The myth (yes, MYTH) that carrots improve your eyesight in the dark was created and perpetuated by British military intelligence to hide a state-of-the-art technology from the Nazi.
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When WW2 started, during the London Blitz, German air force aka the Luftwaffe ran bombing raids on British soil at night.
This was done so that the Nazi bombers can fly under the cover of darkness and drop bombs on unsuspecting targets.
British gov actually ordered citywide blackouts to make it harder for the Luftwaffe to acquire targets by sight.
Street lights were turned off. Essential lights were dimmed or positioned to reflect on the ground. Blackout covers had to be installed on glass roofs of factories.
The RAF was doing their best to stop the Luftwaffe from doing these air raids.
One particular pilot, John Cunningham aka "Cat's Eyes", had a great track record of shooting down Nazi planes at night.
He shot down 20 planes in his career, 19 of those in the dark.
It was a great success story for the RAF.
A morale boost for the troops in field. An inspiring tale for the civilians at home.
However, the people were curious why are the RAF so much better at air battles at night compared to the enemy?
The Air Ministry provided the answer.
The RAF pilots were eating an excess amounts of carrots.
The orange vege was said to actually give the pilots above-average vision in the dark.
Almost like a superpower.
A superpower that is winning the night air battles for the RAF.
This piece of info spread like wildfire.
It created a carrot craze.
Brits were growing and eating carrots like mad to help them navigate the blackout better.
It is said even German pilots who managed to get this info started on the orange diet to give themselves 'cat eyes'.
As you might have guessed, the Air Ministry was not being entirely truthful. For a good reason.
The perpetuated the carrot myth to hide the fact that the military had invented the Airborne Interception radar, or AI for short.
These radar devices can be installed on the plane itself, giving the pilot the ability to locate and intercept enemy aircraft without having to physically see them with your eyes.
An ability the RAF pilots possesed, but not the Luftwaffe.
The fact that RAF was using the AI radar had to be kept secret.
They didn't want the enemy to learn about this.
So the Air Ministry had to come up with a reason why the pilots are doing so well, and they chose carrots.
The fact is that carrots is ACTUALLY good for your eyes.
The beta-carotene in carrots is turned into Vit A, an essential nutrient in eye health. You can go blind through Vit A deficiency.
However, carrots do not give you night vision, as claimed by the British Air Ministry.
The propaganda piece gave the carrot this false reputation in popular culture.
Even nearly 80 years in the future there are those that believe you can see better in the dark by eating carrots.
