A lot of country old timer and arabs have something in common: coverage.  Old timers would wear clothes that covered a lot as do arabs.  This not only protects the skin from the sun but also keeps sweat from getting to far from the body so dehydration can be prevented.  I can see where the type of cloth would matter.  Plain white t’s are pretty transparent

Being from Canada, I’ve often heard that the sun’s rays are much stronger, the closer you are to the equator. I must say that I noticed this on my last trip to florida when I burned despite using the same sunscreen that I can lie in the sun all day in at home. I have yet to see anyone be burned through their clothes in person, unless the clothes are sheer or wet as previously said. The farmer tan I invariably end up with at the end of every summer also seems to collaborate this as others have mentioned.

As for UVA coming through windows and such, I remembered something about this from science classes and Wikipedia seems to corroborate it
(http://en.wiki.org/wiki/Ultraviolet) :

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About Window Glass:

When considering the effect of UV radiation on human health and the environment, the range of UV wavelengths is often subdivided into UVA (400

I am an ex associate - 04 June 2007 12:54 AM

Plain white t’s are pretty transparent

That’s not fair. Sure they are out to make money. Every band is. But All That We Need is a decent album, man. And they have a few things to say.

Renquist - 02 June 2007 10:25 PM

I have never, ever been burnt through clothes. I’ve seen people with horrific, near puce colour of sunburn that stops dead where the skin is milk white, protected by a t-shirt.

I am a Soldier in the middle east.  Despite wearing a uniform, and under that a tshirt, I still tan.  My hands, exposed to the sun all day, are not that dramatically different from my stomach, which is under 2 layers of clothing.

It is indeed possible to get UV through clothing.

Then again, the UV index out here daily is 9, and its 124 degrees out.  There’s no cloud cover, and no shade…

I grew up in the Mojave Desert in Southern California (as we like to say, “It’s 113 in the shade, but there IS no shade”), and I can tell you that you can definitely tan and burn through clothes. Not all clothes, of course, and it takes a lot longer, but it definitely happens.

I was on swim team when I was a kid, and for workouts, my mother got me a racing suit that was black-and-white striped. And after wearing it a couple weeks…so was I! I never could quite figure out if the stripes on my skin were from the white stripes on the suit (because white seems more transluscent?) or from the black stripes (because black reflect far less light?).

Kathleen - 19 July 2007 05:16 PM

I was on swim team when I was a kid, and for workouts, my mother got me a racing suit that was black-and-white striped. And after wearing it a couple weeks…so was I! I never could quite figure out if the stripes on my skin were from the white stripes on the suit (because white seems more transluscent?) or from the black stripes (because black reflect far less light?).

Zebra Kathleen!