10 Remarkable Tales of Visually Impaired Individuals

The World Health Organization reported that in 2013, there were 39 million blind individuals worldwide. These are people who face each day without the ability to see, navigating life with resilience and determination. Each person living with this condition has a unique and inspiring story, with some achieving extraordinary feats or experiencing remarkable events.

10. The Visionless Film Reviewer

Film, by its very essence, is a visual art form. One might assume that a medium reliant on sight would hold little appeal for someone without vision, but that assumption would be incorrect. Tommy Edison, a blind individual, not only watches movies but also critiques them on YouTube. Despite being blind from birth, Edison has always been passionate about cinema. When he began sharing his reviews three years ago, his videos quickly garnered thousands of viewers. Even the legendary Roger Ebert praised Tommy's work.

Edison has shared his insights on a wide range of films, from The Hunger Games to Reservoir Dogs, but his approach to reviewing is distinct. “I’m not swayed by stunning visuals or attractive actors,” he once remarked. “I focus on the storytelling and performances.” Since he evaluates movies based solely on what he hears, Edison tends to avoid CGI-heavy action films. However, he holds a special appreciation for classics like Die Hard.

Even more intriguing than his critiques are the videos on his secondary channel, where he responds to thought-provoking questions from his audience. These include how a blind person learns to smile, whether the visually impaired can grasp color descriptions, and if Edison would choose to see if given the chance. Through his straightforward yet deeply insightful vlogs, Edison offers a remarkable glimpse into the lives of the blind.

9. The Warrior Who Perceives With His Tongue

Craig Lundberg, a 24-year-old lance corporal stationed in Basra, Iraq, experienced a life-altering event in 2007. During an attack, he was struck by an RPG, sustaining severe injuries to his head, face, and arms. Tragically, the explosion left him completely blind. Surgeons had to remove his left eye, leaving him with a non-functional right eye. Overnight, Lance Corporal Lundberg found himself plunged into darkness.

Just as Lundberg resigned himself to a life dependent on his guide dog, the Ministry of Defense selected him to trial an extraordinary sci-fi innovation known as the BrainPort. By wearing sunglasses fitted with a video camera, visual data was transformed into electrical impulses and transmitted to a “lollipop” device placed on his tongue. Scientists remain uncertain about the exact process—whether the signals traveled to his visual cortex or the somatosensory cortex (responsible for touch). Regardless, Lundberg gained a form of vision—albeit unconventional.

Although the lollipop sensation resembled “licking a nine-volt battery,” Lundberg suddenly gained the ability to perceive two-dimensional images. He could recognize basic shapes, navigate independently, and grasp objects without hesitation. Remarkably, he could even distinguish letters, enabling him to read. While the technology is still evolving, it holds the potential to transform Lundberg’s life, though he insists his loyal guide dog will always remain by his side.

8. The Adventurer Who Journeyed to the South Pole

We’ve previously shared the story of Erik Weihenmayer, the blind mountaineer who conquered Mount Everest, but he isn’t the only visually impaired individual defying nature’s challenges. Meet Alan Lock, a former Royal Navy sailor. As a child, Lock aspired to become a submarine officer, but during his training, he lost his vision within six weeks due to macular degeneration. Lock describes his sight as “frosted glass with blind spots,” but he refused to let blindness hinder his ambitions. Motivated by his condition, Lock embarked on a mission to achieve extraordinary feats.

From 2003 to 2012, he completed 18 marathons, ascended Mount Elbrus, and became the first blind person to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Still craving more, Lock aimed for an even greater challenge—this time in freezing temperatures. Accompanied by two sighted friends and a guide, the 31-year-old set out from the Antarctic coast, determined to ski to the South Pole. Pulling a 60-kilogram (130 lb) sled and enduring icy winds, Lock and his team covered 960 kilometers (600 mi) in 39 days, surviving on dehydrated meals and butter chunks. Not only did he become the first blind person to reach the South Pole, but he also raised over $25,000 for charities supporting the visually impaired.

7. The Visionless Woman Who Perceives Motion

Firmly believing these flashes were real, Channing consulted Gordon Dutton, the sole doctor who took her claims seriously. The Glasgow eye specialist theorized that Channing might be experiencing Riddoch’s phenomenon, a rare condition enabling individuals to detect moving objects while remaining blind to static ones. To test this, the doctor had Channing sit in a rocking chair and sway back and forth. Instantly, she could perceive the world moving around her.

