Spectacle lenses are really something. The spectacle lenses you have sitting atop your nose has gone through many kinds of scientific developments all throughout history to be what it is now.
From Simple to Complex
Back in the time of the ancient Rome, the notion of spectacle lenses was very simple: the ancient Romans used globes and goblets filled with water, put these near their eyes and read with it. This was the very first recorded evidence of people using very crude lenses. With regards to the invention of the modern day spectacle lenses there is a big debate but the most likely one was that it traces its origins back to Italy and from there underwent more developments.
Curing Various Eye Ailments
If in the ancient times these lenses helped magnify books and maps, the more modern versions were actually seen as a way to cure certain eye ailments. From seeing things more clearly, it became a very popular way of restoring one’s vision so that eyesight will not get worse. The first evidence of this in history was that spectacle lenses were able to cure two eye ailments: farsightedness and Presbyopia. These were done using convex-shaped lenses.
Turning the Lenses Inside Out
Now, when people tried using spectacle lenses the other way around (using the concave side) they realized this nifty invention is also great for curing yet another eye ailment: myopia. Because of this, more and more people all over the world began donning lenses. However, there was still a demographic of users that had both the problems of Presbyopia and myopia and found it difficult to keep switching (as well as owning) two pairs. Thanks to Benjamin Franklin (who apparently had had enough of this tiresome thing), the bifocals were invented back in 1874. These bifocals were spectacle lenses that can cure both Presbyopia and myopia and instantly took a huge load off people.
For the longest time, people used this kind of eyeglasses and had minor alterations and small technologies to it. The simplest of all would be the material. In the past it was made of wood and metal but now there are other tougher and lighter materials used such as titanium. Additionally, some alterations were made so you can pop in a pair of dark lenses over your eyeglasses to allow you to see clearly while still being able to block out the sun’s blinding rays. In terms of comfort, the ability to stretch the handles of the frames was also invented so the pair of lenses will custom-fit to any wearer’s head. There are even rimless glasses and some people have even resorted to a much more efficient way of being able to see: by putting the magnifying lens right onto their eyeballs and do without the feeling of wearing eyeglasses, thanks to contact lenses. But no matter how advanced contact lenses may seem, people still relied on having a trusty pair of spectacle lenses in the event that they end up losing a contact lens and need to see, pronto.