Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced many questions about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, during her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 23, but much of the post-testimony buzz is filled with speculation about her eyewear.
Clinton is not normally seen wearing glasses, though in her college days, she was photographed more than once wearing them. So not only was it unusual to see Clinton in thick glasses during her testimony, there was something unusual about the glasses themselves. The left lens appeared to be covered with very thin vertical lines or grooves.
"She'll be wearing these glasses instead of her contacts for a period of time because of lingering issues stemming from her concussion," said spokesman Philippe Reines. "With them on she sees just fine."
There has been no official explanation about the exact type of lens, but medical experts say something called a Fresnel prism is commonly used for patients recuperating from a concussion who are often plagued with double vision.
Clinton reportedly suffered a concussion and blood clot after fainting during a bout of stomach virus that left her dehydrated. She was diagnosed with a concussion on Dec. 13 and returned to work early in January.
The last time Clinton’s glasses got this much attention was during the “
Texts from Hillary” meme on the Internet back in 2011, which showed Clinton, wearing sunglasses, staring intently at a mobile phone.