X-Ray glasses

Glasses

Seeing through it all – or not quite
Imagine a pair of glasses that lets you see through everything: doors, walls, clothing – nothing off limits. In the 1950s, this fantasy was cleverly marketed as the X-Ray specs, an American ‘invention’ featuring cardboard lenses and a good dose of suggestion. Anyone hoping for Superman-style vision was in for a disappointment: the effect relied on a simple optical illusion. A trick involving feathers and translucent plastic created ghostly double images that only looked convincing. Still, the glasses remained a hit – as a gimmick, a joke, a fantasy. Perhaps the real appeal lay in the idea itself: the thrill of seeing what’s usually hidden from view.

 

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