1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Tracy, we're kind of 4 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 1: at the official end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Yeah, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: but you know what, but sun protection year round. Yeah, 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: it's true. It's true. Everybody has that story of like 7 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: my cousin got the worst sunburn of their life in 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: December or something similar to that. Yeah, because the sun 9 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: it's still there, still there, You're still getting raise. I'm always, 10 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: you know, because I'm very pale person. I'm always thinking 11 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,199 Speaker 1: about this. But I also had to chat with one 12 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: of my neighbors recently about my mowing clothes because I 13 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: go out in full coverage. I'm sure I look like 14 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: a crazy Victorian clown, which I don't care. We can 15 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: talk more about that on behind the scenes, but that 16 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: also got me and that neigh We're talking a little 17 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: bit about sun protection, which is, of course, as we 18 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: have been saying, very important. So I thought it might 19 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,199 Speaker 1: be good to discuss how we got to the point 20 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: where nowadays you could buy SPF one hundred sunscreen. Certainly 21 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: not always the case. No, even in our lifetimes, we've 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,839 Speaker 1: seen a lot of changes in sunscreen. Yeah. I feel 23 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: like when I was a kid, the max was like 24 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: fifteen mm hmm, and that seemed like, I don't know, 25 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 1: is that overkill? It is not out of my house. 26 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: So today we're going to talk about the history of 27 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: sunscreen a bit. And first we'll talk about some very 28 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: early sunscreen efforts and the ways that people around the 29 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 1: globe have protected their skin. And then we're going to 30 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: focus on the work in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries 31 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: that developed sunscreen care for pale people like me, mostly 32 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: folks in Europe and North America, although there's an Australian 33 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: park that comes in there. And then we're going to 34 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: talk about some of the more recent developments in the field, 35 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: both good and bad. It's Sunscreen Day. On stuff you 36 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: missed in history class. It is it is, As is 37 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: often the case, we don't know precisely when people started 38 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: using sun protection. Most science papers about this mention that 39 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 1: since humans generally had dark skin when everyone was clustered 40 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: around the equator, melanin levels in their skin would have 41 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: made some kind of sun protection less of a priority. 42 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: I'll just take a moment to note some protection is 43 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: important for every everyone, regardless of their skin tone. We'll 44 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: talk about a little bit about why. Yeah. Yeah, So 45 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: as humanity spread out of that region, more people's skin 46 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: tones took on paler hues because the climates were cooler, 47 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: clothing became more full coverage, and so people, even though 48 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: they might have paler skin, they were getting less sun 49 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: exposure overall. Over time, skin pigmentation got less and less, 50 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: so at some point it became necessary to find ways 51 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: to fill the gap that was left by dropping melanin 52 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: levels in the skin. So that means in the one 53 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: hundred thousand years or so between three hundred thousand to 54 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: two hundred thousand BCEs, unclear exactly how much any of 55 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: our ancestors were really intentionally focusing on sun protection, but 56 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: that doesn't mean that it wasn't happening. There's evidence that 57 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: various groups of people in Sub Saharan Africa were using 58 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: ochre in a variety of ways, including the possibility that 59 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: was a sunscreen. There are still cultures today that use 60 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: ochre as sun protection. It does screen or block UV 61 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: radiation at least to a degree. Yeah, we don't really 62 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: get into it here today. One of the ways, even 63 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: if you're not trying to necessarily protect your skin with it, 64 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: it's entirely possible. People were using it around their eyes 65 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: to dull the glare of the sun, which can cause 66 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: harm to your eyes too. We also know that by 67 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: the year three thousand BCE, ancient Egyptians were taking care 68 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: of their skin in terms of its sun protection, using 69 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: things like jasmine, rice brand and plants related to blue bonnets. 70 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: The ancient Greeks often used olive oil on their skin 71 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: that has been determined in recent years to have an 72 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: SPF and we'll talk about SPF of eight at least 73 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: some versions of it that had been their go to 74 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: for skin care. It protected them from the sun, but 75 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: it was also used as a post sun moisturizer and 76 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: across the globe. In the following century, there are things 77 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 1: like mercury based cosmetics which whitened skin, and those became popular, 78 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: as we know in Japan as well as other countries. 