Things you wonder about... When did we get sunglasses?
With a little research I found that even in prehistoric time Inuit peoples wore flattened walrus ivory glasses to block reflected rays of the sun, the earliest historical known reference to sunglasses dates back to ancient China and Rome.
The Roman emperor Nero watched gladiator fights through polished gems.
Also gems in China, sunglasses were used in the 12th century or maybe earlier.
These sunglasses were made out of lenses that were flat panes of smoky quartz.
They offered no corrective powers nor they protect from harmful UV rays but did protect the eyes from glare.
Ancient documents describe the use of such crystal sunglasses by judges in ancient Chinese courts to hide their facial expression when they interrogated witnesses.
Experiments on tinted lenses began in the 18th century when James Ayscough thought that blue or green tinted lenses could improve vision problems.
Back then, people were not concerned by the sun’s damaging effects. In the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, yellow (amber) and brown tinted glasses were prescribed to people with syphilis since they experienced sensitivity to light.
Sunglasses were initially sold off the Atlantic City boardwalk by Sam Foster.
They quickly became a popular item among the rich and famous. Actors and actresses were quick to adopt the lenses as a means to protect their eyes from the near-blinding lights that were featured on movie sets of the time. Off the screen, they found the sunglasses useful for concealing their identities while out in public. Eventually, popularity of sunglasses increased through the general public, and people made use of the fashionable item for all types of recreation.
In 1937, when United States Air-Force pilots needed eye protection from the bright sun, they adopted the now-infamous Aviator style of sunglasses created by start-up company Ray-Ban. The Aviator glasses not only were protective against harmful ultra-violet rays, but quickly became a fashion staple during, and after the World War II era. Ray Ban wasn’t finished exclusively with the Aviator, they innovated unique plastic molding technology in the 50’s to manufacture the Wayfarer, their other iconic style. Plastic molding technology made manufacturing sunglasses easy and affordable, and allowed sunglasses to be reasonably priced and easy to access for the general public. Today, Aviators and Wayfarers are still popular and most sunglasses take inspiration from them.
There You Have It... Show off behind your glamor darks!
Nana
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