Amelia Earhart's Goggles

Via: icollector

Shown above are the original goggles worn by Amelia Earhart during her record-breaking 1932 solo transatlantic flight. The historic eyewear was worn by Earhart when she piloted her Lockheed Vega 5B from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland to Londonderry, Ireland. The 15-hour flight took place on May 20, five years (to the day) after Charles Lindbergh became the first man to complete the solo transatlantic flight.

The aluminum goggles were fitted with tinted glass lenses, taped top and bottom to cut down on glare reflected from the sea. Leather straps hooked over her helmet and wool padding kept things comfortable for the journey.

Via: bbc

During that flight from North America to Europe, Earhart and her goggles made history more than once: the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic nonstop, the first person to cross the Atlantic twice, and the fastest transatlantic flight, besting Lindbergh's previous time by 18 hours.

Soon after, goggles and pilot would go their separate ways; one being exhibited in the Smithsonian before selling at auction in 2009 for $141,600, the other vanishing mysteriously during the famed circumnavigational flight of 1937.