India, Nov. 1 -- Isn't it strange that we've had mass-produced sunscreen for less than a century, though we've been wandering about outdoors for millennia?

Part of the reason for this boils down to class.

Key inventions tend to benefit those in power, and through most of settled history, the rich only sporadically spent time outdoors. It was the farmers, sailors and soldiers who toiled in the sun, and, sadly, no one was about to birth an industry to care for their skin.

Then came Coco Chanel.

Apparently, the healthy tan as a status symbol can be traced to this iconic French designer (or so the legend goes). In the 1920s, she returned from a trip aboard a yacht with bronzed skin, and suddenly the pale tints that had been fashionable fo...