79 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 1: Zinc oxide was in use on the Indian subcon as 80 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: a treatment for wounds and preventative from sun blistering as 81 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: early as five hundred BCE, and a paste made from 82 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,839 Speaker 1: the bark of the elephant apple tree was used to 83 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: protect against the sun in Burma by at least one 84 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: hundred BCE, and we have known that the indigenous cultures 85 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: of the American continents have used a variety of natural 86 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: ingredients to create sun protection for their skin for thousands 87 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: of years. So putting various compounds on the skin to 88 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: protect it from the sun is not exactly new, But 89 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: actual sunscreen in the sense that we know of it 90 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: today didn't really come to be until the twentieth century. 91 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: To talk about sunscreen in the modern sense, though, we 92 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: need to talk about a handful of people who each 93 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: contributed a significant piece of the puzzle in the nineteenth century, 94 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: because there was a lot going on the science of 95 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: the sun and its effects on the skin was sort 96 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: of advancing piece by piece, And we said the nineteenth century, 97 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: which I set up Tracy to be a fibber, because 98 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: the first person we're talking about actually does some stuff 99 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: in the eighteenth century, and that's Robert Willen. He's often 100 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: called the father of dermatology. Willan was a Quaker who 101 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: was born in Yorkshire, England in seventeen fifty seven. He 102 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: went to Edinburgh, Scotland, for medical school, and then he 103 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: moved into a position as a physician at a public 104 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: dispensary in London, and this meant that he was mostly 105 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: working with the city's poorer residents and so he was 106 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: able to see a large number of people who came 107 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: in with skin conditions. Willan was the first person to 108 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: develop a classification system of skin diseases in Europe, based 109 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:43,039 Speaker 1: on an arrangement in the style of Linnaeus. Before his work, 110 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: skin conditioned were treated in ways that usually involved a 111 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: lot of guesswork because nobody had made an organized effort 112 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: to document and compare a wide range of cases to 113 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: find their commonalities. He presented his initial work to the 114 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: Medical Society of London in seventeen ninety five, and in 115 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety eight he started publishing a series of eight books. 116 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: Each volume covered one of the eight orders of skin 117 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: disease that he had identified, and though Willin died halfway 118 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: through this series, leaving only four of the planned eight 119 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: volumes behind, he did describe a condition that he called 120 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: ezema solayer solar ezma. Today you would see this often 121 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: called solar dermatitis, and this condition is more specific than sunburn. 122 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: It refers to an acute or chronic inflammatory reaction to sunlight, 123 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: so a sun allergy essentially, and while Robert Willan did 124 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: not know it at the time, he was describing a 125 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: condition that was a specific reaction to ultraviolet A, the 126 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: type of ultraviolet radiation we would call UVA. When most 127 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: people get a sunburn, that is a reaction to ultraviolet 128 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: B UVB light, and UVB is more associated with sunburn. 129 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: UVA has some other problems. This is kind of what 130 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: we were talking about when we said everybody use sunscreen. 131 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: Sunburn is not the only problem. You can have other 132 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: things going on. Willan's work was carried on though by 133 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: his student Thomas Bateman, who completed that book series and 134 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: further advanced the field of dermatological medicine. Just a few 135 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: years after Willin started publishing his classification of skin conditions, 136 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 1: a German chemist named Johann Wilhelm Ritter added another piece 137 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: to the scientific puzzle of sunlight and skin health. Ritter 138 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: was born on December sixteenth, seventeen seventy six, in Silesia 139 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 1: that was part of Germany at the time but it's 140 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: now part of Poland. He started working as a pharmacist 141 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 1: in seventeen ninety one, and after several years in that position, 142 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,560 Speaker 1: he went to medical school. He also conducted a variety 143 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: of scientific experiments, including with the decomposition of silver chloride photography. 144 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,839 Speaker 1: Buffs in the audience probably know that silver chloride is 145 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: a photosensitive compound and breaks down in sunlight, and that's 146 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: why it's used in black and white photography. In eighteen 147 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: oh one, Ridder realized during his experiments that silver chloride 148 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: broke down even faster in light beyond the violet end 149 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: of the visible spectrum than it did in the presence 150 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: of visible light. He had discovered the effects of ultraviolet light. 