When did soft contacts come out?

Soft contact lenses were first introduced in the 1960s. The first successful soft contact lens was developed by Czech chemist Otto Wichterle and his colleague Drahoslav Lím in 1961, using a hydrogel material that allowed oxygen to pass through. Their invention revolutionized vision correction, leading to widespread adoption in the following decades. By the 1970s, soft contacts became available commercially and gained popularity among users.