05/20/2023
Here is a link to an article about American Paper Optics, the American manufacturer of solar eclipse glasses. After the 2017 eclipse, I drove to Bartlett, TN, met with them, and they gave me a tour of their factory. They are really great people! I bought 1,000 Solar Eclipse Timer custom glasses from them, they gave me glasses to give out at my eclipse talks, and they helped my son's school get glasses in a rush when the school's order fell through with a foreign manufacturer. You wouldn't believe the "war stories" they told me about the period just before the 2017 eclipse trying to get glasses to people that needed them. They don't have dedicated retail space, they have a tiny waiting area at the front door to their facility. So, in 2017, each day they set up a pop-up tent outside the front door to have a place for people to pick up orders and make new sales. Cool folks!
American Paper Optics sold 45 million pairs of eclipse glasses before the 2017 eclipse. It hopes to sell more than 75 million before the next one.