151 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: This came right on the heels of Sir William Herschel 152 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: discovering that there was light beyond the visible spectrum in 153 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: eighteen hundred, but it would still be a while before 154 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: the connection was made between UV light and sun damage 155 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 1: to the skin. Ritter moved on to working on experiments 156 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: in electricity and then died at the age of thirty three, 157 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: so he never realized just how important his discovery was. 158 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: It seems like we don't really know what he died 159 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:50,719 Speaker 1: of concretely, was probably not directly an electrical accident. If 160 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 1: that came up as anybody in anybody's mind in the fossility. Yeah, 161 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 1: he's described as having generally poor health, and some people 162 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: have surmised that that may have been exacerbated by some 163 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: of the experiments he was doing, but we do not know. 164 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: Up until the early nineteenth century, the belief had been 165 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: that it was the heat of being out in the 166 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,839 Speaker 1: sun that was causing skin irritation, so if you got 167 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,960 Speaker 1: a sunburn, it's because you were baked. It was not 168 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 1: until eighteen twenty that Sir Everard Home made the case 169 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 1: that it was something other than just the temperature causing burns. 170 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: Home was born in Yorkshire in May seventeen fifty six, 171 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: and he did experiments that involved exposing one of his 172 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: hands to sunlight while covered with a black cloth and 173 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: noting that it did not get a sunburn, even though 174 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: it was actually several degrees hotter than it would be 175 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: without the cloth covering. And he exposed his other hand 176 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 1: uncovered as a control for the same period of time 177 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: and that hand did get a sunburn on it, So 178 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 1: to him, this was like, this is not a heat issue. 179 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: He also started to connect the idea of skin pigmentation 180 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:04,559 Speaker 1: offering a degree of natural protection that really hadn't been 181 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: considered before. But it was still another seventy years before 182 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 1: anyone realized that UV radiation could be the source of 183 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: burning on the skin. That was the work of a 184 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: Stockholm botanist named Eric Johann Vidmark, who came to the 185 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: conclusion through his own experiments that quote the luminous rays 186 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: have only a subordinate effect on the process studied ie erythema, 187 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,439 Speaker 1: and that therefore it must be accepted that the ultraviolet 188 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: rays have the overwhelming importance for these effects. He stated 189 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 1: that his experiments quote showed that the types of radiation 190 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: with the shortest wavelengths have an effect on the organism. 191 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: They appear to have the ability, independent of their heat energy, 192 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: to produce pathologic processes in the body surfaces which are 193 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: exposed to them in sufficient intensity. Both Vidmark and another 194 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: scientist by the name of Hammer, who worked in Stuttgart, Germany, 195 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: worked with quinine as a means of screening ultraviolet radiation, 196 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 1: and it does absorb UV light, keeping it from penetrating 197 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: to the skin at least to some degree. Hammer was 198 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,839 Speaker 1: the first to assert clearly that a topical treatment might 199 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: work as a way to prevent sun damage. Writing quote 200 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 1: materials which prevent UVR from reaching the skin protect it 201 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: from erythema solaire. Coming up, we're going to talk about 202 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: how chestnut trees entered the sunscreen chat, but first we 203 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 1: will pause for a sponsor break. As an improvement on 204 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: the benefits of quinine as a screener of UV radiation, 205 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: the next substance to be tried for the same purpose 206 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: was eskalin, derived from horse chestnut trees, and this was 207 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 1: part of the work of Paul Gerson Unna, a German 208 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: doctor born in eighteen fifty in Hamburg. Doctor Una was 209 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: the first scientist to connect skin cancer and sun exposure 210 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: in the eighteen nineties, and he sought preventive substances that 211 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: could be applied to the skin. In nineteen eleven, Una 212 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: created and sold a topical lotion called Xeozon, which was 213 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: three percent escalin, and then he released a follow up 214 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 1: to that called ultra Zeison, which had seven percent. Soon, 215 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: similar experiments and products were being introduced by other doctors 216 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: and scientists with a variety of sunscreening ingredients. These included 217 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,480 Speaker 1: tannin and an ointment suspension, and there was even an 218 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:37,680 Speaker 1: experiment using prokine injected into the skin. That one was 219 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: obviously an experiment, not a marketed product. Throughout all of 220 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:45,200 Speaker 1: this there were also analyzes of the problems in testing 221 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: the efficacy of any potential sunscreen. It's hard to test 222 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 1: across multiple subjects because different people have different levels of 223 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: sensitivity to sun exposure. It's hard to replicate sun exposure 224 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: even day to day if you're using the sun itself 225 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: as your source, because the weather changes, and if the 226 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: test compound isn't applied perfectly evenly, the results are going 227 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: to be mixed. So today we can create lab scenarios 228 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:14,960 Speaker 1: that get around a lot of those issues, but in 229 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 1: the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, it's a 230 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: little trickier. Yeah, there is a whole paper where these 231 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 1: are being outlined, and it's like, okay, but like, it's 232 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: really hard to measure if subject A got the same 233 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: amount of sunscreen as subject B, and like if the 234 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: exact depth of its application is the same. And I 235 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: had not really thought about it, but I'm like, oh, yeah, 236 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: that would have been really hard though. Another development though 237 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: at the end of the nineteenth century, was the successful 238 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: synthesis of oxybenzone. This too was a German development. So 239 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 1: oxybenzone is found in some flowers, and it's a derivative 240 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: of benzophenone, and it is very good at screening UV 241 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,479 Speaker 1: rays and it eventually ended up in a lot of sunscreens, 242 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: although it took several decades for that to happen. It 243 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: wasn't until the nineteen fifties that oxybenzone was recognized for 244 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,720 Speaker 1: its potential in sunscreen use. But oxybenzone has some problems. 