These days, Mylene Gamache-Tremblay spends her evenings and weekends taking orders for solar eclipse glasses, and packing and shipping them around the eastern part of the country.
A man shows a pair of eclipse viewing glasses for a photograph, in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano CiampiniMONTREAL -
Gamache-Tremblay, who in addition to her regular job owns online educational and science toy store Funique, says she originally ordered a single box of glasses to sell at about $5 each. Since then, she's had to reorder nearly 10 times, and she isn't sure whether her supplier will continue to have enough in stock.The Royal Astonomical Society of Canada, for example, hasn't had eclipse glasses for sale online since mid-February.
Hinds says it's important that glasses meet the safety standard set by the International Organization for Standardization, blocking some 99.999 per cent of high-intensity visible light. Otherwise, people who look at the sun during an eclipse risk eye damage, ranging from “temporary spots in your vision to leaving you completely blind,” she said.
Hinds suggests using websites such as Discover the Universe or Eclipse Quebec to find retailers selling certified glasses.