Editing Retroreflector (section)

==History==
Many prey and predator animals have naturally retroreflective eyes by having a reflective layer called the [[Tapetum lucidum]] behind the retina, since this doubles the light that their retina receives.

[[Image:Catseye closeup.jpg|thumb|right|Double-ended cat's eye is Shaw's original design and marks road centre-line]]
Inspired by the natural world, the inventor of road 'cat's eyes' was [[Percy Shaw]] of [[Boothtown]], [[Halifax, West Yorkshire]], England. When the [[Tram|tram-lines]] were removed in the nearby suburb of Ambler Thorn, he realised that he had been using the polished steel rails to navigate at night.<ref name="Halifax Today">
{{cite news |title = The day Percy saw the light! |work = Halifax Today |url = http://www.halifaxtoday.co.uk/mk4custompages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=39556 |access-date = 24 April 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040312081747/http://www.halifaxtoday.co.uk/mk4custompages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=39556 |archive-date = 12 March 2004}}</ref> The name "cat's eye" comes from Shaw's inspiration for the device: the [[Tapetum lucidum#Eyeshine|eyeshine]] reflecting from the eyes of a cat. In 1934, he patented his invention (patents Nos. 436,290 and 457,536), and on 15 March 1935, founded [[Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd|Reflecting Roadstuds Limited]] in [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]] to manufacture the items.<ref>{{cite web  | url = http://www.catseyeroadstuds.com/history.html  | publisher = Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd |title = History |access-date = 24 April 2013 | url-status = usurped  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090219172114/http://catseyeroadstuds.com/history.html |archive-date = 19 February 2009}}</ref><ref name="reyburn">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/-a060531047|title=Inventions that prove size doesn't matter; Ross Reyburn takes a look at some of the little things that have changed lives in big ways over the century.|last=Reyburn|first=Ross|date=1999-06-26|website=The Free Library|publisher=The Birmingham Post|access-date=2020-03-07}}</ref> The name ''Catseye'' is their trademark.<ref>The History of British Roadsigns, Department for Transport, 2nd Edition, 1999</ref> The retroreflecting lens had been invented six years earlier for use in advertising signs by Richard Hollins Murray, an accountant from [[Herefordshire]]<ref>British patent 289619 7 April 1927</ref><ref>[http://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US1625905&F=0&QPN=US1625905 United States patent 1625905] 26 April 1927</ref> and, as Shaw acknowledged, they had contributed to his idea.<ref name="Halifax Today"/>