Happy Birthday to Otto Wichterle, the inventor of soft contact lenses
Recommended for Middle Grades
Happy Birthday to Otto Wichterle, the inventor of soft contact lenses
What are contact lenses?
Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. They help us to see better. Some people also wear them to change their eye colour temporarily.
Today, over 150 million people worldwide use contact lenses worldwide. And we have Otto Wichterle to thank for them.
Otto Wichterle was a Czech chemist who invented the soft contact lens. He was born on this day in 1913 in Prostejov, the Czech Republic (then, Austria-Hungary).
Today is his 108th birth anniversary and Google is celebrating the inventor with a special doodle.
In the doodle, you can see Wichterle holding a single piece of contact lens upon his fingertips. The light is reflected from the Google logo in the background that represents eyesight. Along with this, Google also wrote “Happy birthday, Otto Wichterle—thanks for helping the world see eye to eye!”
Otto Wichterle
Coming from a business family, Wichterle was a lover of science from his youth. While working at the Prague Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), he developed an absorbent and transparent gel for eye implants. Later, this led to his invention of the soft contact lenses that we use today.
Moreover, his innovations also helped us to develop advanced medical technologies such as “smart” biomaterials. These are artificial materials used to restore human connective tissues.
He passed away on 18 August 1998.
Today’s #GoogleDoodle honours the Czech scientist, Otto Wichterle, who invented the soft contact lens, revolutionising the optical industry. Read more about his brilliant work here: https://t.co/RUkh6HFvc1. pic.twitter.com/skUJBYMC3v
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) October 27, 2021
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