Safety Glasses (Safety Goggles)

Safety glasses are impact-rated eyewear meeting a real protective standard (ANSI Z87.1 in the US), distinct from ordinary prescription or reading glasses, which offer no meaningful protection against flying debris despite superficially looking similar. Safety goggles go a step further, sealing around the eyes rather than just covering the front, protecting against debris coming from the side or below -- worth the extra coverage for turning on a lathe, using a grinder, or any operation throwing debris in less predictable directions than a straight-ahead cut.

They're the single cheapest, least burdensome piece of shop safety gear to simply always have on, and the piece of gear most consistently skipped for "quick" cuts that turn out to be exactly when an eye injury happens.