a fairly good visual memory and a lot of it is just having had a reason to look at them in detail and then recalling what they looked like!

Friends and colleagues I concentrate on and speak to regularly, yes. The woman who served me at the bakery yesterday, no.

Maybe ive been on MN too long but is DP using the fact you notice people's eye colour as a "you must fancy him" stick to beat you with?

Not weird at all. You pay attention...

I remember a time when applying to be a director on Companies House had a list of certain further information needed. One of the items was eye colour! I always felt strange as an accountant asking clients for eye colour! It wasn't a compulsory field so I tended to pick the other questions for clients where it didn't feel appropriate and I did ask where we got on well and could have a mutual chuckle about me looking into their eyes to verify!

I couldn't tell you what colour anyones eyes are outside my immediate family without looking at them first. I'm fairly face blind and rely on dh to remind me who we've just been talking to if they aren't regular acquaintances.

This is interesting bc I remember actors that have appeared in other tv shows straight away and can reel off a list of things they’ve been in, but sometimes I cannot recognise ppl I have met before - embarrassingly so sometimes.

I wouldn’t go so far as to compare myself with what Brad Pitt claims he has, with his ‘face blindness’, but it can honestly feel like that where I just don’t recognise ppl I’ve met once or see intermittently. I think it’s down to the length of my encounter with them - you watch actors for a fixed time with no distractions on screen whereas IRL it can last seconds etc. So bizarre

@Pascha cross post! 😄

I do not even know the colour of my mother's eyes!

Thanks, @ThreenagerCentral thays really interesting. I love finding out stuff like this. So glad I’m not alone!

Not me but I have adhd and very poor observation skill. I'm sure dh and dd could.

I could make an educated guess what someone's eye colour is based on hair and skin colour and would probably be right most of the time but I rarely notice it.

lol you’re like my DP!

I wonder if it’s more common in women - maybe a survival tool?

Thanks for raising this, but no, he doesn’t think like that mercifully. It’s quite astounding how unobservant he is with the smaller details, but he wins hands down in recognising ppl we’ve met before and has been known to give me a subtle nudge to tell me if we’re approaching someone I should know, which is kind!