Brief Eyeglasses History and Trivia

The Invention of Eyewear
The first optical aid tool was invented around 1000AD. It was called the reading stone. The reading stone, which was a sphere made of glass, was laid on top of the material that needed to be magnified.
Later in the 1280's an Italian named Salvino D'Armate invented the first wearable eyeglass.

Protection from the Sun
The first pair of sunglasses was invented in 1752 by an eyeglass designer named James Aysough. Feeling that white colored glass created an irritating glare, and that this was bad for you, James added tinted glass onto his double-hinged spectacles. This however was not made to help shield the eyes from the sun, instead it corrected vision problems. The first actual pair of glasses was sold in 1929 by Sam Foster, and became popular in the 1930's. Sunglass lenses started getting polarized in 1929 due to the invention of a cellophane-like polarizing filter. This became a critical element in creating sunglass lenses due to its ability to reduce glare.

PD Measurements
Customizing your glasses for your eyes requires a PD measurement, the distance between your pupils, to determine how to place the lens in your frame. This can be easy obtained from your optician.