245 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: We're going to get to those leader in the episode. 246 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: Even though the concept of UV protection entered the picture 247 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: as a feature of products applied to the skin for 248 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: sun exposure, in the nineteen twenties, people were thinking more 249 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: about tanning. That started quite early in the twentieth century, 250 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: just after World War One. This was because in the 251 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: post war period in Europe and the United States there 252 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 1: was more cultural emphasis on doing fun things and engaging 253 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 1: in healthy outdoor activities, So having kind of a sun 254 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 1: kissed look became pretty popular for people with fair skin. 255 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: Sometimes this trend is credited to Coco Chanel because in 256 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty pictures of her with a tan were published 257 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: after she got back from a cruise bakiation. Yeah, there 258 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: is one account that suggests that she invented sunbathing. Probably not, 259 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:11,320 Speaker 1: but there was simultaneously an effort to focus on the 260 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:15,800 Speaker 1: more protective angle of sunscreens. Joseph Maria Ada was a 261 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 1: Viennese chemist and he was born in eighteen fifty five. 262 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: His place in history is mostly related to photography because 263 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: he specialized in chemical development processes. But he noticed in 264 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: the course of his work that photographers often came down 265 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: with ailments that were likely related to the chemicals that 266 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: they worked with. So to get a better understanding of 267 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: the situation and perhaps improve it, he partnered with a 268 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: man named Leopold Frund, who was a radiologist born in 269 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty eight to study those ailments, and one of 270 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: the things that they realized was that ultraviolet light was 271 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: causing skin damage in photographers and other people as well, presumably, 272 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: so they developed a product called Antelux to provide UV protection. 273 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: One of the ways that they demonstrated the efficacy of 274 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: their product was to use this cream that they created 275 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,360 Speaker 1: to write the word and to luxe on the backs 276 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 1: of volunteers and then expose them to UV light, and 277 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 1: as the subjects developed sunburn or tan. The word stood 278 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,439 Speaker 1: out in stark white against the sun affected areas. They 279 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,119 Speaker 1: would take pictures of them. You can find them online. 280 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: I can't imagine wanting a corporate logo sunburned upon my back, 281 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: but this was a good way to show how effective 282 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,640 Speaker 1: it was. Yeah, I want to avoid being sunburned in general. Yes. 283 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty two, Australian consumers had their first chance 284 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 1: to purchase a mass market sunscreen. I was created by 285 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: Adelaide chemist ha Milton Blake. Once Blake had a formula 286 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 1: that he thought would work, he tested it at the 287 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: University of Adelaide. He had that test done by our 288 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: professor named Kerr Grant. Testing showed that this was effective, 289 00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: and Blake started Hamilton Laboratories, combining his first initials in 290 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 1: middle name. His sun screen used the compound phenl salicylate 291 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: as a sunscreening agent, and his company is still going today, 292 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:16,119 Speaker 1: although now it's part of Key Pharmaceuticals. French pharmacist Eugene 293 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: Schuller was born in eighteen eighty one, and after receiving 294 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: his chemistry degree in nineteen oh four, he started making 295 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,879 Speaker 1: hair color and distributing it to salons in Paris. That 296 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,879 Speaker 1: hair color name is going to be familiar. It was Aurel, 297 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: so he was the founder of Looreal. By the end 298 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:34,360 Speaker 1: of the first decade of the twentieth century, he had 299 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: founded a haircare company that eventually grew into Looreal, that 300 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: was not its original name. In the early nineteen thirties, 301 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: the successful Schuler started to sunbathe on his boat while traveling, 302 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: and he recognized the need for a product that would 303 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: care for the skin during sun exposure. The result was 304 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,040 Speaker 1: a product called Ambre solaire, a sun tanning oil that 305 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: was advertised as protecting the skin. Schuller marketed it as 306 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: huil f, meaning filtering oil. It didn't really screen uvy 307 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,159 Speaker 1: rays at the levels that we would seek out today, 308 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: but it did definitely provide a mullient moisture, and this 309 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: led to an entire industry of suntan oils. You can, 310 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: of course, still get suntan oil today, although modern versions 311 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,400 Speaker 1: do provide at least a low SPF level of sunscreen. 