By Paige Wilson

Throughout time, the world has been plagued by many questions that we will seemingly never have the answer to. How far does space go on for? What is the purpose of life? And perhaps the most pressing of all: Does Mike Wazowski wink or blink? 

As a one-eyed gremlin, ambiguity surrounds the meaning behind his optical movements. Many believe he is only just refreshing his corneas by blinking, while others think there is a mischievous intention behind his eyelid movement. 

This debate has plagued society throughout the years and served as the template for many internet memes. As a big Wazowski fan myself, I have seen no shortage of these. Families have been torn apart and friendships have ended at the helm of this squabble. 

After many years of thinking and rationalizing the answer, I have come up with what I think will end this feud. My belief is that one does not have to pick a side in this polarizing discussion. Wazowski both winks and blinks. It is the intention behind the movement that really matters. 

If we wanted to get technical about it, we could look up the definitions of both wink and blink. 

The definition for “wink” states that it is the motion of opening and closing one eye quickly. Through this, we can establish that Wazowski winks. The definition for “blink” says that it occurs when an individual opens and closes the eye or eyes. In this way, we can also say that Wazowski blinks. So now, as the English language has told us, Wazowksi both winks and blinks; the complexity comes in when you must decide which he is doing. 

The actions of winking and blinking, when observed on a creature possessing one eye, look similar to one another. This is when we must take a look at the context clues presented to us in various scenes of the Monsters Inc. cinematic universe. If Wazowski is having a calm and relaxed conversation with Sulley, and we observe the movement of his eyelid, we can come to the rational conclusion that he is blinking in that instance. 

However, if he is having an intimate date with Celia at Harry Hausen’s and he closes his eye, we can safely assume he is flirting with his schmoopsie-poo. 

I am ashamed of those who claim he cannot wink because he does not possess another eye to close while the other is open. How can you discredit a being just for lacking another eye when we could be more accepting and realize that with the right clues, one can tell that he is indeed winking? 

Through my extensive research, I am happy with the conclusion I have finally reached. Intention is the key to solving this heated debate, and I hope this will open the minds of many people. 

The world no longer needs to go through so much turmoil concerning this simple question. Families can reunite and friends can make up. This query will no longer reside in the same category as the great unknowns. We can finally rest at ease in this new revelation that the squatty green monster with little horns and one eye winks and blinks.