The Four Eyed Wonder Pt 1

Hey guys, so my next post is going to be on glasses.  Whether you want to admit it or not, glasses are a huge fashion accessory, more so now then ever before even though its sole purpose is a utilitarian one, to be able to see.  So I decided to travel through the history of glasses, or as I call it, the Four Eyed Wonder.  To start off, what are glasses?

• Glasses are "FRAMES BEARING LENSES WORN IN THE FRONT OF THE EYES.  THEY ARE NORMALLY USED FOR VISION CORRECTION OR EYE PROTECTION."

History:

• Earliest reference to magnification dates back to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics in the 5th Century BC.  

  
• Earliest written record of magnification dates back to the 1st Century AD

• Ben Franklin is credited for inventing the bifocals

 

First Pair of Glasses:

• These primitive spectacles are some of the earliest known dating back to the years 1500 - 1700.
• Made of steel
• Managed to stay in place resting on the wearer's nose.

 

 

Different Types of Glasses:

•Corrective

• Used to correct refractive errors of the eye by modifying the effective focal length of the lens in order to alleviate the effects of conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.

•Safety

• Usually made with shatter resistant plastic lenses to protect the eye from flying debris

•Sunglasses

• Made with either prescription or non prescription lenses that are darkened to provide protection against bright visible light.

•3D Glasses

• 3D glasses create the illusion of three dimensions by filtering out the light not intended for that eye, resulting in each eye receiving a different image.
• The traditional 3D glasses have one red lens and one blue or cyan lens or similar color filters.

 

•Ready Made Reading Glasses

• Reading glasses come in two main styles: full frames, in which the entire lens is made in the reading prescription, and half-eyes, the smaller "Ben Franklin" style glasses that sit lower down on the nose

 

•Bifocals, Trifocals, and Progressive Lenses

• Traditional multifocal lenses have two or three distinct horizontal viewing areas, each requiring a conscious effort of refocusing.
• Some modern multifocal lenses, such as progressive lenses give a smooth transition between these different focal points, unnoticeable by most wearers, while other glasses have lenses specifically intended for use with computer monitors at a fixed distance.

 

•Extreme Magnification

• A form of glasses with extreme magnification to improve the distance vision of those with severe eyesight impairment, especially people with albinism, are known as bioptics or a bioptic telescope.
• They may take the form of self-contained glasses that resemble goggles or binoculars, or may be attached to existing glasses.

So hopefully from this you got in a nutshell how glasses came about, and stay tuned for my "The Four Eyed Wonder Pt 2" for the evolution of glasses!