Light Touch
The Monocle
Is the monocle a legitimate optical device or merely an affectatious accessory?
Alfred Bryan, 1898 Entr’acte Annual, Wikimedia Commons
The monocle—a single circular corrective lens—seems more like a symbol of aristocracy and pomposity than a serious optical device. Today, most optical shops do not sell monocles. The lens can only correct one eye, while most people generally need optical correction in both eyes. Add to this that a great many of the monocles sold today have zero optical power, and one has to ask if there is any serious ophthalmological point to the monocle at all.
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