It’s a shady business!
QUESTION Who created the first sunglasses to offer UV protection?
Modern sunglass technology began with the British chemist, physicist and inventor, Sir William Crookes (1832-1919). In 1913 Crookes introduced Crookes Lenses, made from glass containing the metallic element cerium, which completely blocked ultraviolet light.
A small amount of cerium is added to decolourise glass, and these lenses were originally produced to prevent cataracts, not to stop the glare of the sun.
Crooke’s lenses were made at the Chance Brothers factory in Birmingham and, by chance, a batch of lenses were contaminated by waste blue glass.
This gave the lenses an agreeable blue tint. Chance patented the formulation. As a result, glass- type Crookes A2, became very fashionable. other manufacturers followed with functional and fashionable designs. Zeiss added its sun protection formulation, UMBrAL to its range in 1924. It offered partial protection against the UV spectrum.
American edwin H. Land began experimenting with polarised light in 1929 and formed the Polaroid Corporation. In 1936, it launched polarised sunglasses with UV protection, a significant advancement in eye protection from harmful UV rays.
J. B. Southern, Derby.
QUESTION Could Michael Jackson play an instrument?
SInCe Michael Jackson’s father made him the leader of the Jackson 5 at a young age, his brothers were put to work playing the instruments, while Michael was told to focus on singing, dancing, and performance.
Michael never learned to read or write music, and could play instruments only to a basic level. out of his ten studio albums, he’s credited with playing only on his sprawling ninth, HIStory where he contributes on keyboard, synthesiser, guitar, drums and percussion.
He can be seen playing the piano on Pepsi’s I’ll Be There advert. It’s quite a basic piece, albeit underneath a spectacular vocal performance.
That said, Jackson was a natural musician who fully realised his songs in his head before they were notated.
Sound engineer rob Hoffman explained: ‘one morning, MJ came in with a new song he’d written overnight. We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. He’d sing us an entire string arrangement, every part.’ Mary Cayley, Yateley, Hants.
QUESTION What’s the most ridiculous or funny school nickname you’ve ever come across?
FUrTHer to earlier answers, when my elder brother and I worked as Post office telegram boys because we lived on Mooey Island (Canvey Island) he was known as Big Mooey and I was Little Mooey.
Years later my wife and I were walking through Ilfracombe when ‘Little Mooey’ was shouted very loudly by two old Post office mates. Derek Reeve, Benfleet, Essex. ■ IS THERE a question to which you want to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question here? Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY; or email charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection is published, but we’re unable to enter into individual correspondence.