'I think we sold almost 2,000 pairs': Solar eclipse glasses a hot commodity in Windsor-Essex

A total solar eclipse is a rare phenomenon, so not many people have a pair of eclipse glasses just kicking around the house.

But it’s highly recommended you get yourself some to protect your eyes from the sun’s rays during a solar eclipse, which is set to cast upon Windsor-Essex from approximately 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on April 8, with totality taking place between 3:12 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.

The coming event makes a pair of boxy spectacles one of the hottest commodities around.

“I think we almost sold 2,000 pairs. So yeah, it's been crazy,” said Ted Kloske, the store manager at Henry’s Camera at the Roundhouse in Windsor, Ont.

His store just got 700 more pairs and a steady flow of people are coming into the store to scoop them up.

“A lot of people haven't been to Henry's before. So it's been a kind of an introduction to the store as well, which has been good for us,” he said.

Kloske is selling them at $3 a pop with proceeds going to the Royal Astronomical Society.

They have a special solar filter which protects your eyes from harmful sunlight, something a regular pair of sunglasses won’t do.

“Normally, people would have no reason to stare at the sun,” said science and technology expert Dan Riskin. “And during an eclipse, there's this motivation that causes a lot of people to do something they shouldn't do.”

Riskin said the glasses are in high demand everywhere.

“Put them over your eyes and you won't be able to see anything except if you look at the sun, and the sun then will appear as a circle,” he explained.

Doctors caution that not using special eye protection any time you look directly at the sun can have lifelong consequences.

“The retina contains a lot of photoreceptor cells, which are the cones, which control some of the images that we see,” explained Dr. Enitan Sogbesan, an ophthalmologist. “Gradually, that turns into a red-black image with lots of pigments around and then later on, we'll have what they call a macular hole.”

Blind spots result and while they may improve slowly over a matter of months, there is often some degree of permanent vision loss.

When buying glasses, Sogbesan said it’s important to ensure the supplier is reputable and they have a mark that reads ‘ISO approved.’

“So there's the ISO 12312-2, a standard that's recommended for those glasses. And that because they have this solar filter,” he said.

For taking photos, you can buy a special solar filter for your lens, but most stores, including Henry’s, sold out of those a while back.

Riskin said you can always take the solar filter from your glasses and hold it up against your camera lens, but the pictures won’t likely turn out as hoped, and suggests you instead leave solar eclipse to the professionals, and just live in the moment.

He said under no circumstances should you look at the eclipse through binoculars.

“If you think about what a magnifying glass and the sun does to an ant, just imagine what binoculars and the sun will do to the back of your eyeball,” Riskin said. “You really can do serious damage.”

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has released a list of tips to avoid eye damage and a list of reputable solar glasses distributors. 

AM800 CKLW will be giving away solar eclipse glasses on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. outside the radio station located at 1640 Ouellette Ave. (available while supplies last).