The Daily Feather — White Nose

Fancy rice bran paste smeared on your schnoz? Ancient Egyptians used it to beat back the scathing sun. At the frozen poles, tiny goggles were carved out of bone, wood, or leather to stave off sun blindness. Similarly frozen Vikings were more fashionable, drawing thick eyeliners from charcoal to protect their eyes from ultraviolet rays. Though this fails the logic test, Ancient Greeks applied olive oil to protect against the sun. Native Americans used pine needles and sunflower oil. And the Himba women of Namibia concocted “otjize” by blending butter, fat, and red ochre. Indian women, however, saw the future. Seeing zinc oxide couldn’t be absorbed by the skin, they deduced it to be an ideal barrier to the sun. Commercialized sunscreen came long after. Still on the market today, Australia introduced Hamilton in 1932, the world’s first branded sunblock cream. France wasn’t far behind. In 1936, Eugène Schueller, L’Oreal’s founder, was inspired to create his own line after being roasted aboard his boat. Some credit Franz Grieter, a Swiss student as the inventor of sunscreen. His “Glacier Cream” rolled out in 1938 after he was severely burned climbing Mount Piz Buin.

As for the United States, it wasn’t until World War II that Florida’s Benjamin Green conceived a sunscreen for soldiers’ use to be kept in lifeboats and tanks. Branded Coppertone reflecting the base ingredient of red veterinary petroleum, it wouldn’t be until 1953 that the marketing genius mascot “Coppertone Girl” vaulted the brand to the icon status it commands today. Brilliant advertising campaigns or not, for two reasons, we went into Thursday’s Retail Sales report for May expecting downside.