Why does the eyeglass manufacturer Masunaga sound familiar? Ah, that’s right – that’s the outfit that designed Sarah Palin’s distinctive glasses. What are they up to lately?

Well, they’ve developed a set of glasses that monitors how often you blink.When a sensor detects that you haven’t blinked for more than five seconds, a liquid crystal display is released in one lens causing it to fog up and gradually turn opaque.

Okay, remind us – why do we need this again?

Actually, there’s a very good reason. People who gaze intently at a computer screen or read an e-book for prolonged periods of time often develop ocular dehydration – dry eye. By being forced to blink, your eyelid coats your eyeball with a thin layer of moisture. The blink immediately clears the mist on your eyeglass lens.

Probably not the best thing to wear while driving on a highway, one would imagine.

The name of the product? Wink Glasses. If you’ve got 40,000 yen to burn, pick up a pair. That’s $430. Read New Japanese glasses bring tears to the eyes.

A much cheaper if somewhat grosser way to moisten your eyes may be seen in the below video.

RC