new technology that lets you get a tan via your computer screen!

So I was reading about a website, that sends UV rays through your computer screen, so you can get a glowing, youthful-looking tan, via your computer screen.

If you just thought, “OMG, that’s the most brilliant thing ever. Tell me the URL already, so I can go get a tan” you’re exactly their target market.

Turns out computertan.com is a spoof site that was created in the UK to promote skin cancer awareness.

It’s been a huge success, with more than a million people visiting the site. And the genius of it’s marketing is the more someone’s into tanning, the more likely they’ll visit the site. 

I have to say, it's done so well, that even after reading that it was a spoof, it was hard not to fall for it. (They let you download a free, tan-on-the-go, iphone app for God’s sake.)   

When you first arrive at the site, you’re greeted by an introductory video.

Then you’re prompted to try a free 5-minute trial. You can even enable your webcam (so you can watch yourself make a fool of yourself). The screen is then “calibrated”. Next, up pops, what looks like the lights from a sun bed, radiating and humming on your computer screen. 

After 5 seconds, the words “Don’t be fooled- UV exposure can kill you” appear on the screen. Then they slap you with the fact that 5 people die of skin cancer in the UK every day. Yes, the UK, the non-sunny place, that raincoat brands are named after. 

Please feel free to use the “hoax a friend” button on the site, to help spread the word. Just in case the sites scary photos of pussing, oozing moles and the fear of dying of skin cancer aren’t scary enough, how about the fear of looking like human luggage. 

Isn’t she roasting wearing those leather pants on the beach?  

Please check your moles, everyone. It could save your life.

Here are ABCD's of Melanoma, that’ll help you identify abnormal moles:

Asymmetry - One half of the mole does not match the other half in size, shape, color, or thickness
Border - The edges are ragged, scalloped, blurred, or poorly defined
Color - The color of the mole is not the same throughout or it has shades of tan, brown, black, red, white, or blue
Diameter - Melanomas are usually greater than 6mm in diameter, but they can be smaller.

If you have any moles that fit this description, please go see a dermatologist ASAP. The earlier you catch them, the better off you’ll be. And that’s from someone who had to have a nickel-sized chunk of skin removed, just millimeters away from one of her eyes. Don't procrastinate.

Comments

[amanda]

Jesus H. Christ in a rubber canoe, that lady's skin is nightmarish.

I'm pretty lax on the sunscreen front, which is made even worse given that I live on a tropical island showered with sun, but that photo is all the inspiration I need to bathe myself in SPF 1000.

[jenny]

Hey Amanda,
Yes, somehow I knew the fear of luis vuitton skin would be more powerful than the fear of death:)
j

[montclair dematology]

Scary photos! i never seen this before,the fear of dying of skin cancer aren’t scary enough,having a skin like this is the most carry things for me.

by: sphin

[Ajlouny]

The photo of leather woman makes me want to cover myself from head to toe and live in a cave. OMGosh