312 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: Sun oil just does naturally offer a little sun protection. 313 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: Even olive oil, as we mentioned before, used by the 314 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:33,200 Speaker 1: ancient Greeks as an SPF of roughly eight. The next 315 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 1: big step in the development of sunscreen came from Switzerland. 316 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 1: But this part of the story starts and then stops 317 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: for a little bit while some other things happened in 318 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 1: the background. It begins with Franz Grider, who was born 319 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,120 Speaker 1: in Wittenberg Tyrel in the Austrian Alps in nineteen nineteen. 320 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: He became a chemist as a profession, but he was 321 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: also a mountaineer in his free time, and these two 322 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 1: combined to lead to advances in sunscreen. Grider often hiked 323 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,399 Speaker 1: through the outl and on one particular climb of the 324 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 1: mountain called Pittsboen in nineteen thirty eight, he got a 325 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: really bad sunburn. He had been sunburned before while climbing, 326 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 1: but pitts Boen, which is in the Silveretta Mountain range 327 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: in the Alps on the Austria Switzerland border, is really 328 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: one of the higher mountains in the area. It's ten 329 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,119 Speaker 1: eight hundred and sixty six feet or thirty three hundred meters. 330 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: Prolonged exposure in climbing, as well as the higher altitude 331 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,159 Speaker 1: meant that he got a particularly bad sunburn. As he 332 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 1: was recovering, he decided he wanted to work on developing 333 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: something that could help climbers protect their skin while still 334 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: enjoying their mountaineering hobby, and could protect anybody else who 335 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 1: wanted to protect their skin from the sun. We're gonna 336 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: come back to him because he's gonna go away and 337 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: work in a lab. And meanwhile, World War II began, 338 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: German troops used doctor Una Zizon for sun protection. And 339 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: on the US side of things, one of the men 340 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,880 Speaker 1: who enlisted to serve as an airmen was a pharmacist 341 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: from Miami named Benjamin Green, who was part of a 342 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 1: test of early sunscreens. Red veterinary petroleum, known more casually 343 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: as redvetpet, is petroleum product used to treat cuts and abrasions, 344 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: and it was part of airmen's first aid kits during 345 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,399 Speaker 1: the war. Green and a lot of his fellow airmen 346 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:23,119 Speaker 1: had a lot of issues with sunburns on missions and 347 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: would apply the red vetpet to their faces. This is 348 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: one of those things we're depending on the Sorcy read. 349 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 1: This is sometimes credited as though it was Green's idea, 350 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 1: but that is not the case. It was part of 351 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: a planned use for redvetpet by the military as part 352 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: of a test of sun protection pastes to manage the 353 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: scientific investigation of these pastes, the Army Air Force Material 354 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,679 Speaker 1: Center contracted general electric lighting laboratories and researchers from the 355 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 1: Western Reserve Medical School, and that project, which was classified, 356 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:58,680 Speaker 1: sought something that was inexpensive, non toxic, and stable at 357 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: variable temperatures. It could protect the skin of soldiers. Red 358 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 1: vetpet fit the bill, and it was selected by the 359 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: team for inclusion and emergency kits, and the red vetpet helped. 360 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 1: It was not exactly comfortable, though red vetpet is sticky 361 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: and heavy, it has an unpleasant odor. After the war, 362 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: back in his pharmacy, Green started to work on combining 363 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: the red vet pet with other ingredients to create a 364 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,720 Speaker 1: lotion that would be less sticky and more appealing for 365 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: general use. So he added cocoa butter and coconut oil, 366 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:38,400 Speaker 1: and that was the genesis of Coppertone brand suntan oil. Incidentally, 367 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: the Coppertone Girl that has become an iconic marketing figure 368 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,400 Speaker 1: was not attached to the product until nineteen fifty three, 369 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: when the company hired Joyce Balentine to draw a new mascot. 370 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: Valentine used her three year old daughter Sherry as the 371 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: model for this little girl. Getting her swim bottoms pulled 372 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,080 Speaker 1: on by a dog. Prior to the introduction of the 373 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 1: Copper Tone Girl, the company used the image of a 374 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: Native American person on the label. I'm just gonna say 375 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: that is not at all unique to Copper Tone No. 376 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,360 Speaker 1: I just you know, it's like if you go back 377 00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,320 Speaker 1: and you look at historical bottles, you're like, this isn't 378 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: look the same. Now, where's the kid? That's where she is. 379 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,679 Speaker 1: So we're going to talk again about Franz Greider, but 380 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: before we do, we will hear from the sponsors to 381 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: keep the show going. In nineteen forty six, Franz Greiter 382 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 1: once again appears, this time to bring the results of 383 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 1: his work to market, and that was in a product 384 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: called pittsbuen Gletscherkrem, which translates to glacier cream. This product 385 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: and others that he worked on, were developed alongside Greider's wife, Marga, 386 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: who is usually referred to as a beautician when you 387 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: read about them, but really she would be more likely 388 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: close to what we would call an esthetician in modern parlance. 