Welded Contacts
January 10th, 2009
Since at least 1967, bogus warnings have circulated in printed form warning wearers of contact lenses that exposure to arc welding can cause the lens to bond so tight to the cornea that when the lens is removed, it takes a circle of the cornea off with it. The bogus warnings were specific, citing specific instances that have occurred at different companies.
All of the named companies, as well as the American Academy of Ophthalmology, thoroughly debunked these warnings. Despite all of this, this urban legend still circulates among workers in several industries in printed form.
(Source: Brunvand, Jan H. Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. 2001.)