Seeing Glasses

Welcome to Becoming Sage, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary! My name is Elan Baumgarten. This episode is once again thanks to the recommendation of a listener. 63.7% of Adult Americans wear corrective eyewear, that’s more than 166 million people in the United States alone. Luckily for those who need glasses, the Ancient Romans discovered that a glass sphere with certain manipulations, could be used to amplify small text. It was common for wealthy Romans to commission a skilled glass-blower to make them a sphere that could amplify small text. As time passed, many skilled engineers and glass workers would work to make the necessary size for one of these spheres or blocks smaller, thinner, and easier to hold. This was a difficult task that they had set upon, as the glass had to be incredibly clear and smooth to minimize unwanted distortion. The oldest pair of actual glasses that have been discovered can be traced back to 13th-century Italy. It is believed that they would have been worn by a monk. Monks were one of the few groups of people in Italy who were both allowed to learn to read and write, and had access to the necessary education to learn such skills. Unlike the glasses that so many wear today, these were very large and cumbersome to use. The lenses were set in a frame made out of wood or leather. They were both heavy and uncomfortable. The wealthy elites and monks were very fond of the idea of improving the design. There have been many different designs and adaptations of glasses since this point. One such design included a band, attached to the glasses, that ran up and around the back of the head. This band was made of metal. There are also records of glasses that had hinges in the middle, right between the two lenses. Perhaps they were the inspiration for the modern glasses that have magnets on the nose bridge, allowing them to be separated and slung around the neck. Possibly the oddest of all the different attempts at making the modern pair of glasses, are the glasses seen in some Renaissance paintings, with men wearing glasses appearing quite similar to the opera glasses that can be seen in centuries past. Finally, perhaps one of the most interesting and intriguing pairs of glasses yet, the monocle. A perfect symbol of wealth, the monocle was perhaps the most impractical of all glasses. They were designed less for those that lacked pristine sight, and more so as a symbol of wealth. They had to be hand-fitted to the wearer’s face so that they rested properly in their eye socket. The monocle was a singular lens set into a metal or leather frame, attached to the next by a long and ornate string or chain. The 18th Century is when the designs really took off and were no longer held with a stick. As societies improved, and became more advanced, the glass and metal work of the glasses became more and more impressive as the size slowly dwindled. An optometrist (aap-taa-muh-trist) is a doctor that diagnoses medical issues with the eye, and prescribes a treatment. The first optometrists would diagnose the issue with a patient and slowly create the glasses themselves according to the specific specifications needed for each patient. Despite not having a name to attribute the original inventions to, it is possible to give credit to Benjamin Martin, the inventor of “Martin’s Margins”, a glasses company. Perhaps one of the most legendary eyeglass makers of the 18th Century, he invented glasses that are still sought after by collectors to this day. Up until this point, almost every patient that sought treatment for their eyes was far-sighted. This means that objects at farther distances are clear, but anything near a far-sighted person is blurry and unclear. Essentially, they needed reading glasses. Unfortunately for politician and scholar Benjamin Franklin, this did not solve his issue of aging-related sight problems which required sight assistance for objects both near and afar. He was the first to invent a pair of bifocals which had a double-lens, allowing for the sight of things both far and near without swapping glasses. He did this by cutting the lenses for both types of glasses in half and placing them inside the lens. Opticians would eventually discover a way to make a singular lens that would allow detailed sight at all distances. Opticians are the people who make glasses. His contributions to the technology of glasses are still used today. Up until the industrial revolution glasses would remain a thing of the upper class. This did not mean that they were cheap, but a middle-class person could now afford glasses if they saved up. The 20th Century sees the focus shift from new innovation in the function of eye glasses, to the style and presentation side. This time also saw more children’s glasses, a group of people that had been left out of this technological advancement for some time due to the sheer cost of having a pair of glasses. This is also the time when tinted glasses would become popular. The first tinted lenses were from China, around the same time as the Romans discovered the glass spheres. They were not used for correcting sight, but rather for preventing people from seeing the decision of Chinese judges during court cases. During the 1920s sunglasses became very popular. The last big innovation of lenses appeared in the 80s when plastic lenses were invented. These are much cheaper and safer for those who need to wear glasses. They are less likely to have a crack, which is a major safety risk when it comes to protecting the eyes from debris. Today, an estimated 2.2 billion people have some sort of vision impairment, and the eyewear market is worth almost 200 billion USD globally. Thank you for listening to Becoming Sage, where the ordinary becomes truly extraordinary. My name is Elan Baumgarten. Don’t forget to tell your friends and family about Becoming Sage, where they can join us in making the ordinary, extraordinary!