I chop a lot of onions when I'm getting ready for Shabbat -- and I HATE that burning feeling in my eyes so here's my solution for chopping onions without tears:

I got myself a little personal fan like the ones offered here  and when I chop onions I blow the air away from me! It actually works! I also use the fan to help cool off the kids food when it's too hot (They love it!)   But, don't  buy the fans from the website above, I just wanted to show you a picture of what I'm talking about -- you can sometimes find similar fans at the dollar store -- or your local Radio Shack (Or The Source in Canada)  should carry them.

One other solution that works well is to chop onions next to your stovetop when the heat is on.  I did that when I had a gas stove and it worked well too. 

Finally, I recently got myself one of those Nicer Dicers (As Seen on TV) and I LOVE it! I wouldn't pull it out to chop one onion, but when you're doing alot  It really makes the job of chopping onions  faster and easier.   -- and I usually don't even need the fan when I use that device (unless the onions are REALLY strong).

Happy chopping! 

Update on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 12:45PM by SolutionDIVA

here's a video with a unique idea for avoiding tears...

 http://video.about.com/southernfood/No-Cry-Onion-Chopping.htm