The first sunglasses invented had nothing to do with the sun...

Sunglasses have been around for a long, long time...

Legend has it that Roman emperor Nero preferred watching gladiator fights through polished gems which reduced glare. Around the 12th century, the Chinese came up with wearable dark lenses, similar to our sunglasses. They were fashioned from flat panes of smoky quartz. Those ancient shades had little to do with the sun though. Chinese judges wore them to hide their facial expression when they interrogated witnesses on trial.

We have Sam Foster, of Foster Grant fame, to thank for the sunglasses we wear today. In 1929 he started selling his sunglasses from a Woolworth store on the boardwalk in Atlantic City and they soon became a summer sensation.