September 6, 2011
Norman Bel Geddes [bel-ged-eez] (1893 – 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer who focused on aerodynamics. His book ‘Horizons’ (1932) had a significant impact: ‘By popularizing streamlining when only a few engineers were considering its functional use, he made possible the design style of the thirties.’
He designed the General Motors Pavilion, known as Futurama, for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. For that famous and enormously influential installation, Bel Geddes exploited his earlier work in the same vein: he had designed a “Metropolis City of 1960′ in 1936.
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September 6, 2011
Tanning addiction is a rare syndrome where an individual appears to have a physical and/or psychological addiction to sunbathing or the use of tanning beds.In 2005, a group of dermatologists published a study showing that frequent tanners experience a loss of control over their tanning schedule, displaying a pattern of addiction similar to smokers and alcoholics. Biochemical evidence indicates that tanning addicts are addicted to an opioid release experienced during tanning. When frequent tanners took an endorphin blocker in a 2006 study, they experienced severe withdrawal symptoms, while infrequent tanners experienced no withdrawal symptoms under the same conditions.
Although the syndrome has not been officially described by the medical community, it may include the following reported symptoms: intense anxiety if a session of tanning is missed, competition among peers to see which can get the darkest tan, and chronic frustration about the color of one’s skin, with the affected person being convinced his or her complexion is constantly lighter than it actually is.
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September 6, 2011
Slip-Slop-Slap is the name of a health campaign in Australia exhorting people to ‘slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat’ when they go out into the sun, in order to protect themselves against an increased risk of skin cancer. ‘Seek shade’ and ‘Slide on some sunglasses’ was added a year later. It is probably Australia’s most recognizable health message. The campaign started in 1981; its mascot is a seagull called Sid. It is also used in New Zealand, where the mascot is a lobster, and some Canadian cities have also started their own Slip-Slop-Slap campaigns.
Since the campaign was introduced along with advertisements and a jingle, the incidence of the two most common forms of skin cancer (basal and squamous cell carcinoma) in Australia has decreased. However, the incidence of melanoma – the most lethal form of skin cancer – has increased. An epidimological study published in 2002 concluded that skin cancer increases could not be associated with the use of sun creams, and recommended continued use of the current campaigns as a means to reduce melanoma risk. Vitamin D deficiency has also greatly increased (which can lead to cancers, since sunblock also prevents vitamin D production in the skin. Doctors recommend spending small amounts of time in the sun without sun protection to ensure adequate production of vitamin D.
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September 6, 2011
Unlike sunscreen but like tanning oil, indoor tanning lotions accelerate the tanning process, by promoting the production of melanin or by increasing blood flow to the skin, thereby increasing the amount of melanin that is brought to the top layers of the skin.
Indoor tanning lotions contain no sunscreen and offer no protection from the sun.
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September 6, 2011
Sunscreen (also known as sunblock) is a lotion, spray or other topical product that helps protect the skin from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and which reduces sunburn and other skin damage, with the goal of lowering the risk of skin cancer. However in the United States, the term suntan lotion usually means the opposite of sunscreen, and instead refers to lotion designed to moisturize and maximize UV exposure and tanning rather than block it. These are commonly called indoor tanning lotions when designed for use with tanning beds or just suntan lotion if designed for outdoor use and may or may not have SPF protection in them.
The most effective sunscreens protect against both UVB, which can cause sunburn, and UVA, which damages the skin with more long-term effects, such as premature skin aging. Most sunscreens work by containing either an organic chemical compound that absorbs ultraviolet light (such as oxybenzone) or an opaque material that reflects light (such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide), or a combination of both. Typically, absorptive materials are referred to as chemical blocks, whereas opaque materials are mineral or physical blocks. The sun protection factor (SPF) of a sunscreen is a laboratory measure of the effectiveness of sunscreen — the higher the SPF, the more protection a sunscreen offers against UVB.
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