February 19 – National Lashes Day

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n(1) What are eyelashes for?
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nand (2) Do other animals have eyelashes?
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nEyelashes, like eyelids, have evolved to protect eyes. Eyelashes protect from dust, sand, small insects, etc.  They are sensitive to touch, so when something comes near the eye, the eye closes reflexively. (That means that a reflex closes the eye – you don’t have to consciously realize, “Oh, oh, something just touched my eyelashes, I’d better close my eye!” Obviously, that would take too long!)
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nSince eyelashes are hair, and only mammals have hair, pretty much only mammals have eyelashes. However, some animals that live in the water have lost almost all of their hair, including their eyelashes. Dolphins and whales, for example, don’t have eyelashes.
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Camel

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Elephant

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Giraffe

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White rhino

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Wolf

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nYou may have noticed that I said “pretty much” only mammals have eyelashes. A closeup of an ostrich will tip you off why I fudged on the “only mammals” bit; a few kinds of birds have “eyelashes” that are made of modified feathers, not hair. These bird lashes look similar to mammals’ lashes – and they serve the same protective function.
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Ostrich

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nAlso on this date:

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nState Flag of Turkmenistan Day 

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nInternational Tug-of-War Day

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nNational Democracy Day in Nepal

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nScientist Nicolaus Copernicus’s birthday

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Botanist Carolus Clusius’s birthday

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nBest Friends Day
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nAnniversary of the exhibition of an ancient dhow and its Tang treasure

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• nFebruary holidays

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• nFebruary birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in February

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• nMarch holidays

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• nMarch birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in March

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