They also died young and wrinkled.
At least a couple of times a summer, I'd get stuck somewhere with no shade and have to spend a day or so lying in a dark room wearing a soft t-shirt.
Of course they died young and wrinkled. But if you were a farm hand in northern Europe and you burned through your clothes you couldn't really lie in the dark for a while.
Humans were light-skinned, outside all day, and didn't have spf clothing for a long long time. Either the sun is worse or people somehow functioned without modern textiles. Maybe the "not bathing so much" somehow helped -- a lifetime's worth of sweat and the like provided nature's sunscreen?
The Norwegians were at lat 62 00 N, though. The Greeks, not so light skinned, were at 39 00 N. St. Paul is at 44 00 N.
ETA: Georgia (US)? 32 00 N. Same as Tel Aviv.
ETA2: Am now totally obsessed with cities by latitude. Send help. [link]
Stephen King used both "bathing suit" and "suntan lotion" in this week's EW column.
Athens is further north than San Francisco? Surprising.
Ooh. Interesting, flea! My ancestors were up in 55 and 53ish--Ireland and Denmark. I'm now just finally moved up to 47 (Seattle), which is suiting me much better than DC (38)
Interesting. My ancestors, at least as far back as I can trace, were pretty much all with a few degrees of 50. I've lived most of my life around 40.
My Irish ancestors are around the 50 degree mark, but my paternal grandfather came from way up north at 65 degrees (Sweden, at the top of the bay between Sweden and Finland).
I grew up at 64°50′N, most of my great-grandparents came from around 52°31′N to 50°05′N, my grandparents settled (and my parents grew up) at 41°54′N, and now I live at 37°46′N (before, I was at 44°59′N). I don't think I could live this far south without the cooling influence of the Pacific. Also, I can (and do) burn, but usually I just get brown. Very brown.
I do find it hilarious that Fairbanks is the 11th city listed. Go Team Far North!!
Athens is further north than San Francisco? Surprising.
New York and Madrid being the same is what always surprises me.
Does chicken-flavoured ramen count as chicken soup as far as being sick goes?