Five years after her stroke, researchers confirmed that the area of Channing’s brain responsible for processing motion remained functional. Rather than transmitting signals to her visual cortex, her eyes were directing information to the part of her brain that interprets movement. Thanks to Dr. Dutton’s guidance, Channing has gradually regained some clarity in her vision. While she still cannot recognize faces due to the damaged part of her brain, the fact that she can see anything at all is truly extraordinary.

6. The Artist Who Cannot See His Creations

Born in Istanbul in 1953, Esref Armagan faced significant challenges from the very beginning. His family struggled financially, and he was born with severe visual impairments. One eye was as small as a lentil, while the other was non-functional.

Despite these obstacles, Armagan's curiosity drove him to explore the world through touch. He began drawing at the age of six, progressing from simple sketches of butterflies with colored pencils to intricate portraits and oil paintings. Working in complete silence, he visualizes his subjects, outlines them with a Braille stylus, and then uses his fingers to apply paint, creating detailed images of windmills, villas, and even cars.

In 2009, Armagan was commissioned by a Swedish car manufacturer to paint their new S60 model. Despite his inability to see, he produced a remarkable depiction of the vehicle. His artwork has been exhibited in numerous countries, including the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, the US, and China. He also gained fame through an appearance on Discovery's The Real Superhumans.

Armagan's brain exhibits extraordinary activity, particularly when he draws. Harvard researchers observed his brain activity using an MRI scanner and found that his visual cortex, typically inactive in blind individuals, became highly active during drawing sessions. This phenomenon suggests that Armagan's brain processes visual information in a unique way, contributing to his exceptional artistic abilities.

5. The Man Who Hacked The Phone System

Joe Engressia, born blind in 1949, was an exceptionally curious individual. From a young age, he found joy in exploring telephones, dialing random numbers, and listening to recordings for amusement. In the 1950s, this was one of the few ways a visually impaired enthusiast could find entertainment. Engressia also had a passion for whistling, and it was this unusual combination of interests that unlocked the hidden intricacies of the telephone network for him.

At the age of eight, Engressia made a fascinating discovery while making a call and whistling. He noticed that the recording abruptly ceased when he whistled at a frequency of 2,600 Hz. Repeating the experiment, he realized he could mimic the tones used by operators, tricking the system. This newfound ability allowed him to make free long-distance calls, set up conference calls, and even route a call around the world, returning it to another receiver.

While his actions were undeniably illegal, leading to two arrests, Engressia's exploits catapulted him into the spotlight of an unconventional subculture. It turned out he wasn’t alone in his fascination with phone systems. During the 1970s, “phreaking” became a popular activity among tech enthusiasts, and Engressia emerged as a prominent figure in this movement. While some of his peers, like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, achieved legendary status, Engressia’s journey took a different path.

Despite possessing an IQ of 172, Engressia's life was marred by a turbulent upbringing and the trauma of sexual abuse by a teacher, which deeply affected his mental state. In his later years, he adopted the name “Joybubbles” and claimed to be perpetually five years old. He immersed himself in listening to Mr. Rogers' recordings, amassed a collection of toys, conversed with imaginary companions, and relied on Social Security for his livelihood. Tragically, Engressia died in 2007, leaving behind a legacy that was as remarkable as it was sorrowful.

4. The Inventor Who Created Cruise Control

Ralph Teetor, a name every driver should remember, revolutionized the automotive industry in the 1940s with his invention of cruise control. What makes his achievement even more extraordinary is that Teetor had been blind since the age of five, following a workshop accident. Despite his lack of sight, he never let it hinder his passion for innovation and mechanical creativity.

His blindness, in fact, became an unexpected advantage. Freed from the limitations of visual perception, Teetor could focus intensely on his work and envision possibilities beyond conventional norms. This unique perspective led him to create numerous groundbreaking inventions. At just 12 years old, he constructed a car from spare parts. After earning his degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912, he went on to design an innovative fishing rod and reel, a secure locking mechanism, and a technique for balancing steam turbine rotors in torpedo boat destroyers.

