Swimming goggles are an example of underwater fashion.
- Swimming goggles are a pair of lenses that assist in clear visibility underwater and prevent water contact with the eye, by providing a small, portable air bubble around the eye.
- When swimming in water, swimming goggles are generally preferred as they protect eyes from chlorine and salt, that can cause irritation.
- The Persians are believed to have been the first to use crude swimming goggles, around the 1300s, and the lenses were made of polished turtle shell, and were used by those who dived for pearls.
- Motorcycle goggles were used as swimming goggles by competitive swimmer Thomas Burgess in 1911, to assist in swimming across the English Channel.
- Various goggle inventions were patented from the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, and while American Charles Troppman was one of those inventors, contrary to popular belief, he was not the first to invent and patent goggles, nor swimming goggles.
- Patents of swimming goggles were filed in the 1920s, with one of the earliest designed as part of a swimming cap in 1923, while Michael O’Flanagan from Ireland filed one of the earliest patents for stand alone goggles designed specifically for underwater use, in 1926.
- Swimming goggles became more commonly used in the 1960s, though they were originally reserved for training and were usually painful to wear, and they were not used in competitive swimming until 1972.
- Plastic is the material typically used to make swimming goggles though wood and bamboo have been used in the past, while the lenses were made of glass, though polycarbonate plastic is commonly used today.
- As a result of water pressure, swimming goggles become increasingly tight around the head and eyes, from water depths over 90 centimetres (3 feet).
- The lens of swimming goggles are often clear, although reflective or tinted lens are becoming increasingly common due to their effectiveness in blocking out harmful UV rays, and they usually have a silicone, foam, or rubber rim around each lens as a seal to keep water out.
Bibliography:
The History of Swimming Goggles, 2013, LoneSwimmer, http://loneswimmer.com/2013/07/01/the-history-of-swimming-goggles/
History of Swimming Goggles, 2014, Swimming Science, http://www.swimmingscience.net/2014/03/history-of-swimming-goggles.html
Williams C, What Material Are Swimming Goggles Made Of?, 2015, eHow, http://www.ehow.com/about_4672384_what-material-swimming-goggles-made.html
Zorn M, When Were Swimming Goggles Invented, 2014, Vision Launch, http://www.visionlaunch.com/when-were-swimming-goggles-invented/
