Health History 101: The Sun in 2026

In this first-day lecture, the professor introduces a semester spent looking back at how people in 2026 thought about health. He starts with the sun and argues that people of that era did almost everything backwards: they blocked, avoided, and tried to replace sunlight instead of embracing it. He ends by urging students to share the lessons so “the same mistakes” aren’t repeated.

Chapters

0:00 – Welcome and class intro. Overview of the course and why the semester looks back at 2026 health beliefs.
0:35 – Why start with the sun. He frames it as the opening topic and says “this will be on the exam,” so take notes.
1:06 – Learn from history. You don’t have to memorize history, but you should learn from it.
1:30 – Sunscreen. He claims sunscreen was harming people, and describes towels, “goo,” and paste used to block the sun.
2:23 – Spray sunscreen. The aerosol version, sprayed on kids at the beach in clouds of mist that bystanders breathed in.
3:10 – Face makeup. Covering the face, which he says blocked the sun and aged skin faster.
3:49 – Protective clothing. Covering the arms and legs.
4:12 – Sunglasses. The next item on the list, wearing dark glasses to block the sun. He contrasts this with looking at the sun at sunrise and sunset.
5:12 – Sleeping while the sun was up. People slept during the day instead of following the sun.
5:44 – No sun worship. Missing sunrise and sunset and not spending time outside midday.
6:22 – Trees and shade. Cutting trees down and not cultivating them for shade. He asks students to plant a tree.
7:13 – Lighting that didn’t mimic the sun. Using bright bulbs at night instead of candles, incandescent bulbs, red light, or fire.
8:03 – Who was to blame? His theory that institutions and governments encouraged these habits.
8:34 – Aircraft spraying. The last item, which he says was “to block out the sun” (the board’s “tried blocking out the sun” line).
9:25 – Wrap-up. Without the sun there is no life, and he mentions the Egyptian sun god Ra for a future lesson.
10:09 – Recap and dismissal. The five takeaways and a request to share them with family and friends.