Bad Eyesight Before Glasses: What Did People Do?

In this video we tackle the question: What did people with poor eyesight do before glasses were invented? Glasses are a necessity for so many people today, so what did people do before the they were invented in the late thirteenth century? We look at how farsighted people— from Renaissance scholars and Vikings, to Ancient Romans and Egyptians— may have used magnifiers to combat farsightedness (presbyopia).

We also look at how nearsightedness (myopia) appears to be a modern epidemic driven by lifestyle changes. However, if you were one of the few that were nearsighted, it probably would not have impacted your lifestyle as much as it would today.