Contact Lens

Hello there. I am a contact lens. I am a tiny, clear, wobbly circle that you can hold on your fingertip. I am like a secret pair of glasses. I sit right on your eye, so gently, to help you see everything. Do you like to see buzzing bees fly from flower to flower? I help you see their fuzzy stripes. Do you love to see big, colorful rainbows after the rain? I help make them super bright and clear. Have you ever tried to see something far away and had to squint your eyes all tight? I am here to help with that.

My story started a very, very long time ago. A smart man named Leonardo da Vinci had the first idea for me, but he couldn't make me just yet. For many years, my first friends were made of hard glass. Ouch. They were not very comfy to wear on your eye. But then, something wonderful happened. On Christmas Eve, the 24th of December, 1961, a very kind man named Otto Wichterle had a brilliant idea. He was at home and wanted to make me soft. He looked at his children's toy building set and used its parts to make a little machine. With his clever toy machine, he made the very first soft, squishy me. I was no longer hard and uncomfortable. I was soft, wiggly, and ready to help people see.

Now, I get to help so many people have fun. Because I sit right on their eye, they can run super fast, jump super high, and even swim in the pool without worrying about glasses falling off or getting splashed. I am a tiny, invisible helper for big adventures. I help people see every little green leaf on a tall tree and every sparkly star in the night sky. It makes me so happy to know that I help everyone see the beautiful, bright, and wonderful world all around them, every single day.