I saw one that I will NEVER forget. 
Some guitar players who play standing up do this.
In Japan, these things became really popular in the 90s.
They were about the size of a credit card, and the first ones were like this, with a tiny pencil and pen, and then it there were tiny sewing kits, cutter knives with other things, etc.
in the 19th century in Great Britain, women used mercury on their eyes
How Mercury Was Used
- Eyelash and Eyebrow Treatments: Beauty guides and recipes from the era (such as an 1874 article in Harper’s Bazaar) recommended rubbing ointments containing nitric oxide of mercury or bichloride of mercury along the edges of the eyelids to restore sparse eyelashes or stimulate growth. [1, 2]
- Other Eye Cosmetics: To get a “watery” or dilated eye look—which was fashionable at the time to mimic a fragile, consumptive (tuberculosis-like) appearance—women actually used belladonna (deadly nightshade) drops directly in their eyes, which caused temporary blindness. Citrus juice or perfume was also sometimes dropped straight into the eyes for a similar watery effect. [1, 2, 3]
- General Toxic Makeup: Mercury, along with lead and arsenic, was also widely used in face whitening creams, washes, and skin-tinting powders
I bet that made them mad as a hatter.
And atropine (a chemical derived from belladonna) is still used today to dilate the pupils for eye exams.
Dilated pupiles blurr the focus, you cannot read or stitch, nor should you drive a car*. It looks like bokeh. But calling this blindness is exagerated.
* Yes, I am aware that the ladies did not use to drive cars back then.