HardHistory

"I may have changed the course of intellectual history. Before me, scholars went blind in middle age and stopped working. I let them keep reading. What am I?"

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Take a moment to ponder before you face the answer...

Answer

Reading Glasses

Explanation

Reading glasses were invented around 1286 in Italy. Before spectacles, many scholars and intellectuals lost their ability to read due to age-related long-sightedness (presbyopia) in their 40s. Glasses extended productive intellectual life by decades.

This is a hard riddle in the History category — Riddles about ancient civilisations, invention, and mythology.

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Tags:technologyhistoryinvention