Original photo by Vlad Teodor/ Shutterstock
Long before they became fashionable accessories for sunny days, some of the earliest sunglasses served a far different purpose: In Chinese courtrooms, judges used dark-lensed glasses to hide their facial expressions. Eyeglasses became popular in Chinese society during the late 13th century and early 14th century, and around the same period, rudimentary sunglasses featuring dark lenses made from smoky quartz were invented. While they protected against glare, they were also intended to provide judges with an air of impartiality during trials by obscuring their eyes — and thus their emotional responses.
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It wasn’t until the 18th century that an early precursor to modern sunglasses, explicitly designed for dealing with sun and glare, became popular in Europe. “Goldoni’s eyeglasses” were developed circa 1700 in Venice, Italy, and were nicknamed for playwright Carlo Goldoni, who fashionably wore a pair. These green-tinted spectacles were primarily worn by Venetian gondoliers as well as high-society women and children in an effort to shield their eyes from the glare that bounced off the canal water. In 1752, British optician James Ayscough unveiled a new invention to serve a similar purpose: blue-tinted glasses that he believed protected eyes against harmful light better than white glass.
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Wooden “sunglasses” date back to the first century CE.
While traditional sunglasses featuring glass lenses and metal frames are a more modern invention, the world’s first known sunglasses were made of wood. Around 2,000 years ago, ancient Siberians and Inuits in the North American Arctic region donned these wooden goggles to protect from snow blindness — a painful condition caused by UV rays reflecting off the snow.
These simple shades featured a piece of wood carved to fit around the eyes and tied around the head using twine. Thin slits were carved directly above each eye, allowing the wearer to maintain their vision while limiting sun exposure. In addition to wood, these devices were also made from bone or walrus ivory. Archaeological digs have uncovered pristine examples of these early sunglasses from regions throughout Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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