DISCOVERY CHANNEL TO AIR TRUTH ABOUT TANNING
Wouldnt it be nice to run a national story disproving this appalling myth?
Consider it done. The National Tanning Training Institute (NTTI) along with
Craig Joyner, president of San Francisco-based Great Tan and Sorrento Sun
Center, recently teamed up with the production crew from Beyond Productions to
film an indoor tanning episode for the Discovery Channel to set the record
straight.
The same television production group that showed viewers what really happens when a rocket is strapped to the roof of a Chevy Impala is helping disprove one of tannings oldest myths: the microwaved tanner.
The television series MythBusters takes a lighthearted look at modern misconceptions and the bizarre claims of urban legends. However, this series doesnt just retell the storiesit puts them to the test. Past episodes have tested stories such as whether packs of Pop Rocks candy and soda can make a persons stomach explode; if its possible to get stuck on an airplane toilet; and if digesting a poppy-seed bagel can cause a person to fail a drug test.
In the case of tanning beds cooking tanners like a microwave, Joyner and series hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman disprove the microwaved tanner story by placing two raw chickens in a tanning bed for nearly an hour. That was about four times the maximum tanning time suggested by the beds manufacturer.
As expected, at the end of the exaggerated tanning session, the hosts remove the uncooked birds from the tanning bed to prove to the viewing audience that even prolonged exposure to tanning beds will not affect the tanner beyond the most shallow levels of the skin.
To add a bit of flavor to the segment, the shows hosts apply indoor tanning lotion to one of the hens to see what influence it would have on the tanning process. Even though the dead chicken was not expected to react to the tanning process, the lotion-lathered bird emerges from the experiment with moist and healthy-looking skin.
The science involved in an ultraviolet tanning unit and a microwave are two completely different technologies, he explains.
A microwave uses radio waves that are absorbed by water, fats and sugars.
When absorbed, they are converted directly into atomic motion-heat. The specific radio-wave frequency used will determine how quickly the food will heat up. There are no microwaves present in tanning beds.
Tanning beds emit controlled levels of UV light that stimulate melanin production in the epidermis, or outer layer of the skin, Mattoon explains.
Once present in the epidermis, the melanin reacts to UV light by darkening, he adds.
Savage and Hyneman ask Mattoon why he thinks this urban myth exists.
Unfortunately, Mattoon says, most people find science fiction a bit more exciting than the facts. But the fact of the matter is tanning beds do not microwave you. They simply are designed to tan the skin using a multitude of controlled elements.
The Discovery Channel will include the tanning episode among its library of urban legends, set to air in September. Check local listings for the specific date and time to see the myth of the microwaved tanner hopefully be put to rest once and for all.
