Discover the Top 8 Surprising and Entertaining Facts About Glasses You Never Knew!

1. Ben Franklin: Bifocal Inventor

Who knew Ben Franklin wasn't all "bald, bespectacled & cool as a kite" – he had a bit of "eyes-spy" up his sleeve too: In 1784, Franklin ingeniously invented the bifocal glasses, combining concave and convex lenses in a single pair, catering to nearsighted and farsighted folks alike, thus flipping the eyewear game on its head and steering the course toward future vision-tastic innovations.
Source => ancient-origins.net

2. Benjamin Franklin's DIY Swim Fins

Before Michael Phelps swam into our hearts with his record-breaking gold medals, there was one avid swimmer making a splash with some DIY paddling gear: Benjamin Franklin invented swimming fins when he was just 11 years old, crafting oval-shaped wooden pieces for his hands that allowed him to glide through the water with extra thrust. Though he found fins for his feet weren't as effective and caused wrist ache, Franklin's swimming secret was revealed in an essay titled "On the Art of Swimming."
Source => fi.edu

Did you know the humble pencil has been making its mark since the Aztec era? Discover its fascinating journey to the graphite-centered wonder we know today!

=> Fun Facts about Pencils

3. Sunglasses: Hollywood's Favorite Accessory

Before Tom Cruise made aviators famous in Top Gun, sunglasses were already stealing the limelight in a world where shade was an actual Hollywood brand: Sunglasses cemented their place as a fashion accessory in the late 1930s, courtesy of glamorous actresses like Joan Bennet and Hedy Lamar who donned them with aplomb. As World War II approached, these stylish shades even found their way into military uniforms, and haven't looked back since.
Source => oldmagazinearticles.com

4. Eyeglasses: Saving Scholars Since the 13th Century

Once upon a time, before the era of smartphones and Google Maps, being able to locate the perfect pair of spectacles was considered a nerdy superpower – or an artistic endeavor: Eyeglasses have been the trusty sidekicks of scholars and creators alike since the 13th century, with widespread production rising in the 15th century, marking a revolutionary visual aid for those with 'the eyesight that never quite made the cut'.
Source => luxottica.com

5. Edwin Land: Polarized Lens Pioneer

While Edwin Land might not have been the fish-whisperer of his time, he certainly made a splash in the world of eyewear: polarized lenses, invented by Land, were first used by the US military during WWII to spot enemy ships and submarines by reducing water glare, and later found their way into a variety of applications, including nighttime driving, aviator sunglasses for pilots, and safety glasses for workers in bright environments.
Source => onlinesafetytrainer.com

6. The Rise and Fall of Monocles

Monocle-in-a-million: Back in the day when one-lens eyeglasses were the haute couture for the swanky bourgeoisie, the monocle was the epitome of upper class pizazz, an optical gem that gave a wink to that 1890s capitalist glamour. But brace yourselves, eager vintage fashionistas: This flashy accoutrement has since fallen from grace, replaced by precise optometric innovations that provide us with comfortably clear vision sans top hats and morning coats.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Breaking Boundaries with Bifocals

Tired of the daily grind of lens-swapping and having to literally keep an eye out for two different pairs of specs, a brilliant mind from the 1700s produced the world's first all-in-one superglasses: Meet Benjamin Franklin, the man who created bifocals and turned the eyeglasses industry on its head, finally putting an end to the relentless "should I wear these or those?" conundrum by ingeniously merging near and far prescriptions into a single game-changing lens.
Source => visionsource-dryoos.com

8. Powell Johnson's 1880 "Eye Protector"

Before Google's cool "Incognito" mode was invented, there was a guy named Powell Johnson who created the first-ever "Eye Protector" to save those peepers from going rogue: Johnson patented his eye-saving invention in 1880 for ironworkers, firemen, and furnace operators, shielding them from intense light, though it didn't yet offer impact protection – but, hey, you gotta start somewhere!
Source => linkedin.com