General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI couldn't get eclipse glasses at Walmart, Best Buy or 7Eleven.
None of them had ever carried them. It's too late to order on Amazon. Any suggestions?
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)Sounds like you're going to have to do the shoebox trick.
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)JI7
(89,249 posts)democratisphere
(17,235 posts)we can do it
(12,184 posts)I'm in Rehoboth Beach, DE if you're nearby.
LAS14
(13,783 posts)NCjack
(10,279 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,083 posts)The big box home improvement chain has been selling them in numerous places. Many public libraries, as well. I'm told that Circle K stores had them, as did Kroger and its affiliates. If you are anywhere near the totality zone, the odds that you will find a pair are pretty much zero, unless there's some kind of eclipse festival nearby. They might provide glasses--if you can get there early enough. Or, look for a scalper. There are probably people who bought extra glasses to re-sell at premium prices.
LAS14
(13,783 posts)LeftInTX
(25,330 posts)I'm at 60% too.
If you don't work, you can check to see if there are viewing parties near your. A local community college is having one, so are many of the public libraries, and the headquarters of a local school district.
Libraries are probably the best bet for viewing parties. However, I don't know if they will have enough glasses, but maybe someone will share with you.
GoCubsGo
(32,083 posts)I expected every store in town to carry eclipse glasses, but most of them didn't. I didn't find out who actually had them until they were all sold out. My local Kroger had them, but they had them stuck among all kinds of crap, so I never saw them. I only heard about it after it was too late. The local Walmart got in a shipment yesterday, but I suspect that the line for them was halfway down the street by 6 AM. I was lucky that a friend had an extra pair to give me.
Purveyor
(29,876 posts)Are there historical reports of whole villages being blinded decades ago when the harm wasn't known?
Just wondering...
LAS14
(13,783 posts)Purveyor
(29,876 posts)"touch-type" back in the 9th grade...some decades ago.
LeftInTX
(25,330 posts)Because light reflects from all directions of the sun, it will look round. Our eyes don't have the ability to filter it out.
canetoad
(17,160 posts)That I wasn't when I took a peek at the 1976 total eclipse here in Australia.
Being a young photography buff, I even got some really good shots with a home made filter made from 3 layers of exposed and developed 620 film. Worked like a charm.
elleng
(130,905 posts)If you cant come here, you cant go to totality, and you dont have eclipse glasses, heres what you do: go into your kitchen and get a spaghetti strainer, or colander -- not the mesh, but the kind with holes in it -- and go outside and hold it out over the ground. Each one of those holes will act as pinhole camera and youll see hundreds of images of the crescent sun on the ground, and you can watch the eclipse unfold safely.
Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)tblue37
(65,357 posts)to get one "image" of the eclipse to focus on, instead of many scattered images.
GusBob
(7,286 posts)Er, sorry
unblock
(52,227 posts)Chellee
(2,097 posts)Lars39
(26,109 posts)LAS14
(13,783 posts)... I do wonder about just peeking, less than a second. Surely we've all done that to the full sun???
Lars39
(26,109 posts)I thought I'd read on NASA site that the bright edges are especially bright, so probably worse since you could actually stand to look longer at the partial eclipse.
bobbieinok
(12,858 posts)on how to make various types of pinhole cameras.
csziggy
(34,136 posts)The other day Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia had them - I saw a guy buy fifty pairs.
Hieronymus
(6,039 posts)they have them for pets.
Texasgal
(17,045 posts)ridiculous thing I've seen or heard about this event.
UGH. Animals are MUCH smarter than we humans.
Hieronymus
(6,039 posts)Lisa0825
(14,487 posts)The eclipse will last a couple hours, form start to finish. So other than those who are in the path of totality there won't be much fuss about timing, and people won't be wearing them the whole time, so I am sure folks won't mind sharing them.
Tikki
(14,557 posts)will be hosting 'eclipse' viewing gatherings on their Reservation sites, with glasses available.
Tikki
phylny
(8,380 posts)I don't know if this would be safe.
Edited to add - do a search for how to watch the eclipse on your phone I found some info, but can't get the pages to load.
