P.Z.Myers at the Pharyngula science blog relates a story how 50 indians got blind after looking at the sun while looking for an apparition of the holy virgin Mary. This would be very dumb if it were true.

As a proud reader of Philip Plaits book I have to say this looks like a hoax since looking at the sun does not cause “retinal burns” (unless you do it through a telescope, or during an eclipse, or use a filter that blocks visible light while letting through UV, none of which is mentioned in the linked news article).

Phil Plaits source is astronomer Andrew T. Young, who has a page on the topic at http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/vision/Galileo.html (scroll down to “Naked-eye solar hazards”).

This should neither encourage you to look at the sun nor should it stop you from making fun at the virgin Mary if you feel like it (personally I consider this a waste of time), but it should be a reminder not to easily trust things that you find on the internet.