It can be hard to tell who wears contact lenses and who doesn't, but you should know you're far from being the only one who needs them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 45 million Americans wear them. This is just one of the many fascinating facts about this replacement for eyeglasses. Here are a few others!

1. Renaissance Origins

You may be surprised to learn the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci first hatched the idea of contact lenses in 1508. There was one small problem -- it was wildly impractical! Da Vinci thought people should wear a water-filled glass hemisphere over the eye. That obviously wouldn't work!

There was another failed attempt, this one by French philosopher Rene Descartes, who came up with the concept of a glass tube on the cornea. That sounded great -- but people couldn't blink while using it, which was a big problem. It wasn't until 1888 that Adolf Fick, a German ophthalmologist, created the first fitted contact lens.

2. The First Corneal Contact

This was a major change in the contact lens market and it didn't take long for people to really embrace this new technology. By the time the 1960s came around, a large number of people were wearing corneal contact lenses. They are still very popular today!

3. Contact Myths

Did you hear that story about your mother's brother's former babysitter's teacher who had a contact lens roll right behind their eye? It wasn't true. Your eye has something called the conjunctival fornix, which is a layer that keeps this nightmare scenario from happening. If your contact lens slides out of position, just blink a few times and it should return to its normal spot.

You may also be surprised to learn contacts are designed to not pop out of your eye. There are also several types of contact lenses. These include colored lenses, rigid gas-permeable lenses, and even ones you can wear daily.

Hopefully these facts have made you more confident about getting contact lenses. They are great for all kinds of people including those who have active lifestyles; athletes wear them all the time instead of glasses. Get in touch with Independent Optical today to see if contact lenses are right for you!