10.2 Contact Lens

You probably think the contact lens is a very modern device. Therefore, it might surprise you to learn that it’s actually based on a 500-year-old idea!  The famous artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci drew a sketch for a contact lens in the early 16th century. But many centuries passed before his idea of a contact lens came true. 

It wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century, in Germany, that the first contact lens was developed. Made of glass, it covered the wearer’s entire eye. Although contact lenses slowly gained popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, they remained expensive, uncomfortable and difficult to care for. They were also likely to fall out. But with the development of soft lenses in the 1970s, contact lenses became cheaper and more comfortable. Today’s soft contact lenses are inexpensive and easy to use. Contact lenses are more popular than ever and getting better all the time.