People Say Their Eyes Are Burning After Attending a Bored Ape Event

"Please go get your eyes checked immediately."

The Goggles

The creator of the once-popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, Yuga Labs, put on a party in Hong Kong.

The fact that a Bored Ape-themed party took place at all in 2023 is already perhaps a little surprising, judging by the NFT industry's abysmal state. But then something even stranger started happening to attendees: their eyes started burning after the event.

As Bloomberg reports, over a dozen visitors complained about peculiar eye problems. While you wouldn't be amiss for blaming the look of the Bored Apes themselves — the lazy and garish designs make our own eyes hurt, too — the problem was seemingly caused by the event's excessive ultraviolet lighting.

It's a bizarre twist that we didn't see coming. The NFT market is in shambles right now, and Bored Apes in particular have become almost worthless, despite being shilled by celebrities and selling for millions of dollars just two years ago.

In short, lawsuits over damaged eyes are probably the very least of Yuga Labs' concerns.

They Do Nothing

A spokesperson for Yuga Labs told Bloomberg that around 15 people were in touch with them about the condition of their eyes, which allegedly represented less than one percent of the total crowd. Judging by one video showing a largely empty dancefloor, that's a pretty generous headcount.

Crypto buff Adrian Zdunczyk, who attended the event, was later diagnosed with photokeratitis at the hospital, a condition caused by unprotected exposure to ultraviolet radiation that can result in symptoms ranging from mild irritation to severe pain.

It's something that can also happen when you stare at the Sun, especially during a solar eclipse. A form of photokeratitis known as "snow blindness" can also be triggered by the Sun being reflected by snow.

"Incredible event and met plenty of amazing people," he tweeted. "Still, as dozens of others, I’ve almost lost sight this night."

Fortunately for Zdunczyk, his "vision was tested as close to perfect with no serious cornea damage, luckily."

"Please go get your eyes checked immediately," Zdunczyk added.

Jokes aside, we're hoping everybody who attended is safe long term.

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