According to Perkins School for the Blind, the oldest school for the blind in the US, in 1921, having lost his sight in an accident, James Biggs painted his walking stick white to make it more visible to the cars driving near his home. The idea spread globally over the next decade or so. But, aside from making it from lighter materials such as aluminium, fibreglass or carbon fibre, that was the white cane’s last update for nearly a century.
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