389 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,919 Speaker 1: She was an expert in skincare and skin health, so 390 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: together they wanted to not only meet consumer desires, for 391 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 1: getting a tan and preventing a sunburn, but also to 392 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:20,119 Speaker 1: provide excellent skincare. The concept of SPF ratings came after 393 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: these early sunscreens, and that is another effort that's attributed 394 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 1: to Franz Griter, But to be clear, he did work 395 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,160 Speaker 1: in the area and he helped popularize the concept of SPF, 396 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: but there had been other scientists before him working on 397 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: that idea. SPF, of course, means sun protection factor, and 398 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,919 Speaker 1: it's a rating that shows how much sunburn protection a 399 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 1: product has. It's determined by testing that shows the amount 400 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: of UV exposure you would need to get a sunburn 401 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: when wearing the product versus when you are wearing nothing. 402 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:58,640 Speaker 1: This is a thing that more modern discussions of make 403 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: very clear that this does not have to do with time, 404 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: but the amount of UV radiation hitting you. So the 405 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,359 Speaker 1: higher the number, the better you're protected. But that rating 406 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: only applies to UVB rays, not UVA. Additionally, it's been 407 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: estimated that because of incorrect application, many users only really 408 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 1: get half the label value benefit of any sunscreens SPF. 409 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,360 Speaker 1: This has led to calls from some researchers to scrap 410 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: SPF altogether in favor of a new, more accurate system. 411 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: That idea hasn't gotten any real traction, at least not 412 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: the tip market. Yet. We can talk more about why 413 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:42,360 Speaker 1: the time thing has been repeated so much historically versus 414 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 1: how now they're saying amount of radiation. Initially, that is 415 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: what it was kind of marketed. As Grider continued to 416 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 1: work in the sunscreen field for decades. In nineteen sixty seven, 417 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:59,360 Speaker 1: papers across the US and Europe ran headlines like suntands 418 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,120 Speaker 1: with pay offered. The articles were all reporting on how 419 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 1: Grider was recruiting young women to be part of his 420 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 1: latest tests, and that came with a trip to Spain. 421 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,639 Speaker 1: The chosen ladies would have their skin divided into squares, 422 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: with a different formula used on each section to see 423 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: how all of them performed. Grider was quoted as saying, quote, 424 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: good protection against the sun must also be good for 425 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: the skin. Besides aiding a quick tan, we are working 426 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:31,879 Speaker 1: on the problem of how to avoid wrinkles forming while sunbathing. 427 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you, Grider, that's not gonna work. He 428 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:41,560 Speaker 1: particularly wanted redheads for the study quote because of their 429 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,600 Speaker 1: sensitive skin. Even into the early nineteen eighties, Franz Greider 430 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,440 Speaker 1: and his company were at the forefront of the developing 431 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: sunscreen science, introducing formulas, for example, that were broad spectrum 432 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 1: and water resistant, although by today's standards, as Tracy just hinted, 433 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,400 Speaker 1: the protection protocols that were developed by his company then 434 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 1: are really woefully lacking. For example, in nineteen eighty one, 435 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 1: Pitts Bowen printed what was called the Tan Plan on 436 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: all of their packaging, and it suggested using a high 437 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: SPF product, meaning one with a six or eight rating 438 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: for several days of sun exposure before trading down to 439 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: a three or four SPF to ensure a perfect tan 440 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: because by that point your skin would be producing melanin. 441 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: We know that that's not enough, and at the time, 442 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: the SPF eight cream that was on the market was 443 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,160 Speaker 1: like the big number, and it was touted as given 444 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: quote almost total screening to facial skin. Just a few 445 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,119 Speaker 1: years before that, in nineteen seventy seven, the importance of 446 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: screening UVA rays was finally recognized. Prior to that, the 447 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 1: idea had been that because UVB rays were the ones 448 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:57,679 Speaker 1: that caused sunburn, those were the ones most sunscreens focused on. 449 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: That enabled UVA rays to help sunbathers get the tans 450 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 1: that they wanted. But in the late nineteen seventies, scientists 451 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: realized that UVA rays were causing long term damage to 452 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:14,199 Speaker 1: the skin. UVA rays make up ninety five percent of 453 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: UV radiation, and they can cause all kinds of problems, 454 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:23,160 Speaker 1: including premature aging and indirect DNA damage that include skin cancer. 455 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,919 Speaker 1: Right on the heels of this information regarding UVA, the 456 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 1: US Food and Drug Administration introduced sunscreen regulations and they 457 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: approved fourteen UV filters, meaning substances used in sunscreen products 458 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: that absorb UV rays and prevent them from penetrating through 459 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: to the skin. The most commonly used today are aminobenzoic acid, oxybenzone, avobenzone, octosalate, 460 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: and octocryline. The early nineteen eighties saw a huge jump 461 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:59,959 Speaker 1: in SPF products, with the first SPF fifteen sunscreen introduced. 