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View Full Version : Funny biology question during last night's session on cyclops...


samcifer
2018-09-01, 01:50 PM
When a cyclops turns his head to the side to look at you at an angle and he shuts then opens his eye again, is he winking or blinking?
jollydm
2018-09-01, 01:52 PM
I...uh...hmmm...

Huh. You stumped me.
hymer
2018-09-01, 01:55 PM
Was he tapping his nose at the time? Or clicking his tongue twice?
jollydm
2018-09-01, 02:00 PM
Did he do finger guns?
Sariel Vailo
2018-09-01, 02:33 PM
All relevant questions did he slick his black hair back and click his tongue while doing finger guns.
Lord Vukodlak
2018-09-01, 04:33 PM
Well did he hold it a second? If he holds his eye closed for a second it’s a wink. The really way to tell is to cover one of your own eyes then look in a mirror and mimic what the Cyclopes did then ask is it a wink or a blink
Draconi Redfir
2018-09-01, 04:36 PM
if one side of his eyelid was closed sooner then the other side was, then it was a wink.
Nifft
2018-09-01, 04:46 PM
When a cyclops turns his head to the side to look at you at an angle and he shuts then opens his eye again, is he winking or blinking?

Yes.

Obviously.
Aett_Thorn
2018-09-01, 04:56 PM
On a related note, does a Beholder wink with only one eye stalk, or does it need to be four of them?
bc56
2018-09-01, 06:38 PM
On a related note, does a Beholder wink with only one eye stalk, or does it need to be four of them?

Five, actually.
Nifft
2018-09-01, 08:32 PM
On a related note, does a Beholder wink with only one eye stalk, or does it need to be four of them?

5e Beholders may not be able to wink at all -- the text from earlier editions about "closing" the central eye seems to have been written such that now the Beholder merely decides whether the anti-magic cone is active, not whether the eye is open or closed.

So in 3.5e, a Beholder could wink once on its turn as a free action.

In 5e, Beholders cannot wink or even blink, and this presumably makes them very angry at everyone.
AureusFulgens
2018-09-01, 10:43 PM
I imagine the words are the same in their native language. ;)
Knaight
2018-09-01, 10:48 PM
This is less biology and more linguistics. From my preliminary research "blink" seems to consistently use the term "eyes", plural. Therefore it's winking.
samcifer
2018-09-02, 12:50 AM
This is less biology and more linguistics. From my preliminary research "blink" seems to consistently use the term "eyes", plural. Therefore it's winking.

But what if he gets something in his eye? You don't 'wink' away something in your eye. :)
Kane0
2018-09-02, 01:27 AM
I recommend Futurama for research purposes.
Moredhel24
2018-09-02, 02:25 AM
1. por que?

2. Technically winking is a form of blinking. It's just blinking typically of 1 eye being used as a form of nonverbal communication. Dare someone to ask an optometrist.
Maelynn
2018-09-02, 03:03 AM
It depends on the movement speed. Blinking is 'a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid', meaning it's just a reflex that you perform subconsciously. Winking is an action that's done purposefully and slower than blinking.

So next time, just stop and stand close enough to see how fast the cyclops closes its eye. I'm sure it's perfectly safe.