I don’t see how an invention so useful had to wait until the XX Century to get in widespread use, being that colored crystal exists since roman times.
I understand that glass manufacture was a quite complicated task in the past and that it was more affordable to wear hats that partially served the same task down the sleave, but…
From the XV Century to now making colored glass was a bit more than blowing and there was almost abundance of it from leftovers of vitreaux, so why didn’t at least some monks came with the idea?
In: Technology
Was that coloured glass clear enough to see through and the right shape to avoid distorting your vision? Was it affordable to build glasses frames? I imagine not. Hats were probably good enough in most instances and much simpler to make.
Also, I believe the Inuit used pieces of bark with slits in them as sunglasses.
Spend any time looking through less than perfectly flat glass and what you get is a screaming headache.
The tech just want there.
Modern sunglasses don’t just dim visible light, it also blocks UV light which actually damages your eyes. Sure maybe they had colored glass, but the true benefit from sunglasses didn’t show up until recently.
While mankind has know how to make glass for 1000’s of years making glass that is clear enough with no distortion is something that has only been possible in recent times. If you think that distortion is “no big deal” try wearing one of your friends prescription glasses and you’ll see what I mean…
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