When you were a child, your mother must have told you all kinds of things about how to watch TV and how much to watch.

Like, “You can not watch TV too close,” or “Reading in a dimly lit room is bad for your eyesight,” and so on. But have you ever wondered how much truth there is behind all these popular beliefs?

“Sneezing with your eyes open causes the eye socket to pop out.” False. Your eyes sit nice and steady and are not connected to your nose at all. This means that sneezing, even a loud sneeze, will not cause them to pop out of your face. Also because think about it for a moment: if it were true that eyes and nose are connected, then your eyes would have come out long ago. The fact that you close your eyelids when you sneeze does not mean that eyes and nose are connected: the reason for closing your eyes is trivial, and basically due to a “mechanical” reaction of your body.

“Sitting close to the television causes square eyes”. Legend. It is true that the screen can damage your eyesight, but it is also true that TV doesn’t cause square eyes and that young people have a greater ability to tolerate proximity to the screen than adults. Eye fatigue, in essence, is a completely subjective thing.

“Eating carrots makes you see better in the dark.” True in part. Because that carrots are recommended for eye health is true and incontrovertible; however, it’s not true that their “power” goes so far as to turn your eyes into X-rays!

“Reading where there is a lack of light damages your eyesight”. This is not true, because if you can read a book or a screen without any particular difficulty, then it means that the light you have is sufficient. If the light is low, you will certainly have trouble distinguishing words and this can lead to eye fatigue, but this is just temporary fatigue and not permanent damage.

3D Cinema: Should I wear glasses or contact lenses?

If you are a movie lover and you are worried that your eyesight may compromise this passion, know that there is no reason worth worrying about.

Many people wonder, for example, if it is possible to see a 3D movie with glasses, or if it is preferable to do it with contact lenses. But the question should not be asked in these terms, because what matters is the three-dimensional spectacle and this element depends precisely on the visual defect that everyone has.

For example, if you have an amblyopic eye, it means that you already suffer from some discomfort in your everyday life and therefore a 3D movie will be perceived as a classic two-dimensional movie. Astigmatic who wear neither glasses nor contact lenses will not be able to enjoy the spectacle to its full potential, and on top of that, after a while of viewing, they will begin to experience a noticeable headache.

At this point, the question arises as to whether eyeglasses are preferable or whether contact lenses should be worn. Given the two examples above, for the vision of a film in 3D would be better to opt for the lenses.

The reason is simple: the lenses are significantly more comfortable, first of all because they do not give the annoyance of the double frame lying on the nose or behind the ears, and then because with the lenses you have the opportunity to enjoy the three-dimensional image in its entirety, while the glasses “break” the vision limited to the size of the lens.

Mind you, this does not mean that glasses and cinema don’t get along! Simply, 3D creates conditions that contact lenses can handle better. It’s clear that if you do not use lenses regardless, glasses are just fine. In the context of a discussion where the two alternatives are equal, however, the contact lens certainly has a fast track.

Sunglasses, timeless fashion

The truth is that behind their almost playful appearance lie centuries of history. The first sunglasses, in fact, made their appearance in times absolutely not suspected, when that is still in prehistoric times, were used in a very archaic version to protect the eyes from the sun’s rays. Around 1300 the Chinese began to use them for the same purpose, creating a first form of glasses, similar to that with which we identify them today. The same were also used in court to hide the gaze of judges during interrogations.

The first sunglasses able to protect from UV rays were made in Murano in the 700 and were used to protect the eyes from the glare given by the light on the water of the lagoon.

If until then, it was only an ingenious remedy to safeguard the health of the eyes, in 1929 Sam Foster, founder of the homonyms company, began to make and sell his own sunglasses, gaining a small niche in the market.

In 1930, the U.S. Army Air Corps commissioned the future creators of Ray-Ban, then known as Bausch & Lomb B&L, to create a special type of glasses that could protect airplane pilots from the danger of glare. A work that led to the birth of dark green polarized lenses obtained, thanks to the acquisition of the license of Polaroid filters, from a dye capable of absorbing the yellow of light. Thus, in 1937 the first Ray-Ban in history appeared. A model called Aviator and characterized by a frame large enough to cover the eyes and at the same time allow a good view of the instrument panel on the aircraft.

A debut that in the fifties finally had its first boom in sales, materializing the true birth of the cool object that today we all identify with the sunglasses. An indispensable accessory able to combine practicality and aesthetics, safeguarding the sight and protecting the gaze at the same time, giving the wearer a look that is never overlooked and always fashionable.