yorrike
yorrike

Did pre-industrial people used to get sunburnt? It seems like an evolutionary hiccup to be so easily harmed by the sun when you predominantly live outside, under it all day. My Kiwi bias knows the sun as a giant ball of cancer in the sky.

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strandlines
strandlines

@yorrike I’ve wondered about this. Were people more resistant to sunburn? Or did they die from other causes before skin cancer was likely to appear?

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In reply to
yorrike
yorrike

@strandlines The ozone layer would have been thicker so that would have helped. You really have to experience the sun in New Zealand or Australia to understand the Southern Hemisphere perspective. You can feel yourself burning the instant the sun touches you.

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@yorrike @strandlines Yes they did. But they probably died at age 45 or so before skin cancers could kill them. Also they knew how to cover up - long sleeves, hats with large brims for those that had to be in the sun all day. Even long hair and beards offered protection.

Look at the Bedouin, the flowing robes and head scarves all serve a purpose.

Class also played a part, suntans were for farmers, whereas the non-laboring classes stayed out of the sun. Even in the early industrial age, you won't see people running around in short sleeve shirts, women had sun bonnets and sun hats, parasols. Men had hats even coats.

You can see it in architecture, today we build decks exposed to the sun, but older homes had roofed deep porches to provide shade.

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martinfeld
martinfeld

@strandlines I second this, @yorrike.

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strandlines
strandlines

@yorrike yep - I guess here in the UK we don't get the sun in quite the same way....

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matpacker
matpacker

@yorrike it really catches a lot of tourists out, specially the British! I find the Europeans from more mountainous areas, e.g. Switzerland, Austria, etc. tend to handle it better as it’s quite similar to high mountain sun where it still feels cool but you burn easy if you don’t put sunscreen on.

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yorrike
yorrike

@matpacker

🧙🏼‍♂️“Heed my words, pasty traveller of the north. Lather thyself vigorously in cream and shade at every opportunity lest ye burn to a cancerous crisp.”

🧝🏻“Pfft, whatever.”

Literally 30 minutes later:

🦞 “Oh my god! The pain!”

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