The Sun
Today we hear much about getting too much sun, getting melanoma as a result, the use of proper sun screen, etc., etc. Even on TV we hear every day what the UV index is for the day.
When we were kids on the farm and spent the day picking rocks, shocking grain, hauling in hay, or any one of the other jobs that required us to be in the sun all day, we never worried about getting sunburned because of melanoma. However, we didn't want to get so brown. So on a sunny day, we would wear big straw hats to keep the sun from our face. On our arms we wore old stockings with the feet cut off. These were pinned to our short sleeves with safety pins. When we played, we stayed "out of the sun".
On Saturday evening, before our bath, we went to the "whey barrel" behind the barn and washed our arms and faces with whey! This was to bleach any tan we had acquired during the week so we would be nice and white when we went to church on Sunday. It probably never helped, but we believed in it. How times have changed!