History Of Sunglasses
Sunglasses are such a common part of the everyday eyewear, it’s difficult to imagine a world without them. But when were sunglasses invented, and who invented them?
The oldest forms of sunglasses have been discovered as far back even to prehistoric times. Inuit period. Inuit believe to have migrated from western Alaska and Canada around the 1000 common time period (CE).
Residing in snow-heavy areas In the snow-laden areas, the Inuit are thought to have developed a form of snow goggles to shield themselves from photokeratitis, also known as snow blindness.
Artifacts discovered from this time were made from driftwood, ivory, and bone, with small slits, cut into the sides of eyepieces. They also reduced glare by filling the openings in the carved-out with soot and gunpowder.
Who was the first to create modern sunglasses?
A pair of glasses that were dark are believed to have appeared in China during the 12th century. However, they were available only to the very wealthy and were used primarily to conceal the feelings of official officials.
In the late 1700s James Ayscough, an English optician, proposed the addition of tint (primarily green, blue and amber) to eyeglasses to help with a variety of vision issues. This led to the fact that Ayscough is often acknowledged as the first person to invent sunglasses even though the lenses they invented were not designed to protect the eyes from the sun.
Crookes’ lenses were then made available in the early 1900s. Sir William Crookes was a British chemist and physicist who invented a 100% ultraviolet-light-blocking sunglass lens made from glass containing cerium. However, it would be another 29 years before he came up with the idea of wearing sunglasses while flying regular basis took off.
It was 1929 when Sam Foster launched a plastic manufacturing company in Massachusetts and began producing celluloid, along with other products. Within a short time, the first injection molding machine was perfected. This machine made it possible to create mass mark mass-marketed glasses for the very first time.
Foster soon began selling sunglasses under the name Foster Grant from a Woolworth store in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1937, 20 million glasses were reported to have been offered in the U.S.
Since then, sunglasses have become an integral element of our lives. Nowadays we live in the United States is home to the largest sunglasses market in the world, earning over $4.66 billion in revenue in 2018.
Foster Grant glasses are still being sold, by the way at CVS, Walgreens, and other,r stores.
When was the first time polarized sunglasses were invented?
Edwin Land, who founded the Polaroid Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts invented the first pair of sunglasses equipped with a polarizing filter in 1929.
In 1935, he reached a deal with American Optical Company to produce the first polarized sunglasses.
Polarized blue blockers feature a specific filter that blocks the intense reflection of light, decreasing glare and improving the clarity of vision. They are recommended to use for a variety of sporting activities as they reduce glare from reflections of light off flat surfaces, such as water, sand, or a flurry of snow.