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10 Interesting Facts About World Braille Day

10 Interesting Facts about World Braille Day

World Braille Day is celebrated every year on 4th January since 2019 (officially) on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille System. Louis lost his eye-sight at a mere age of 4 due to an accident. He then went on to develop a Braille system for all those who lost their sight or were born blind. His Braille system opened plethora of opportunities for blind people. Here are some interesting facts about World Braille Day and the Braille system.

  1. Braille has different versions for writing the alphabet and for math and science. The Nemeth system is one such method for math and science in Braille.
  2. Sheet music also has its own Braille system. Instead of letters, the dots represent musical elements.
  3. A Braille cell is made up of 6 dots. There are 64 possible combinations, including an empty cell.
  4. Braille cells are about the same size as 29pt Arial font. When printed material is transcribed into Braille, it takes nearly three times more pages.
  5. The World Braille Union (WBU) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) collaborated to create the Marrakesh Treaty, removing barriers to transcribing intellectual property into Braille. The WIPO adopted the treaty in 2013, but more action is needed for the U.S. to ratify it.
  6. World Braille Day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. The first celebration was on January 4, 2019, recognizing Braille’s impact on human rights for people with blindness.
  7. Drive-up ATMs have Braille buttons for transactions, allowing drivers to use the ATM independently without compromising privacy. Raised print numbers also help those with poor vision.
  8. Braille books are much larger than print counterparts. For example, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is 10 volumes in Braille, and “Websters Unabridged Dictionary” is 72 volumes.
  9. Braille is a 6-dot cell system that can be translated into many languages. Unified English Braille (UEB) is used by English speakers.
  10. Braille signage is required in many buildings like apartments, businesses, and schools. It’s usually contracted Braille to save space, and may include tactile graphics and raised print for those with low vision. However, Braille is not required on everything, such as restaurant menus, product labels, and some voting ballots.