AND YOUR MONOCLE LOOKS SINISTER 🧐

It's National Eye Wear Day. You're forgiven if you've been operating under the misconception that I am an ardent celebrant of this holiday. One look around my messenger bag, car, office desk, etc., and you'd wonder "how many pairs of sunglasses does a person need?!"

The answer is many. I am a world champ at losing and misplacing sunglasses. In an effort to deal with me (and the fact that I live in sunny Los Angeles), I intentionally keep at least half a dozen pair of sunglasses hidden around the various corners of my life — like an especially absentminded squirrel with so many nuts — so that I always have replacements on-hand when I inevitably lose or misplace a pair.

Here's something I didn't know about specs: They've been around for about 700 years, but they were only worn by scholars and monks until the invention of the printing press in 1452. This resulted in an increase in literacy and more demand for glasses.

The first pair of sunglasses intended to offer UV protection were produced in 1899, though their use didn't become widespread until the early 1920s.

Wow, that was a lot of information about eyewear!

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June 6th is busting at the seams with famous birthdays and historical facts; let's get into 'em:

• Famous birthdays: actor/producer Paul Giamatti (1967), actor/director/horror icon Robert Englund (1947). (Nightmare on Elm Street was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and this might be why other children did not want to hang out with me.)

• On this day in 1930, frozen food was sold in stores for the first time. 18 stores in Springfield, Massachusetts took part in a trial to test consumer opinion.

• On this day in 1933 the first Drive-In movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey.

• On this day in 1946 The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded.

• On this day in 1972 David Bowie released his breakthrough album The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. (Though Boredwalk co-founder Matt will forever champion Hunky Dory as his favorite Bowie album.)

• Finally, on this day in 1984 the video game Tetris was published.

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Alrighty! Sadly, we have no Boredwalk community Q&A this week. If you'd like to be featured in our next Monday Q&A segment, reply to this email and let us know! Matt will send you some fun questions to answer, and next Monday's email won't be so brief.

We'll be back in your inbox on Wednesday morning with links to fun distractions! If you're in a shopping mood, be sure to use the code YAY10 at checkout to save 10% on orders of $100 or more! Until next time...

Peace, love, and spectacles,

Meredith