# Sunglasses mirrors and why are they so odd?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunglasses-mirrors-and-why-are-they-so-odd/358777>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 30, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunglasses-mirrors-and-why-are-they-so-odd/358777 "2006-05-30T19:11:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunglasses-mirrors-and-why-are-they-so-odd/358777/1 "2006-05-30T19:11:05Z")

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We’ve all tried on sunglasses and seen our faces in the tiny rectangular mirrors providedon the display rack. Some now even have a carnival mirror effect. There is no way I could ever get an accurate looksy at my lovely self.

Do the sunglass manufacturers hate us that much or do I have a fat head?

Mods: I wasn’t sure where to put this, as it is a Burning Question, but not one of the Deeper Burning Doper Issues du Jour. Feel free to relocate.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunglasses-mirrors-and-why-are-they-so-odd/358777/2 "2006-05-30T19:25:09Z")

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It’s just that those mirrors are cheap - I’ve seen some that are no more than silver mylar, rather than a normal glass mirror. If the surface the mylar is glued to is wavy, the mirror will be wavy.

They do this to be cheap and safe - mylar won’t break like glass can if the display is knocked over or abused in shipping.

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunglasses-mirrors-and-why-are-they-so-odd/358777/3 "2006-05-30T20:07:56Z")

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> [@gotpasswords](#):
>
> It’s just that those mirrors are cheap - I’ve seen some that are no more than silver mylar, rather than a normal glass mirror. If the surface the mylar is glued to is wavy, the mirror will be wavy.
> 
> They do this to be cheap and safe - mylar won’t break like glass can if the display is knocked over or abused in shipping.

I think gotpasswords nailed it with cheap. Those racks are free from the manufacturer (in the business, they’re called shippers) so they’ll cut back on cost wherever they can.