The first documented observation of the phenomenon was in the 1660s by Edme Mariotte in France. At the time it was generally thought that the point at which the optic nerve entered the eye should actually be the most sensitive portion of the retina; however, Mariotte's discovery disproved this theory.
ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY f ɜː s t WORD_BOUNDARY d ɑ k j uː m ə n t ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY ɑ b z ə ɹ v eɪ ʃ ə n WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ v ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY f ɪ n ɑ m ɪ n ə n WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ z WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ n WORD_BOUNDARY θ aʊ z ə n d WORD_BOUNDARY s ɪ k s h ʌ n d ɹ ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY s ɪ k s t i WORD_BOUNDARY z WORD_BOUNDARY b aɪ WORD_BOUNDARY ɛ d m i WORD_BOUNDARY m æ ɹ ɪ ɑ t WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY f ɹ æ n s WORD_BOUNDARY æ t WORD_BOUNDARY ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY t aɪ m WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ z WORD_BOUNDARY d̠ʒ ɛ n ə ɹ ɹ ə l i WORD_BOUNDARY θ ɔ t WORD_BOUNDARY ð æ t ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY p ɔɪ n t WORD_BOUNDARY æ t WORD_BOUNDARY w ɪ t̠ʃ WORD_BOUNDARY ð ɪ WORD_BOUNDARY ɑ p t ɪ k WORD_BOUNDARY n ɜː v WORD_BOUNDARY ɛ n t ə ɹ d WORD_BOUNDARY ð ɪ WORD_BOUNDARY aɪ WORD_BOUNDARY ʃ ʊ d WORD_BOUNDARY æ k t̠ʃ uː ə l i WORD_BOUNDARY b iː WORD_BOUNDARY ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY m oʊ s t WORD_BOUNDARY s ɛ n s ɪ t ɪ v WORD_BOUNDARY p ɔ ɹ ʃ ə n WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ v ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY ɹ ɛ t ɪ n ə WORD_BOUNDARY h aʊ ɛ v ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY m æ ɹ ɪ ɑ t s WORD_BOUNDARY d ɪ s k ʌ v ə ɹ ɹ i WORD_BOUNDARY d ɪ s p ɹ uː v d WORD_BOUNDARY ð ɪ s WORD_BOUNDARY θ iə ɹ i WORD_BOUNDARY