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The story behind sunglasses: Your favorite summer accessory

Sunglasses, or a form of them, have been around since the Roman Empire. It is said that Emperor Nero wore polished emerald green gemstones to watch the gladiators fight in 60 AD. Now, it's possible that he really just preferred a green tint to his fighting, but more than likely it had to do with the sun.

For a very different reason, judges in China during the 12th century were seen wearing smoke-colored quartz lenses over their eyes throughout trials. They wore these so that they wouldn't accidentally betray their thoughts with their eyes before revealing the verdict. In Europe, the first recorded (painted, that is) evidence of sunglasses came about in the 1350s in Italy, when Tommaso da Modena depicted them in a painting. About 80 years later, corrective leses were created in Italy, and it was around the 1600s that conclave lenses came to be.