Now, glasses have become a daily necessity for some of us. So, what do you know about them?
No one knows who made the first wearable pair of glasses, but experts do know that they were made in the 13th century and showed up in Italy. Early glasses were like magnifying glasses（放大镜）. And most of them weren't even made of glass! Instead, many early eyeglasses contained quartz（石英）. That's because most glass at that time was not clear, so it wouldn't have worked well for eyeglasses.
Eyeglasses didn't look much like modern glasses until the 1700s. That's when people added temples（镜腿） to hold glasses on their faces. Glasses also became much more common around this time, probably because reading became more popular.
People didn't start seeing eye doctors for glasses until the 1800s. At that time, they just tried on different pairs of glasses until they found one that made their eyesight better. Eye doctors changed that. They gave an eye test for people to tell whether or not they needed a pair of glasses.
Different kinds of glasses have also appeared. Sunglasses are about as old as eyeglasses. People in China started wearing sunglasses in the 12th century. These early sunglasses were also made of quartz. Today, many people also like to wear contact lenses（隐形眼镜）, which were invented by a German in 1887. The first contact lenses were very uncomfortable. Luckily, today's lenses are softer and can be worn all day. However, you should always take your contact lenses out at night. Some people even like to wear glasses with no lenses. Called fashion glasses, they come in many shapes and sizes to fit anyone's personal style.
