Many athletes regularly smear a black greasy substance known as “eye black” underneath their eyes to reduce glare from the sun or stadium lights. Amazingly, this trend was started by the most famous baseball player of them all, Babe Ruth! Back then the smudge was made by burning a wine cork. The product of that reaction was soot, a form of carbon. Today’s EyeBlack is still based on carbon, but it is combined with beeswax and paraffin for easy spreading. Some fans even apply the product for a feeling of being part of the action.