462 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 1: The decade of the nineteen eighties also saw the first 463 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:09,040 Speaker 1: controversy surrounding a UV filter ingredient. Para aminobenzoic acid, referred 464 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 1: to on sunscreen labels as PABA. All caps began to 465 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:17,400 Speaker 1: be reported as causing allergic reactions and more problematic was 466 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 1: found in one study to cause damage to DNA. It 467 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: wasn't banned by the FDA at that point. That didn't 468 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: happen for a long time, but a lot of companies 469 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: went ahead and reformulated their products to exclude paba as 470 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: an ingredient. Yeah. I remember when I was a kid, 471 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: my mom specifically looking for paba free and it was 472 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,080 Speaker 1: because we thought that it was irritating my skin. I 473 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:44,560 Speaker 1: was sensitive to some things, so wash. Another development in 474 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties was the introduction of colorful zinc oxide 475 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: products meant not to blend into the skin, but to 476 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: add some flair. This is important because it marks the 477 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: rise of a product different from sunscreen, and that's sunblock. 478 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: So sunblock includes either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, both 479 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,800 Speaker 1: of which reflect UV rays away from the wearer. All 480 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: the products we've mentioned before this are what would be 481 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: called sun's screen, meaning they absorb UV rays and prevent 482 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:19,720 Speaker 1: them from getting to the skin. Franz Greider died in 483 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty five at the age of sixty six. He 484 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:26,040 Speaker 1: essentially worked right up until his death. His company, greid Ag, 485 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: was acquired by Johnson and Johnson in nineteen eighty nine. 486 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: It still exists and still sells sunscreen under the Pittsboo 487 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 1: and brand name in Europe. It wasn't until twenty seven 488 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: years ago, as we record this so nineteen ninety six 489 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: that avobenzone, which specifically protects against UVA rays, was introduced 490 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: to the market. Greider and others had been incorporating ingredients 491 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:55,719 Speaker 1: into sunscreens that targeted UVB and offered some protection against EVA, 492 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 1: but this was the first that was really made specifically 493 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 1: to guard skin again UVA. Today, of course, you can 494 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,880 Speaker 1: buy sunscreen that is rated SPF one hundred, as we 495 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 1: mentioned at the top of the episode, although the Skin 496 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: Cancer Foundation notes that outside of lab conditions, the reality 497 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,239 Speaker 1: is that an SPF over fifty may give users a 498 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 1: false sense of security when really any product should be 499 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 1: reapplied every two hours or more often if you're engaging 500 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:26,040 Speaker 1: in activities in the water or where you might sweat 501 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 1: a lot, yes, even if the label says they are 502 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: water and sweat resistant, so then the benefit of a 503 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,960 Speaker 1: super high SPF is really only marginally better than something 504 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: rated SPF fifty. The one caveat here is for people 505 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:43,280 Speaker 1: with extremely sensitive skin, or for example, if you have 506 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 1: albinism or some skin condition then go like all the 507 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 1: way is go for what you should always do every time. Yeah, yeah, 508 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: I think a lot of my like sport sunscreens say 509 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: on the label eighty minutes, Yeah, eighty minutes and sweat 510 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:05,880 Speaker 1: or wet conditions. The development of sunscreen to protect human 511 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: skin has, according to a number of studies, come at 512 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: a cost to the environment. A lot of the ingredients 513 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: used in sunscreens have been identified over the years as 514 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,480 Speaker 1: harmful to plant and animal life. That's particularly the case 515 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 1: in the kinds of places people are most likely to 516 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:27,480 Speaker 1: slather themselves in sunscreen, which is beaches. Oxybenzone in particular 517 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:33,240 Speaker 1: can wreak havoc and ocean ecosystems, particularly with coral. Hawaii 518 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: banned oxybenzone in twenty eighteen, as well as octinoxate. Other 519 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,640 Speaker 1: areas known for the fun in the sun tourism have 520 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:46,360 Speaker 1: done similar but there is ongoing debate about what really 521 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: is and is not safe in sunscreen when it comes 522 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 1: to the environment. And as you said, studies have been 523 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: conducted that show that oxybenzone and other ingredients cause problems 524 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:00,560 Speaker 1: like coral bleaching and abnormal growth in corals, but other 525 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,920 Speaker 1: studies indicate that it would be almost impossible to achieve 526 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: the levels that would cause those sorts of problems even 527 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 1: in waters that are filled with sunscreen slathered tourists. There's 528 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:15,440 Speaker 1: also an additional complication here that messaging that suggests that 529 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 1: some sunscreens are not environmentally safe might cause people to 530 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 1: skip them, and that is of course also not safe. 531 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 1: At the individual level, people should be wearing sunscreen. There 532 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: have been some sunscreens to hit the market that taut 533 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 1: environmentally safe ingredients, although there is really not any regulation 534 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 1: around the terms you'll see on them, like refriendly or 535 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: others that are often used. So honestly, this is a 536 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,200 Speaker 1: kind of ongoing and developing debate of what is refriendly 537 