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CNN Live At Daybreak
What's That Black Grease Baseball Players Put On?
Aired July 15, 2003 - 06:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: At the All Star Game tonight, you're sure to see some of the players wearing that black grease underneath their eyes. But what exactly is that stuff and why do they wear it?
Dr. Sandra Fryhofer is here with some answers.
Is it just to make them look tough?
DR. SANDRA FRYHOFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it really does make them look tough. But believe it or not, there's a new study in the "Archives of Ophthalmology" that finds out it really can help with the glare.
COSTELLO: They actually did a study on that?
FRYHOFER: They did a study. We're going to tell you about it. This was a small study of 46 students age 18 to 30. A little more than half of these students were women, about 52 percent. And over 90 percent of the students participated in sports activities. And the researchers compared the black eye grease to anti-glare stickers. And the control was just some plain old petroleum jelly.
And they found that in addition to making them look tough, that black...
COSTELLO: That is important.
FRYHOFER: It is important -- the black eye grease did, indeed, help reduce glare and made it easier for them to see objects in sunlight as compared to the anti-glare stickers or the petroleum jelly. So that black eye grease is not just for show. It really does help.
COSTELLO: Interesting. So what's that stuff made of it? Is it really just grease?
FRYHOFER: It's a secret.
COSTELLO: It's a secret formula.
FRYHOFER: It's a mixture of beeswax, paraffin and carbon. The first time we know of athletes using the black eye grease was back in 1942 and there's even a photograph of Washington Redskins football player Andy Farkas in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. At that time, the eye grease wasn't commercially available, so the players had to make their own.
COSTELLO: Oh.
FRYHOFER: They would burn cork and smear the ashes on their cheeks. Now, the anti-glare stickers are made from the special fabric that has a patent -- don't they look tough there?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FRYHOFER: According to the advertisement, you're supposed to wear them half an inch below the eyelid on the cheekbone. Get it just right now. And they're supposed to function like the natural mask found on wolves, badgers and even killer whales.
But this study says the black eye grease is better even if it is a little messy. This study was done by researchers at Yale University School of Medicine.
COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh.
FRYHOFER: None of the authors has any financial or commercial interest in the companies mentioned in this study. And it does seem that that eye black grease appears to be more than just macho psychological war paint.
COSTELLO: Yes, and I see you brought some in and I was just thinking that if you're afraid of aggressive driving...
FRYHOFER: Curious? There you are.
COSTELLO: No, I'm not putting it on. But if you're afraid of aggressive drivers, you could wear this instead of sunglasses and just glare at them.
FRYHOFER: That's better than road rage.
COSTELLO: You could avoid road rage by wearing these.
FRYHOFER: Just look at 'em and they'll stay away.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much.
It was a lot of fun.
We appreciate it.
FRYHOFER: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 15, 2003 - 06:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: At the All Star Game tonight, you're sure to see some of the players wearing that black grease underneath their eyes. But what exactly is that stuff and why do they wear it?
Dr. Sandra Fryhofer is here with some answers.
Is it just to make them look tough?
DR. SANDRA FRYHOFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it really does make them look tough. But believe it or not, there's a new study in the "Archives of Ophthalmology" that finds out it really can help with the glare.
COSTELLO: They actually did a study on that?
FRYHOFER: They did a study. We're going to tell you about it. This was a small study of 46 students age 18 to 30. A little more than half of these students were women, about 52 percent. And over 90 percent of the students participated in sports activities. And the researchers compared the black eye grease to anti-glare stickers. And the control was just some plain old petroleum jelly.
And they found that in addition to making them look tough, that black...
COSTELLO: That is important.
FRYHOFER: It is important -- the black eye grease did, indeed, help reduce glare and made it easier for them to see objects in sunlight as compared to the anti-glare stickers or the petroleum jelly. So that black eye grease is not just for show. It really does help.
COSTELLO: Interesting. So what's that stuff made of it? Is it really just grease?
FRYHOFER: It's a secret.
COSTELLO: It's a secret formula.
FRYHOFER: It's a mixture of beeswax, paraffin and carbon. The first time we know of athletes using the black eye grease was back in 1942 and there's even a photograph of Washington Redskins football player Andy Farkas in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. At that time, the eye grease wasn't commercially available, so the players had to make their own.
COSTELLO: Oh.
FRYHOFER: They would burn cork and smear the ashes on their cheeks. Now, the anti-glare stickers are made from the special fabric that has a patent -- don't they look tough there?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FRYHOFER: According to the advertisement, you're supposed to wear them half an inch below the eyelid on the cheekbone. Get it just right now. And they're supposed to function like the natural mask found on wolves, badgers and even killer whales.
But this study says the black eye grease is better even if it is a little messy. This study was done by researchers at Yale University School of Medicine.
COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh.
FRYHOFER: None of the authors has any financial or commercial interest in the companies mentioned in this study. And it does seem that that eye black grease appears to be more than just macho psychological war paint.
COSTELLO: Yes, and I see you brought some in and I was just thinking that if you're afraid of aggressive driving...
FRYHOFER: Curious? There you are.
COSTELLO: No, I'm not putting it on. But if you're afraid of aggressive drivers, you could wear this instead of sunglasses and just glare at them.
FRYHOFER: That's better than road rage.
COSTELLO: You could avoid road rage by wearing these.
FRYHOFER: Just look at 'em and they'll stay away.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much.
It was a lot of fun.
We appreciate it.
FRYHOFER: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
