Sunglasses have become so firmly embedded in our lives that a special holiday has even been appointed in their honor – International Sunglasses Day, which is celebrated on July 1. Have you ever thought about their history, wearing glasses with a familiar gesture to protect your eyes from the blinding sun?
This convenient and beautiful accessory belongs to the oldest inventions of mankind. And for such a long period in its history, a lot of curious, interesting, and sometimes even surprising facts have accumulated, with which we will introduce you today.
1.In the minds of most people, sunglasses are inextricably linked with summer. But here's an interesting fact - they were invented in the North, and were intended to protect the eyes from sparkling snow and ice, glare from which prevented hunters from aiming. And such an accessory looked like a strip of wood, leather or horn with a narrow slit for the eyes.
2.The first "lenses" in the history of sunscreen optics were precious stones, mainly emeralds, cut in the form of a thin plate. They were used by the nobility in ancient Rome and Egypt.
3. Judges of ancient China in the XII century protected the eyes with plates of smoky quartz. An interesting fact is that they were used not so much to protect from the sun, but more in order to hide the expression of the face, so as not to betray their feelings during the conduct of the trial.
4. This tradition is being continued by American police officers in our time. Sunglasses, which are included in the outfit, help them hide the expression of their eyes, and seem unperturbed in any situation. In addition, branded sunglasses of cops from the USA have amazing properties: the frames are made of fireproof plastic, and the lenses are bulletproof.
5. The first wholesale customer of sunglasses was Napoleon - going on a campaign to Egypt in 1798, he purchased 200 thousand pairs for his entire army.
6. For the Spanish nobility in the XVII century, the size of sunglasses served as a status difference: the larger the size of the lenses, the higher the rung of the hierarchical ladder this person stood.
7. In the XIX century, doctors prescribed patients who suffered from excessive photosensitivity to wear sunglasses with brown glasses.
8. Currently at the peak of popularity, "Tisheida" is the oldest form of sunglasses. This is a historically proven interesting fact: sunglasses found at the excavations of Ancient China looked almost the same.
9. The emergence of the most famous universal model in history – "Aviators", we owe not to fashion designers, but to the military industry and science. They were created really for pilots, at the very dawn of aeronautics. The anatomically verified shape of the lenses and perfect balancing give them special convenience. Aviators are amongst the best-selling sunglasses of all time.
10. An interesting fact from statistics: every 14 minutes, 1 pair of sunglasses is lost or broken somewhere in the world. And the most common cause of accessory breakage is that people inadvertently sit on it.
12. Sunglasses belonging to Elvis Presley were sold at auction for a record amount of $ 250,000.
13. The biggest fan of sunglasses today can be considered Elton John, who has collected a collection reaching 20,000 pairs. A separate room is reserved for them in his mansion, in which the temperature is constantly maintained at + 16 °
