Actually at first sunglasses was made not to protect people’s eyes from the sun. The history of sunglasses dates back to ancient China and Rome. It has been reported that the Roman emperor Nero enjoyed watching gladiator fights through polished gems. And in China, sunglasses were used in the twelfth century or even earlier. Sunglasses were first made out of lenses that were flat panes of smoky quartz. These types of sunglasses could not correct vision, or protect from harmful UV rays, but did reduce glare. Chinese judges used the smoky quartz glasses to hide their facial expressions when they interrogated witnesses.

Then in 18^th century, James Ayscoug did an experiment with tinted lenses in spectacles. He believe that glasses tinted with a blue or green color could potentially correct specific vision problems. Ayscough was not concerned with protecting the eyes from the sunrays.

Also in 1929, Sam Foster introduced sunglasses in America. These sunglasses were designed to protect people’s eyes from the sun. Foster sold his sunglasses on the beaches of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Foster’s sunglasses were sold at Woolworth on the boardwalk.

Sunglasses became more polarized in 1936, when Edwin H. Land began using his patented Polaroid filter when making sunglasses. Around this time, even more Americans started buying sunglasses. Famous movie stars and musicians also began to wear sunglasses. They started to become not only a way to protect against sun glare, but also a way to be “cool.” Sunglasses became a cultural phenomenon, and some people wore them even when it wasn’t sunny, or when they were indoors.

Today, sunglasses continue to have advances. UV protection has almost become an industry standard, and there are sunglasses available for a variety of sports. There are numerous tints available for sunglasses, and sunglasses have changed styles over the years. Sunglasses have come a long way from their early Roman and Chinese history!

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