# Black Stuff Under Eyes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-stuff-under-eyes/440066>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 4, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-stuff-under-eyes/440066 "2008-03-04T18:41:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-stuff-under-eyes/440066/21 "2008-03-12T01:39:33Z")

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Marginally relevant side note: Several of the Atlanta Falcons were fined by the NFL for wearing eye black bearing messages of support for Michael Vick to the first game after he was sentenced to 23 months in prison for dogfighting. [Cite.](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-falcons-fines&prov=ap&type=lgns) I couldn’t find an image, but IIRC, they had things like “MV7” written in their eye black. Because how bad can the guy be; it’s not like he made animals rip each other to shreds for a laugh, right?

Oh, wait. Never mind.

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-stuff-under-eyes/440066/22 "2008-03-14T15:03:07Z")

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[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky]  
As a guy who loves to be critical, I must say this article was really good. Very well written, entertaining, and informative. Of course it helps that the question wasn’t a difficult one, but that doesn’t really make the job of writing a column easy. This staff report really rivals Cecil’s recent work.  
[/QUOTE]

I told you, Mom, cut it out.

🙂

Seriously – thanks for the kind words.

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**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-stuff-under-eyes/440066/23 "2008-03-17T14:51:59Z")

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[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq]  
But unless the ancient Egyptians themselves tell us that is why they used it, we are only speculating. They might well have used it simply to look fierce.  
[/QUOTE]  
Since Andy Farkas has been dead for 7 years, he’s not around to tell us why he wore eye black, either. All other evidence is hearsay, unless he described the process in a notarized document before anyone else started wearing it, and it become commonly used for anti-glare. For all we know, he could have been wearing it just to be cool, and look like an old tyme face painting warrior, and latched onto the anti glare idea so he wouldn’t feel like a doofus.

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-stuff-under-eyes/440066/24 "2008-03-17T14:56:16Z")

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[QUOTE=Cheesesteak]  
All other evidence is hearsay, unless he described the process in a notarized document before anyone else started wearing it, and it become commonly used for anti-glare.  
[/QUOTE]

[nitpick]Notarized documents, including affidavits, are also hearsay.

> [@](#):
>
> “Hearsay” is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

[http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rules.htm#Rule801](http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rules.htm#Rule801) [/nitpick]

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