contact lenses

[donegal]

When there they invented and when did people start wearing them?

[Octavius]

The idea of applying a corrective lens directly to the surface of the eye was first proposed as early as 1508, by Leonardo da Vinci and similar concepts surfaced from Ren� Descartes in 1636, but it was not until 1887 that the German physiologist Adolf Eugen Fick constructed the first successful contact lens.

The most commonly used contact lenses today are of the soft variety, invented in 1961 by the Czech chemist Otto Wichterle (1913�1998).

[Whickerman]

George Washington had a pair, but they were made of wood. Or something.

[Hermia]

The Science Museum in London has some old contact lenses on display. I wouldn't want to put any of them near my eye!