With summer on the horizon and long hot sunny days ahead, we all want to enjoy our time in the sun and to avoid a nasty sunburn. Of course, you can simply cover your entire body in a sheet or hide under an umbrella to avoid the harmful rays of the sun; but if you have any desire to move, play or swim, that’s probably not practical. So sunscreen was invented as a way to give us protection from the burning rays of the sun in a way that lets us enjoy the great outdoors.

From ancient times, humans have made the connection between overexposure to sunlight and painful, blistering red skin. In fact, the ancient Egyptians made potions of rice bran extracts and jasmine to ward off sun damage and heal burned skin. But until the 19^th century, most scientists believed that sunburn was caused by heat damage. Then in 1801, a scientist named Johann Wilhelm Ritter was able to measure light below the visible spectrum and discovered ultraviolet (UV) rays. He postulated, correctly, that the UV radiation was causing skin cells to become inflamed, and that it was this radiation, not heat, that caused sunburn.

Further experiments throughout the 1800s clearly demonstrated the causal link between UV rays and sunburn, but it took another century before a practical lotion was invented to protect skin (this explains why large hats and parasols were in fashion). Then in 1928, Karl Hausser and Wilhelm Vahle reported that sunburn in human skin is caused by specific wavelengths of the UV spectrum, and realized that the skin could be protected by filtering out those wavelengths using an emulsion of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and benzyl salicylate. This led to the first commercially available sunscreen produced in the United States.

Around the same time in Europe, Eugene Schueller invented another type of sunscreen and went on to start the company L’Oreal, now a billion dollar conglomerate for skin and hair products. Another European, Franz Greiter, created a product called Gletscher Crème (Glacier Cream) after getting a bad sunburn while mountain climbing in the Alps. He developed a way to measure a product’s ability to block ultraviolet rays, which became known as the Sun Protection Factor, or SPF.

Back in the United States, Benjamin Green, an airman and pharmacist, used a greasy substance called ‘red vet pet’ (red veterinary petrolatum) to protect himself and other soldiers stationed in the Pacific from ultraviolet rays during World War II.  It worked primarily as a sun ‘block’—a physical barrier between the skin and the sun.  While it did the job, the petroleum-based compound was sticky, uncomfortable, and stained fabrics; making it impractical as a commercial venture. After the war, Greene later developed a more consumer-friendly formula and founded the company Coppertone.

Today scientists have positively confirmed that spending time in the sun increases the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging. Medical organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommend the use of sunscreen because it aids in the prevention of developing skin cancer. In fact, the FDA has just this month released new labeling rules for sunscreens and offered more guidance for consumers trying to avoid sunburns. So go outside and enjoy your summer, but remember to use at least an SPF 15 before you do.

Images:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/commercial/2011/12/9/1323427982983/Girl-having-sun-block-app-007.jpg

http://img.trendencias.com/2010/06/090801_vintage_coppertone_a.jpg

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen

http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/sunscreen.htm

http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/04/28_sunscreen.html

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/avoiding-sunburn-look-for-new-labeling-on-sunscreen-this-year.html/

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By the 1870’s, the High Wheel Bicycle became popular because the solid rubber tires and long spokes of the large front wheel provided a much smoother ride than its predecessor. But because the rider sat so high above the center of gravity, if the front wheel hit a rock or crack in the road, the entire machine rotated forward on its front axle, and the rider was dropped unceremoniously on his head. In fact, the term “taking a header” comes from bike riders. As head injuries began to climb, it became apparent that something had to be done.

By the 1880’s, riding clubs were becoming more and more popular and, as their members saw that head injuries were a problem, they began to advocate the use of helmets. At first, they used pith helmets. Pith is a plant material that is easily crushable, but was likely the best material available at the time. Although it would probably break up on impact, riders only needed protection against a single impact to know the helmet saved them, and know it was worth buying another helmet.

At the beginning of the 20th century, it was apparent to racing and club bicyclists that the worst injuries and the most fatalities came from head injuries. Racers began to use helmets formed of a ring of leather around the head and a wool ring above that. Then the style evolved and the ring of leather was supplemented by strips of leather arranged longitudinally on the head. These offered a little better protection than the pith helmets, but still more was needed. Over the coming decades, helmets were developed with hard exteriors and foam liners, but they tended to be either heavy or ineffective in a crash, and sometimes both.

By the 1970’s, a group called the Snell Foundation began comprehensive testing of bicycle helmets and found that none of the helmets on the market were really effective, so they established some basic criteria for head protection, which coincided with the bike boom of the 1970’s, when many American adults took up cycling as an exercise and a sport. Then in 1975, Bell Auto parts invented the first real helmet for cyclists. It consisted of a hard plastic shell padded with a foam-like material. This was the beginning of the modern helmet.

In 1984, The American National Standards Institute introduced standards for helmets that were widely accepted. This helped to remove ineffective helmets from the market and raise the quality of all helmets. Soon a foam liner made of expanded polystyrene was invented, and by the 1990’s a thin hard shell was added to the polystyrene foam helmet for durability.

Today’s helmets are even lighter, more streamline, and have multiple vents for comfort and adjustable straps to make them more secure and easier to wear. As statistics reinforced the drop in head injuries with the increasing use of helmets, many states in the U.S. have made it mandatory to wear helmets while riding a bicycle—a move supported by medical and road safety organizations. Most parents today teach their children to never ride their bikes without a helmet, putting on a helmet should become as natural as wearing a seat belt and as easy as, well, riding a bicycle.

Photos:
http://www.feministe.us/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/old-bike.jpg
http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/269408/helmet-bicycle-brown-leather-circa-1930-1939

Sources:
http://www.helmets.org/history.htm
http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/351378-the-history-of-the-bicycle-helmet/
http://www.trails.com/facts_36413_history-bicycle-helmets.html

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