Warpy
(111,260 posts)LeftInTX
(25,330 posts)People who photograph partial eclipses put solar filters on their cameras...otherwise, it just looks like a sun picture.
DesertRat
(27,995 posts)Don't want to risk cooking your retinas.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,491 posts)I wouldn't trust my eyesight to any pair of eclipse glasses, period. Even the ones from reputable optical companies could be flawed. Potential damage is probably irreversible. My daughter's school was talking about a viewing for some of the kids and I told her it's just not wise, and they could be held liable for the harm to any kid's eyesight, actual or perceived.
Better to watch on TV or your smart phone and enjoy the darkened environmental experience outside. Sorry to sound so doomsday, but we do only have one set of eyes.
Warpy
(111,260 posts)held over a smooth, light surface. Just move the pinhole up and down until a clear image appears and that will be the focal length. You can watch the whole thing that way with no risk, at all.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Or try the indirect viewing technique that NASA published.
CanonRay
(14,101 posts)Nepetalactone
(1 post)They're not necessarily as good, but I suppose you could create a pinhole projector with some common items.
https://qz.com/1058197/solar-eclipse-2017-how-to-make-solar-eclipse-glasses-out-of-a-cereal-box/
Rhiannon12866
(205,344 posts)And welcome to DU!
Sailor65x1
(554 posts)An arc weld mask insert shade level 12 or above will be plenty. It will be roughly a 3x5 rectangle. Tape it over a rectangular hole in a piece of cardboard and look through it like a small window. Shade 12 is the safety level for a hundred-amp TIG weld, which is more dangerous to your eyes than looking at the sun.
Or if you i know a welder maybe borrow the whole mask.
LeftInTX
(25,330 posts)I checked.
I've got photophobia and wanted to purchase #14 welding, but couldn't find it. I've got the eclipse glasses. I'm going to wear my super dark sunglasses over my eclipse glasses.
ornotna
(10,801 posts)You can get an auto darkening variable shade mask. They usually go to shade 13 which is ok. I have two of them that we'll be using.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Red-Fierce-Variable-Shade-Auto-Darkening-Helmet-K3063-1/202715831
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Auto-Darkening-Variable-Shade-Hydrographic-Welding-Helmet/1000003026
LeftInTX
(25,330 posts)ornotna
(10,801 posts)They open at 6.
brooklynite
(94,562 posts)Voodoo Donuts in Portland is making them available.
lapucelle
(18,258 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,457 posts)or even a grade school. All of our districts bought supplies of them.
DesertRat
(27,995 posts)Hamlette
(15,412 posts)for the eclipse in the early 60s
Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)for viewing the eclipse?
Flaleftist
(3,473 posts)Everyone around here is sold out. You can check Craigslist, but you are going to pay.
Tortue
(32 posts)Typically have more 13+ glass than employees.
If someone came to my shop, I'd be glad to share.
Atlstandard
(4 posts)If you have an observatory or a science museum near you they might be selling them in their gift shop or even giving them away. I got mine at Fernbank here in Atlanta which is now sold out if anyone here in Atlanta is looking.
tblue37
(65,357 posts)GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Including box stores. Go to where they sell welding helmets.
Buy a replacement lens for arc welding helmets. Use tape to create a 'frame'.
Now you have a redneck eclipse viewer.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Don't know if it will help.
Local anchors (Kansas City) were saying who had glasses left. They were all big grocery stores.
Good luck.
tblue37
(65,357 posts)with a hole punched in one with a thumbtack:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html
tblue37
(65,357 posts)pieces of white paper or cardboard projector.
LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,586 posts)Worked for me.
nini
(16,672 posts)Last time we used binoculars and aimed them from the sun towards a wall in our patio. The sun image went through the binoculars and onto the wall. It worked fine.
Obviously do NOT look them to the sun at all - I'm sure you know that.
Here's a way of doing it
http://heavy.com/news/2017/08/solar-eclipse-glasses-viewer-video-how-to-make-instructions-tools-youtube/
oneshooter
(8,614 posts)Take a piece of cardboard and cut a hole 1" smaller than the lens, Tape lens over hole.
LAS14
(13,783 posts)...to far from big excitement for these rural stores to stock up.