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 1: and reefsafe and whether or not any company should be 538 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: claiming that because we don't know, so polease always wear 539 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: your sunscreen. I beg, I beg. I wear so much 540 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:01,320 Speaker 1: of it. I hate it. Maybe we'll talk about that. 541 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:03,920 Speaker 1: I will talk about my favorite sunscreen. We are not 542 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: endorsed by it, but I love it, okay in our 543 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:14,399 Speaker 1: behind the scenes, Yeah, yeah, you have some listener mail. 544 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:17,840 Speaker 1: I do because it delighted me. So we have a 545 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,560 Speaker 1: variety of delightful listener mail, We've had a lot of pets. 546 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 1: This one is not about pets. It's about marathons. And 547 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:25,960 Speaker 1: this is from our listener Marcia, who writes, Dear Holly 548 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 1: and Tracy, I just finished your episode on the nineteen 549 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,439 Speaker 1: oh four Olympic Marathon, and when you mentioned Cuban mail 550 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,560 Speaker 1: carrier Felix's Carva Hall, it reminded me of my brother 551 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,680 Speaker 1: in law, Mark, also a mail carrier for the USPS, 552 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:41,920 Speaker 1: and his marathon experience. Like Carve Hall, Mark has always 553 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:44,880 Speaker 1: been fit, but never professionally trained as a runner. He 554 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:47,399 Speaker 1: played multiple sports all his life and was very good 555 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:50,960 Speaker 1: at baseball and softball especially, but for him sports have 556 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,239 Speaker 1: always been about fun times with people he enjoys. In 557 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 1: the late seventies, also at a time when hydration and 558 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:00,680 Speaker 1: high tech shoes and clothing were still relatively unstudied, he 559 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:03,920 Speaker 1: signed up for a fundraising event seemingly out of the blue. 560 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 1: He did no training for this full marathon, except to 561 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,200 Speaker 1: run a half marathon the week before the race, just 562 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:13,160 Speaker 1: to see if he had the stamina. Well, he finished 563 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:16,360 Speaker 1: the race. That was his first and only full marathon, 564 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:18,720 Speaker 1: and we can never get over how few side effects 565 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 1: he experienced the most he ever admitted, and only to 566 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,719 Speaker 1: my sister Slash, his wife, was that over the next 567 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 1: few days delivering mail door to door, he chose to 568 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,800 Speaker 1: step backwards down the doorsteps because it was less painful 569 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,840 Speaker 1: for his very sore leg muscles. He is amazing and 570 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 1: a very humble example of a great human being. Thought 571 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,320 Speaker 1: you would like an upbeat note after those campaign finance episodes. 572 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: I have been listening since the podcast was titled Factor Fiction, 573 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:45,840 Speaker 1: so I earned my PhD before I even knew that 574 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: was a thing. Thank you for your excellent research, very 575 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,480 Speaker 1: professional delivery, and vast range of topics, and your skill 576 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:55,920 Speaker 1: at making sometimes complex topics very comprehensible. We no longer 577 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,600 Speaker 1: have any pets Landlord's Rule, but I sure do enjoy 578 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:03,320 Speaker 1: episodes on Famous Land. Sincerely, Marsha. I love this story 579 00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 1: because I know exactly what that sensation is of not 580 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:14,799 Speaker 1: wanting to go down steps. Like I have always said, 581 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:17,160 Speaker 1: and I think a lot of people that do a 582 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,719 Speaker 1: lot of sports and specifically running, will say when they're very, 583 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:22,120 Speaker 1: very sore, they can walk up steps okay, But down 584 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:25,560 Speaker 1: is a whole different story. And it's because like both 585 00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:27,560 Speaker 1: the bend of your knee and for a lot of 586 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:30,840 Speaker 1: people I know. For me, like those muscles at the 587 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:32,560 Speaker 1: back of your legs kind of at the base of 588 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,480 Speaker 1: your glutes, are like, oh no, thank you. When you 589 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:39,400 Speaker 1: try to do like the bends outs, I usually have 590 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:42,520 Speaker 1: employed not a backwards maneuver because I'm too scared. I'll 591 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 1: do a sideways situation. But if you're stepping onto the 592 00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:48,359 Speaker 1: straight leg instead of a bent leg, it just makes 593 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:51,560 Speaker 1: it easier for me and apparently many other people. Thank 594 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:53,839 Speaker 1: you so much for this email. I too have had 595 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,759 Speaker 1: friends that have done marathons with no training. That is 596 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:00,279 Speaker 1: very scary to me. But if you're very it to 597 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:03,000 Speaker 1: begin with, I don't recommend it, but I still think 598 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 1: you can get away with it, as clearly Mark did 599 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:08,719 Speaker 1: and many others have say leaks. If you would like 600 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:11,680 Speaker 1: to write to us about your lack of marathon training, 601 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:13,920 Speaker 1: your pets, or anything else, you can do that at 602 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 1: History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can find us 603 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 1: on social media as missed in History, and if you 604 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,040 Speaker 1: haven't subscribed to the podcast yet and you think you 605 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,040 Speaker 1: want to, you can do that on the iHeartRadio app 606 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:32,840 Speaker 1: or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. Stuff you 607 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:35,960 Speaker 1: missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For 608 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:40,520 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 609 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:42,680 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.