Avatar:Eclipse glasses

 

The mechanist wore eclipse glasses during the solar eclipse on the Day of Black Sun.

Eclipse glasses were a form of eyewear invented by the mechanist. During the invasion of the Fire Nation, they allowed the invading soldiers to observe the solar eclipse safely without damaging their eyes.

History

Sokka commissioned the mechanist to produce these special glasses so that when the invasion force invaded the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun, they could observe the eclipse safely as a means of keeping track of time. The mechanist produced hundreds of these glasses for the members of the invasion force. When the troops were making their way up the slopes of the caldera in the Fire Nation Capital, the mechanist warned them that the eclipse was starting and ordered them to cover their eyes with the eclipse glasses.

Design

The glasses are made of leather and, although they are referred to as glasses, do not actually contain any glass. The slits block the sun's glare while still allowing the user to see. They are reminiscent of eyewear used by some desert or arctic cultures to reduce glare and offer protection from sandstorms or snowstorms. The sandbenders in the Si Wong Desert wore similar eyewear.

Trivia

• Aesthetically, these glasses are similar to eyewear created by the Inuit and Yupik peoples to protect against excess light reflected off the snowy landscape, a concept that Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko got from the 2001 film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner.
• The only ones who did not wear eclipse glasses were Aang, Sokka, and Toph, who were searching for Fire Lord Ozai's underground bunker, which was hidden in a nearby volcano.
• Real eclipse glasses are used for safely viewing a solar eclipse before and after totality, rather than during totality as they are used in the show.

See also

• Astronomy in the World of Avatar
• Day of Black Sun
• Technology in the World of Avatar