Podcast: 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (LS 67 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)
Episode: Glasses
Pub date: 2019-10-28

Notes from The Listener:

Concise history of spectacles, from the first pair of reading glasses made in northern Italy in the 1200s to the augmented reality goggles beginning to appear today from Silicon Valley. For most of us, glasses are an everyday object, barely considered, but they required an advanced understanding of light and optics to be created. There’s also discussion here of a phenomenon everyone with deteriorating eyesight is aware of: it’s hard to tell how bad your sight has become until it is corrected. As such, apparently there are two billion people in the world who aren't aware that they need glasses

Spectacles have been around for centuries, and have a huge impact on many people's quality of life. So why is it estimated that more than two billion people aren't aware that they need them? Tim Harford considers the difference that seeing clearly makes to the world.

The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC World Service, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.