To my great surprise, an L.A.-based company called Stoggles Eyewear has successfully crowdfunded a pair of $32 safety glasses…to the tune of $3.4 million. But the purpose of these Stoggles is not to protect against flying chips or debris, but your own fingers.
If this was April 1st, I'd get it. But no, the glasses are shipping this month; the campaign was first launched in the midst of the pandemic, when experts on TV were saying not to touch your face. The designers thus bet on the public's desire for a protect-me-from-myself type of object, and they bet right: A total of 69,455 backers pitched in, netting the company $3.4 million in pledges.
Yesterday's crowdfunding smash post showed that we do not want to reach all the way from the couch to the coffee table. Today's shows we cannot be trusted to keep our own fingers out of our own eyes. Up next, I'm guessing: A seatbelt that prevents us from falling out of our own office chairs.
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Crowdfunding Smash: Glorified $32 Safety Goggles Get $3.4 Million in Pledges
These crowdfunding projects are a really great way to re-introduce an existing design and change the utility aspect to match the current times, because safety glasses with those side covers have existed for decades right? Amazing.