Posts Tagged sunglasses

Same Sunglasses, Different Reasons

Everyone should be familiar with the primary reason sunglasses are worn.  Sunglasses protect your eyes from the sun, warding off long term effects of the sun’s damage.  However, what are some other reasons to wear sunglasses.  Everyone has their own reasons, aside from the protection benefits, for wearing sunglasses.

Sunglasses, especially darker ones, help to create an air of mystery surrounding their owners.  It is often difficult to carry on a conversation with a person wearing opaque shades.  This mysterious, often intimidating look is a favorite for investigators, poker players, and police officers.  When someone cannot see your eyes, it is difficult for them to tell what you are thinking.

Sunglasses are a fashion statement all their own.  They are often the first thing that a person sees when they look at you.  The shades you wear make a statement about you, so choose wisely.  The sunglasses you pick out could mean the difference between telling the world that you are a fashion force to be reckoned with, or someone whose mom still picks out his clothes.

On a more somber note is a situation most of us ourselves in.  Sooner or later, everyone loses someone in their life and there is a funeral to attend.  Vanity should not be your first priority in this case, but there are certain measures you can take to help grieve with a little dignity.  A carefully selected, tasteful pair of dark sunglasses will help mask the red and puffy eyes you may experience while crying.  Remember when deciding which pair to wear for this particular occasion that elegance and taste are extremely important.

Whether it is allergy season or you pulled an all-nighter studying for finals, you don’t have to cry to achieve the red, puffy-eyed look.  Let’s face it, everyone has stayed out a little too late the night before and awakened the next morning to see Frankenstein starring back at them in the mirror.  Sunglasses come in handy for these reasons as well.  They may be a telltale sign of a one-too-many night if you wear them in the office, so this would not be recommended.  However, the sudden sensitivity to light you may feel when you step into the day for the first time can be cushioned with a good pair of sunglasses.

Athletes often find themselves playing their particular sport outside on a hot, sunny day.  Unfortunately, there are no allowances in the rules for a baseball player that misses a fly ball because the sun blinded him.  To help with athletic performance, certain sunglasses are made specifically for athletes.  An aerodynamic design and wraparound shape hug the face and ensure the player sees every ball coming his way.  The important detail for these sunglasses is size.  They have to fit perfectly; otherwise they’ll fall off while running, if too big, or cut off circulation in your face if they’re too small.

One use for sunglasses has only recently been discovered.  The next time you are flying overseas and want to avoid the taxing effects of jet lag, try putting a pair of sunglasses.  Scientists have recently discovered that sunglasses help fool the body through the use of light.  Your biological clock (which-as it turns out-is a real thing) consists of about 20,000 nerve cells that respond differently to light and dark.  By wearing sunglasses for certain amounts of time during a long trip, you can lessen the effects of jet lag.

You see that there are many reasons to wear sunglasses.  These reasons should not, however, overshadow the primary benefit.  Sunglasses are protection for your eyes.  They will help ensure you keep seeing the world the way it was intended.  That is the best reason of all to pick up a pair today.

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The Dark History of Sunglasses

Sunglasses have a dark history, but a brilliant future.  The history of sunglasses can be traced back to Roman Emperor Nero who watched the gladiator competitions through polished light emerald green gems held up to his eyes.

The invention of sunglasses was somewhere between 1268 and 1289.  A visual historical recording of early sunglasses is a painting done by Tommaso da Modena in 1352.  The person in the painting was wearing sunglasses.  This was the first painting of a subject in sunglasses and many more were to follow as it became a fashionable symbol of distinction or honor.

Around the twelfth century and before 1430, sunglasses were worn by Judges in the Courts of China.  The smoky quartz, flat-glassed panes were not used as protection from the sun.  They were used to conceal any expression in their eyes to keep from giving away the outcome of their decisions.  Prescription sunglasses were developed in Italy in 1430 and were later used by the Chinese Judges.

By the 1600′s people began to realize the benefits of prescription glasses as helping the elderly to see better and the motto “A Blessing to the Aged” came into being in 1629.  It was the motto of an English eyeglasses manufacturer, Spectacle Makers Company.

In the mid 18th Century, James Ayscough developed blue and green corrective lenses which began the use of sunglasses for correcting optical impairments.

The development of glasses and sunglasses continued through the years.  Problems in keeping eyeglasses on the face or propped on the nose led to experiments.  Glasses frames had been made from leather, bones and metal and were propped on the nose.  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.  Solid sidepieces were finally invented by Edward Scarlett in 1730.  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 began selling his protective sunglasses at Woolworth stores on the boardwalk at the beaches in Atlantic City and New Jersey.  His 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.  Bausch & Lomb came up with sunglasses that had a dark green tint that absorbed light through the yellow spectrum.

Edward H. Land had invented the Polaroid filter and by 1936 he was using it in the making of sunglasses and soon, sunglasses became “cool.”  Movies stars began wearing sunglasses as a statement and to hide behind.  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 the 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 (UV) rays of the sun.  With modern technology and improvements, sunglasses continue to evolve.  We have gone from holding green gems up to our eyes to watch Gladiator sports to Oakley’s 2004 sunglasses with digital audio players built in.  What’s next?

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