Bonus Episode: Optical Technology (HISTORY OF EYEGLASSES + MODERN DAY VISION)
When were glasses invented? What happened back then if your horse stepped on them? How is the digital age changing adults’ and kids’ vision? The first half of this special bonus episode about Optical Technology features the charmingly hilarious director of the Museum of the Eye in San Francisco, Jenny Benjamin. Then we bop over to Houston, Texas for the ultra-knowledgeable real-life optometrist, Dr. Nadia Sledge to chat about the importance of annual exams and where our eyesight is trending in the digital age. Also: dark Roman trivia, Downton Abbey fashion, how online eye tests overlook critical conditions, and how you would have survived in the past without spectacles.
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Donations went to Onesight and the Museum of the Eye
Links to things we discussed:
Ben Franklin’s Drawings of Bifocals
Benjamin Franklin reveals his design for bifocal glasses
One of the first pictures of a person wearing glasses
Prehistoric Inuit Snow-Goggles, circa 1200
I Wear My Sunglasses at the Fight? The Emperor Nero and the History of Sunglasses
Opera glasses for theater or binoculars? Best Opera glasses
Perfume bottle with telescoping monocular
Perfume Bottle with Spyglass - CandiceHern.com
Opera glass | Science Museum Group Collection
Is it Time for Reading Glasses?
What Is Presbyopia? - American Academy of Ophthalmology
Vintage Chinese Eyeglasses Horn or Resin Carved Rims
How to Know If Your Child Needs Glasses | Johns Hopkins Medicine
Kids don't know they need glasses: 7 vision tips for parents
Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050
The Role of Vitamin D3 in Ocular Diseases - PMC
Evolution's Witness: How Eyes Evolved by Ivan R. Schwab
What Are Polarized Lenses For? - American Academy of Ophthalmology
Computers, Digital Devices, and Eye Strain - American Academy of Ophthalmology
20-20-20 Rule: Does It Help Prevent Digital Eyestrain?
Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents | Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics
Purpose of the Air Puff Test in an Eye Exam
Tribute to Maggie Smith: Our Favourite Moments From The Dowager Countess of Grantham | Downton Abbey
What Did Nearsighted Humans Do Before Glasses?
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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn