SUNGLASSES
Sunglasses
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About Sunglasses
Any time of year, sunglasses should be a part of your daily heath-consciousness
routine. Sunglasses are not just for summers on the beach anymore or
just for looking cool and mysterious. Designer sunglasses are no longer
just for wealthy movie stars. Sunglasses are crucial in protecting your
eyes from the permanent damaging effects of Ultra Violet radiation.
Sunglasses in some form have been around for a very long time. Roman
Emperor Nero made sunglasses by watching gladiator competitions through
polished light emerald green gems held up to his eyes. The true invention
of sunglasses was somewhere between 1268 and 1289.
Before 1430, smoky quartz, flat-paned sunglasses were worn by Judges
in the Courts of China to conceal any expression in their eyes. Prescription
sunglasses were developed in Italy in 1430 and were later used by the
Chinese Judges. In the mid 18th Century, James Ayscough developed blue
and green corrective lenses, beginning the use of sunglasses for correcting
optical impairments.
Until 1730 when Edward Scarlett invented hardened sidepieces, there
were problems in keeping eyeglasses propped on the nose. Glasses frames
had been made from leather, bones and metal and sidepieces began as
silk strips of ribbon that looped around the ears. Instead of loops,
the Chinese added ceramic weights to the ends of the ribbons. Benjamen
Franklin's invention of bifocal lenses followed in 1780.
By the 20th Century, sunglasses were used to protect the eyes from the
sun. In 1929 Sam Foster's "Foster Grants" were the first mass-produced
sunglasses and they began the trend of sunglasses for fashion.
In the 1930's the Army Air Corps asked Bausch & Lomb to develop sunglasses
that would efficiently reduce high-altitude sun glare for pilots and
they came up with dark green tinted sunglasses that absorbed light through
the yellow spectrum.
Edward H. Land had invented the Polaroid filter and
by 1936 he used it in making sunglasses and soon, sunglasses
became "cool." Movies stars began wearing sunglasses
to hide behind and for fashion. Aviator glasses became
popular with the movie stars and the general public
in 1937 after Ray Ban developed the anti-glare sunglasses
using polarization. The longer lens was created to give
more protection to pilots' eyes from light reflecting
off their control panels.
By the 1970's Hollywood stars and fashion designers
made a huge impact on the sunglasses market. Clothing
designers and stars put their names on glasses and sunglasses
and everyone had to have them. In 2007, stars are still
hiding behind their oversized designer sunglasses, making
fashion statements and protecting their eyes from the
harmful effects of the Ultra Violet radiation.
Today's trendy designer sunglasses are a status symbol;
however, in order to be fashionable in sunglasses, you
do not have to give up quality. Quality designer sunglasses
can be polarized to reduce the glare of sunlight reflecting
off surfaces like the highway, cars, water or snow.
Polarized sunglasses work by blocking off horizontal
light reflections and only let in vertical light reflections.
The polarization of designer sunglasses makes them fashionable
in other areas of lifestyle like golfing, boating, biking,
swimming, fishing and aircraft flying.
Marketers of designer sunglasses target children who
choose the same hot styles and brand-names as their
parents and their idols. Sunglasses for children have
Disney and cartoon characters in many colors, shapes
and styles. Children's designer sunglasses can also
be polarized to block the harmful UV radiation.
With modern technology and improvements, the making
of sunglasses continues to evolve.
We have gone from holding green gems up to our eyes
to Oakley's sunglasses
with digital audio players built in.
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