Google’s new diabetes-regulating contact lens has been making the rounds online, but somehow we’re not surprised—its futuristic functionality is a hallmark of the Google X team. While the technology itself is intriguing and ground-breaking—let’s face it, anything has got to be better than stabbing yourself with a needle multiples time a day—we’d like to take the opportunity to trace a brief (and by no means comprehensive) history of ‘overlooked’ eyewear options for addressing medical issues.
Let’s hope that Google contact lenses may be the future for diabetes, but let’s take a look at all of the other slightly sci-fi eyewear evolutions out there that get the job done:
Keeping eyes dry and tan lines awkward since the ice age
Eskimo Sunglasses
These Star Trek-esque frames were—and still are—worn by the Inuit people to prevent snow blindness (which is pretty much major sunburn to the cornea) in dangerous conditions. Traditionally, the eyewear was made from a piece of bone or ivory with slits for a small field of vision; modern versions are made of wood. While it’s a little extreme for anywhere that isn’t the Arctic, those of you in the Polar Vortexed Midwest—or soon-to-be whitewashed Eastern Seaboard—might’ve benefitted from the design a couple weeks back. Hey, instead of complaining, they should’ve just checked Etsy.
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