It’s hard to imagine a society in which glasses hadn’t been invented.
It’s believed that around 75% of the population worldwide need corrective lenses – without glasses or contact lenses, many of these people would find themselves unable to read, write, work, or enjoy a full quality of life.
Tech and industry experts have claimed that glasses are the fifth most important invention since the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel.
Glasses have actually been around for centuries – as far back as Ancient Roman times, it was understood that glass could be used for magnification.
Below are some of the key ways that eyeglasses have up-leveled society – but first, a quick rundown of how they came to be invented.
When Were Glasses Invented?
The first glasses are thought to have been invented in central Italy (probably in Pisa) in the late thirteenth century.
These early glasses usually featured frames of wood, leather, or even bone and were either perched on the end of the nose or held up in front of the eyes.
They were, initially, mainly used by monks until technical innovations meant they became more widely available.
By around 1400, glasses were made with frames that consisted of a pair of magnifying glasses connected by rivets at the handles and designed to stay in place by gripping the nose.
The world’s first shop specializing in glasses (the very first opticians) opened in Strasbourg in 1466.
Fast forward to eighteenth-century America, and President Benjamin Franklin is widely believed to have invented the first bifocal spectacles, cutting his lenses in half in order to see more clearly – Franklin suffered from the eye condition presbyopia, which makes it difficult to focus on close objects.
Into the Modern Era
The nineteenth century saw the emergence of modern sunglasses, and by the 1920s, sunglasses were being mass-produced by a number of eyewear brands, and the public couldn’t buy them quickly enough.
Tinted glass had been used in twelfth-century China – rather than to provide sun protection, these glasses were deployed to obscure the eyes of judges, so those on trial or in the audience couldn’t get an idea of what they were thinking.
The 1980s brought game-changing developments in eyewear with the introduction of plastic lenses.
This meant specs were lighter, more durable, and cheaper than ever before and could even be made thinner.
Enabling Learning
If you can’t see, learning is likely to be a perhaps insurmountable challenge.
Over the centuries, glasses have given kids and adults the opportunity to, for example, read textbooks, see words on a board at the front of the class, and learn practical skills.
In modern times, there are still many countries where access to corrective eyeglasses is limited.
According to VisionSpring, there are currently over 700 million people globally who need glasses but don’t own a pair.
In rural China, this problem has been particularly pronounced, with only a low percentage of primary-aged children requiring glasses actually having them.
The same study found that after eight months of wearing corrective eyeglasses, the children’s test scores went up by 0.16 to 0.22 standard deviations – which is equivalent to the improvement you’d expect if they’d had an additional six months of learning (on top of the eight months they spent wearing spectacles).
Boosting the Economy
Before glasses became widely available, people’s working lives tended to end at a much younger age than now, partly due to degenerating vision that made undertaking skilled tasks difficult (or impossible), if not dangerous.
Even today, there can still be a significant dip in productivity when people aren’t wearing, for example, glasses with lenses that are strong enough.
Studies have found that even if vision is only minutely impaired – to the extent that the person may not even know that they require glasses – the time it takes to enter data is markedly less in comparison to someone with optimal vision.
Blue Light Blocking
With screens now an inherent part of most people’s work and home lives, there’s been a rise in conditions such as eye strain, as well as issues around sleep and raised levels of agitation, especially affecting those on the autism disorder spectrum.
Blue light-blocking glasses have been specifically designed to prevent this blue light emitted from electronic devices from entering the eye, which can have a hugely positive effect on well-being.
This type of eyewear is also very effective at eliminating glare from screens, meaning wearers are less likely to experience eye strain, dry eyes, or eye fatigue.
Seeing Clearly into the Future
The invention of glasses continues to lead to the development of other related technologies, such as 3D glasses, VR eyewear, Smart glasses for blind people, ballistics eyewear, and more.
It’s expected that the near future will see the rise of an increasing amount of tech incorporated into the lenses and frames of our glasses, allowing us to access all our personal accounts and platforms directly via our specs and call-up, for example, additional information on tempting products we see displayed in shop windows as we pass.