Carrots improve eyesight is actually a World War II myth

We have all grown up hearing the phrases: ‘Eat carrots if you don’t want to wear glasses‘ and 'Eating carrots will help you see in the dark.’ We accepted all of it without ever raising doubts. But what if you get to know that all of it is just a myth, nothing more than a colonial propaganda by the Britishers during the second World War? Guess what, the story is indeed one of its kind. Let us now understand it closely. 

What is the real story behind this myth? 
During the World War II, technology hadn’t yet advanced to the level of making combat easier in the dark. So, when the German Luftwaffe (air force) launched an aerial bombing (The Blitz) on the British soil, the British had counter-attacked with RAF, making the Germans stop bombing during the day and instead save it for the night. They thought that they will take advantage of the dark and the British air force will not be able to trace their bombing airplanes at night and in turn will fail to defend themselves.

But to their utter surprise, the Britishers devised a clever plan. They created a radar system that could detect any movement in their night sky. They constructed radar towers across the entire English Channel. In fact, by 1940, they had successfully built light-weight radar systems to install them in their own surveillance aircrafts. This is how the British were able to defend themselves by shooting down the German warplanes even during the night. But they didn’t want to disclose their big surveillance secret, yet had to explain their surprising victories in the dark. This is when they introduced the carrot myth. 

How did the British convince the world of this myth? 
The British Intelligence along with the Defence department devised a brilliant plan. They asked their Ministry of Information to release the news on posters across England saying that ‘Carrots keep you healthy and help you see even in the blackout.’ This is how they handled their clever war secret.  

As explained by John Stolarzcyk, the chairman of the World Carrot Museum (yes, you read that right, there’s a museum in Britain dedicated to carrots), over generations, the message that carrots are good for eyes was converted into something like carrots improved eyesight. He further explained that this happened because the British government even fooled their own citizens.  

Britain, as an island-nation, always suffered from food shortage, especially during wars. This is why the government encouraged common people to try and grow their own food in their backyards, especially vegetables, as it was expensive to import them from elsewhere. Carrots became popular as a staple food because not only do they grow fast but also have high nutritional value. To add to this, the government’s announcement that carrots enabled people to see clearly during blackouts (common in war struck Britain), made the vegetable a big sensation.  

How did the world react to this myth? 
The propaganda of the British was so successful that a famous American newspaper went on to print food recipes lauding the British Ministry and encouraging their own people to try out the same. The article stated that since Britishers grow and eat too much of carrots, they are often able to prevent nighttime accidents and disasters.  

But the then war analysts and modern-day historians state that the Germans were also too clever to believe in this absurd propaganda and might have seen it as a myth. The funniest part is that, Britain’s own allies believed in this myth the most and made it a bigger propaganda than the British had ever intended it to be.