No, shedding tears from your right or left eye doesn’t reveal whether you’re happy or sad

There are crocodile tears — a phony display of sadness — but what about crocodile wisdom? 

Some trivia is being shared on social media, but it’s not accurate.

"When a person cries, if the first drop of the tears come from the right eye, it’s happiness," one post says. "But when it comes from the left eye, it’s pain. And when they drop from both eyes, it’s frustration." 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

We couldn’t find any credible sources to support this claim. 

Featured Fact-check

Instagram posts

stated on October 27, 2024 in an Instagram post

Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz “says that if Democrats win they’ll make (U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) speaker of the house.”

A 2020 post on crying and tears on the Cleveland Clinic’s website, however, cheekily weighed in. 

"True or false? If the first tear comes from the right eye, it means happiness and if it comes from the left eye, sadness," the post says. "Short answer: No. Long answer: Not true." 

Every time you blink, according to the National Eye Institute, a thin layer of tears called "tear film" covers your cornea. Tears come from glands above the eyes, then drain into the tear ducts — small holes in the inner corner of the eyes. But they don’t play favorites. 

We rate this post False.