The Trend Setting Mr. Pleasonton
Augustus Pleasonton, retired Civil War general, thought he had made a breakthrough scientific discovery: that blue light helps both plants and animals grow faster and stronger. His own experiments with grapes and pigs seemed to prove it. In 1871 he got a patent on the concept; his 1876 he turned his theory into a popular book, igniting the blue glass craze of 1877. His claim that blue light could cure disease had people sitting in front of blue glass for hours each day. Although Scientific American was quick to point out a dearth of reliable evidence, Pleasonton died believing in the power of the color blue.
He was not entirely wrong: it seems blue glass does help some people with a specific vision problem called Meares-Irlen Syndrome.
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