As an owner of an eyewear website, I’ve been looking more and more into the secrets of the field lately, I got into a rabbit hole of fascinating information and found a lot of interesting facts about glasses, and of course, as I should, I decided to share with you these amazing secrets, here are 10 eyewear fun facts to open your mind and impress your friends. Let’s hop in!
1. The Myth Of The Blind
You’ve probably heard of the myth “Don’t wear someone else’s eyeglasses or your vision will get damaged permanently”, well, that’s not true, wearing someone else’s glasses won’t damage your vision, all it can do is give you a headache and an eye strain when worn for too long (not as bad as permanent damage), I was always afraid of trying somebody else’s eyeglasses because I didn’t want my vision to get worse, but now I can try everyone’s pair to see which frame fits me the best lol, just be careful with young kids as their eyes are very sensitive, they shouldn’t wear someone else’s glasses because that could damage their vision permanently.
2. A Vision Problem
Almost 75% of adults use some kind of vision-correcting tool, prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, and vision-correction surgery, 64% of those adults use eyeglasses, and more than 4 billion people around the world use glasses. By 2050, half of the population is expected to wear eyeglasses, I know, crazy, but the percentage is expected to grow more and more through the upcoming years, it’s not stopping any time soon.
3. There Is No Glass In Glasses
This one made me laugh out of the irony, they’re called glasses but the lenses themselves are not made out of glass, most eyeglasses are made out of plastic, we have four types of plastic we can use as lenses for our eyewear, CR-39, Polycarbonate, Trivex, and High-Index lenses. Originally glasses were made out of glass but as technology advanced, lens makers started using plastic instead, I wouldn’t want to call my glasses ‘plastics’ from now on lol so let’s just keep calling them glasses.
4. The Goldmine Of Eyewear
In 2023, the revenue of the eyewear industry is expected to reach $141.5 Billion worldwide, the market is expected to grow annually by 4.37%, The United States alone generates a revenue of $33,830 Million which is the highest revenue worldwide. The demand for high-quality and durable eyewear is rising in a lot of countries around the globe, if you’re thinking of starting an eyewear business then now is the time to do so!
5. The Origin Of Sunglasses
Sunglasses were invented a long time ago, in the 12th century (probably earlier), by a couple of Chinese men (The Inuit) who struggled against the sun’s glare, they made pairs out of flat planes of smokey quartz by the name of Ai Tai, so yeah, our good looking pairs of sunglasses are not a modern invention as you probably thought, the Inuit were rocking them for a while now.
6. Benjamin Franklin’s Bifocals
As Benjamin Franklin grew older, he started noticing that his eyes worsened, and he became both near and far-sighted, instead of constantly switching between eyeglasses which was annoying and super ineffective, the founding father of the United States invented Bifocals, which are glasses that correct your far-sight on the top of the lens, and your near-sight on the bottom of the lens, a man worthy of admiring indeed.
7. The Whale Of Eyewear
The eyewear industry is monopolistic, which signifies that one big company controls the market, in our case, we have the eyewear company Luxottica, an Italian brand that owns more than 80% of the major brands in the market, they are the leading manufacturer, retailer and designer of fashion, sports and luxury glasses. Luxottica Eyewear owns more than 150 eyewear brands, including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada Eyewear, Dolce & Gabbana, Essilor, Chanel, Native Eyewear, and many more!
8. The First Eyeglasses
The first eyeglasses were recorded in Italy in 1284 by Salvino D’Armate, the glasses consisted of two crafted crystal-like stones and a handle so you can hold them up to your eyes (you’ve probably seen it in the movies), the inventions were quickly spread throughout Europe and the rest is history.
9. Some Glasses May Cost More Than A House
The Chopard De Rigo Vision Sunglasses probably cost more than your house and mine combined, these glasses cost $408,000, I have to say though, they’re probably the same as your average glasses when it comes to protection, what specializes them is the 24-carat-gold and 51 rare cut diamonds embedded within them, not my cup of tea but I guess some people like them.
10. The Dim Light Myth
Another myth to be busted, contrary to what most people believe, it’s okay to study in dim light, the worst thing that can happen is the fatigue of your eyes which will happen anyway if you overwork them no matter the type of light, I encourage people to work in yellowish dim light at night, to encourage the release of Melatonin (hormone that improves sleep quality) and sleep well after a hard long day of work.
Conclusion
As an enthusiast of the eyewear industry, I found these fun facts about eyeglasses very interesting, it’s good for a person to have some general knowledge about an industry he’s interested in, you will be more open-minded, you’ll have more topics to include in your conversations and you’ll satisfy that mind of yours that keeps seeking knowledge, from the history of eyeglasses to the wealthy market of the industry, there are a lot more secrets that I have yet to discover, but rest assured, as long as I’m going further into the rabbit hole, I shall bring you more fun facts about eyewear and interesting information that will keep you flabbergasted. If you want to further expand your mind and learn about a rising genre of eyewear, then this article about augmented reality eyewear is perfect for you. You don’t want to miss it!
