43 Fun Facts About Eyeglasses For Everyone Who Needs Vision Aid!

Eyeglasses, also known as spectacles, are instruments that help people to see, and eyeglasses consist of hard lenses along with a pair of hinged arms so that they can be worn.

In medical science, it is the branch of optometry and ophthalmology that deals with everything that is eye-related. These days glasses are worn for various purposes ranging from vision correction, eye protection, and as fashion statements.

The most common use of eyeglasses is either for reading or to view distant objects. People who have prescription glasses have either of these two conditions or both of them at the same time.

In construction and lab-related activities, it is especially advisable to wear safety glasses to protect eyes from any permanent damage.

People who suffer from very poor vision and need to keep wearing glasses all the time often attach a strap or a cord to attach their eyeglasses as this prevents the eyeglasses from getting lost or falling and getting damaged.

Sunglasses protect us from bright daylight and these sunglasses are capable of blocking harmful ultraviolet rays from harming our eyes.

Invention Of Eyeglasses

Nowadays, we see every other person wearing eyeglasses, and the technology these days is pretty advanced. A person suffering from both myopia and hypermetropia can now just wear one lens and see clearly. However all these advancements took a lot of time. It was Benjamin Franklin who played a pivotal role in the development of eyeglasses.

• Glasses are one of the most ancient inventions that are used to date although they were not known as eyeglasses back in the time.
• Historians say that the first vision aid instruments were invented way back in 1000 A.D. Back then, they were called 'a reading stone' instead of eyeglasses.
• Interestingly, the reading stone did not look like the modern glasses that we see today as it was just a small glass sphere that was placed on top of small letters or words while you read them in order to magnify them and make reading easier.
• Some historians say that the first-ever eyeglasses were made in 1284 in northern Italy, and these glasses had to be handheld and placed in front of eyes so that any vision problems could be solved.
• These were the first eyeglasses ever made, and they consisted of glass lenses that were mounted on heavy frames made up of wood, copper, bone, and leather.
• The first eyeglasses were manual and had to be handheld on top of the nose. As soon as a person tried to fix them on their nose and use both their hands for work, these glasses would slip down.
• At this point, this type of eyeglasses could not be worn, and in order to make wearable eyeglasses, Spanish manufacturers attached ribbons to glasses.
• They also looped the glasses over a wearer's ears as this prevented the glasses from constantly slipping down one's nose.
• It is perhaps one of the most interesting facts about glasses that it was the involvement of Spanish eyeglass manufacturers which paved way for the wearable eyeglasses that we see today with modern temple arms.
• Benjamin Franklin was the one who invented the concept of bifocals.
• Benjamin Franklin himself suffered from presbyopia and myopia and these could not be dealt with ordinary glass lenses.
• Benjamin Franklin then invented bifocals which are lenses with two distinct optical powers.
• Bifocal lenses are prescribed to those who suffer from multiple kinds of vision problems including astigmatism, myopia, and/or hyperopia.

Features Of Eyeglasses

Eyeglasses have evolved a lot since their invention as a reading stone back in 1000 A.D. Earlier, a small glass sphere was used and the world of eyeglasses has seen a lot of changes over the years. One thing that has stayed constant is the ever-evolving technology. Let us take a closer look at some interesting facts about glasses.

• Did you know that as of today, one-fourth of the world's population wears glasses or corrective lenses, depending upon their need.
• On top of that, researchers have concluded that in the near future, this number will rise and almost 50% of the world's population will need to wear glasses.
• This is one of the most ironic facts about glasses because most eyeglasses' lenses are not made of glass. They are made up of high-tech plastics.
• The reason why manufacturers have switched from using glass lenses to high-tech plastics in making modern glasses is that the latter is capable of blocking harmful UV rays.
• Modern glasses which are made up of high-tech plastics are leaps and bounds ahead of glass lenses in terms of handling.
• Break-proof plastic lenses are way more durable, and they are thinner and also lighter.
• Nowadays, glasses are used for making lenses only when someone has a very strong prescription, and they can benefit from mineral glass lenses which offer less distortion. At the same time, they are harder than plastic ones, making them more scratch resistant.
• Even though many believe that wearing somebody else's glasses will damage your eyes, this is completely false.
• However, when people wear somebody else's glasses, they can experience eye fatigue or eye strain which leads to headaches but it won't damage one's eyes.
• This is because eyeglasses only act as optical aids for people who have blurred vision due to refractive errors and these can never cure one's eyes permanently.
• The only time when wearing glasses temporarily can improve a person's vision permanently is during strabismus and amblyopia.
• When children suffer from crossed eyes or lazy eyes, glasses are prescribed to either straighten the eyes or improve their vision.
• There have been cases in the past when not wearing these glasses has led to these vision defects becoming permanent.
• Did you know the reason behind the invention of bifocal glasses was to help people who suffered from multiple vision problems?

Types Of Eyeglass

Glasses, when they were first invented, were known as first vision aid instruments as their sole purpose was to help people improve their blurred vision. However, with the passing of time, humans began to encounter new vision-related problems which led to the invention of several types of glasses.

• There are a total of nine different kinds of glasses with varying functions.
• The most popular kind is corrective lenses whose main purpose is to deal with the issue of refractive errors.
• As a person ages, their crystalline lenses lose their elasticity which further leads to a person not being able to clearly see object nearby.
• This condition is especially common in people over 40 years old, and corrective lenses are used in these cases and also in the cases of astigmatism and hypermetropia.
• Safety glassesare the other most common and perhaps the most important type of glasses as people wear them to protect their eyes during various situations.
• These safety glasses are usually worn by construction workers, lab technicians, heavy machinery operators, surgeons, and dentists.
• A particular kind of safety glasses are welding glasses. They are worn by welders and are essential for protecting eyes from welders flash.
• Sunglasses are worn by people to protect their eyes from the bright sunlight and also from harmful UV rays up to some extent.
• 3D glassesare another kind of glasses that are used for entertainment purposes. These glasses do not work on every image. The image has to made to be seen in three dimensions.
• Magnification glassesor bioptics are used by people who have severe vision impairments or require these glasses for their occupational needs.
• Yellow tinted glassesare widely used by gamers who spend long hours in front of the computer screen as these glasses are excellent at blocking harmful UV rays.
• Blue light blocking glassesare slightly different from yellow-tinted glasses as the former is becoming increasingly popular and is widely used by people spending long hours in front of a tablet, mobile, or computer screen.
• People using these glasses believe that they helped to reduce eye strain and eye fatigue caused by blue light overexposure.
• Some other types of glasses include mixed double frame glasses and anti-glare protection glasses.

What is strength in eyeglass?

The strength of glass refers to the diopters of glass, and these numbers determine the magnification level of glass lenses or contact lenses depending on the requirement. The strength glasses or corrective lenses can easily be determined by diopters.

• The lower the diopter number, the lower the magnification and the lower the strength, and vice versa.
• Once you have eyeglasses with the perfect strength according to your eye, you can wear them all the time even if they are prescription glasses as they help you see better.
• While measuring the severity of the strength of an eyeglass, a number between +/-2.25 and +/-5.00 is considered mild which means that a person's eyesight is not too bad but it is not good either. For instance, if your eyesight is -3.0, it means that although your eyesight is not the worst, it needs to be strictly taken care of.
• People suffer from glasses getting fogged up due to masks.
• In order to prevent glasses from fogging up, you can use nose clips or use anti-fog wipes, spritz with anti-fog lens spray.
• If you wear eyeglasses of incorrect prescription strength, this can damage your eyes and cause headaches as well. This is perhaps the only side effect of wearing glasses as well.