->  DW> In England, in my youth, it was possible to buy a special kind of 
->  DW> window-glass called "Vitaglass", which
*transmitted* UV. This allowed 
->  DW> you to get a tan indoors, which was considered to be a good thing back 
->  DW> then. 
 
-> Mmm... the summer house on Jersey was so equipped, pillaged by the  
-> Wehrmacht and missing when we finally got back there in `46. 
  
My "house master", at school in England in the 1950s, had a study with 
Vitaglass windows. He wasn't noticeably tanned, which says something 
about the local climate. 
  
I know that "fused silica" is pretty transparent to UV. I wonder what 
Vitaglass was made of. 
  
->  DW> Polarizing sunglasses have never gone out of style here. I think 
->  DW> they're a great idea. 
 
-> I carry polaroid filters for the cameras ... but strangely never  
-> felt the need to re-equip myself with sunglasses;  sheer  
-> stupidity, that may well have been...but I have enquired at  
-> change-of-perscription time about clear polarised glass or plastic  
-> without success. 
  
You can't have really clear polarizing lenses. They're bound to absorb 
at least 50% of the light. My multifocals are essentially clear, but 
there are little magnets near the hinges to which a pair of polarizing 
sunglasses can be attached. They are made specifically to fit the 
frames of the glasses, of course. When I got them, there was a wide 
choice of similar devices. You shouldn't have any trouble getting them. 
  
                        dow 
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