Later, Teetor established his own company, focusing on piston rings, but his crowning achievement emerged during World War II. While riding in a car driven by his lawyer, he noticed the attorney struggled to multitask—talking and driving simultaneously. The lawyer’s inconsistent speed, alternating between braking and accelerating, made Teetor feel sick. Annoyed by the poor driving, Teetor conceived the idea of cruise control. A decade later, he patented the invention, which soon became a standard feature in Chrysler vehicles. Today, cruise control is a staple in nearly every car, all thanks to a blind inventor and an incompetent driver.

3. The Blind Schindler

Otto Weidt despised the Nazis. As an anarchist and a compassionate individual, he recognized the danger Hitler posed as soon as the dictator rose to power. Witnessing the implementation of Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies in Berlin, Weidt felt compelled to take action. Like the renowned Oskar Schindler, Weidt operated a workshop that primarily employed Jewish individuals, but his workers were all disabled. He hired deaf, mute, and blind employees from the Jewish Home for the Blind, paying them to produce horsehair brushes and brooms. Having experienced life without sight himself, Weidt was deeply committed to helping others facing similar challenges.

With Hitler in control, Weidt had to protect his workers from the Gestapo. Initially, he argued that his employees were vital to the war effort. When this failed, he turned to bribing officials with luxury items like champagne, cigars, and perfume. The situation worsened when the Nazis began deporting Berlin’s Jewish population. As the crackdown intensified, Weidt attempted to hide his workers. When some were captured and taken to a train station, Weidt managed to persuade officials to release them just before the train departed.

In another instance, a worker named Alice Licht was captured and forced onto a cattle train headed for Auschwitz. Miraculously, she managed to slip a postcard through the train’s floor, which eventually reached Weidt. Despite his blindness, he rushed to Poland, securing a safe house filled with money and clothes for her. Weidt developed deep feelings for Licht, but after the war, she moved to America, never reuniting with her blind savior. Though heartbroken, Weidt was later honored by Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations,” a title given to non-Jews who risked everything to save others during the Holocaust.

2. The World’s First Blind Doctor

Jacob Bolotin carved a unique niche in medical history. Born in 1888 to poor Polish immigrants in Chicago, he was one of three blind children in a family of seven, as congenital blindness affected his siblings as well. His condition sharpened his other senses, enabling him to identify people by their smell and read Braille even through thick fabric.

After finishing his education at a school for the blind, Bolotin worked as a salesman, selling brushes and typewriters on Chicago’s streetcars. His ultimate goal was to become a doctor, but most medical schools refused to admit a blind student. After persistently pressuring university boards, he finally gained admission to the Chicago College of Medicine. At 24, he graduated, becoming the first person born blind to earn a medical license.

Bolotin focused on heart and lung diseases, using his heightened senses to diagnose patients since he couldn’t rely on sight. During his internship at Frances Willard Hospital, he identified a young woman’s obstructed heart valve simply by touching her skin and listening to her heartbeat. Beyond his medical practice, he traveled the Midwest, delivering lectures on blindness and founding the first Boy Scout troop exclusively for blind members. Tragically, Bolotin died at 36, but his funeral was attended by 5,000 people whose lives he had profoundly impacted.

1. The Most Famous Blind Girl In The World

Laura Bridgman, born in 1829, was once one of the world’s most renowned figures. At two years old, she lost four of her five senses to scarlet fever, leaving her only with touch. She was later placed in the Peterson’s Institute in Boston, an asylum overseen by Samuel Gridley Howe. Despite his difficult personality, Howe was captivated by Bridgman’s condition and, by her seventh birthday, had taught her to communicate with the outside world.

Decades before Helen Keller’s time, Bridgman mastered finger-spelling, pressing letters into another’s palm to form words and sentences. She also learned to read by tracing raised type with her fingers. Her dedication and Howe’s meticulous documentation turned her into a global sensation, with fans eager for her autograph and even strands of her hair. Visitors flocked to witness her reading and writing, and young girls named their dolls “Laura” after her. Her fame grew further when Charles Dickens wrote about her in one of his books, cementing her place in history.

Life remained challenging for Bridgman as she grew older. Struggling with anorexia due to her inability to taste or smell food, she also became the subject of an unusual experiment. Howe, determined to isolate her from religious influences, banned any discussion of spirituality with her. However, when evangelicals secretly introduced her to Christianity, Howe, enraged, disowned her and even declared that blind individuals were intellectually inferior. Cast aside by her mentor, Bridgman spent her remaining years at the Perkins Institute, fading into obscurity and largely forgotten by the world.