Do bonfires give you a tan?

It's winter here in Midwest America. I haven't gotten exposure to sunshine in months, and my skin got quite pale. However, lately I've been sitting in front of the fireplace daily, due to the cold, and it appears my skin is getting slightly more tan.

Now, I know people will claim to be "experts" and mention UV-rays and so on, but I'm one of the people who think the medical field is still very primitive, and in the future will be laughed at the way we laugh at blood-letting.

My theory is this:

The sun is a big ball of fire. Smaller fires are similar, except a smaller size, yet closer distance. Isn't it possible that I'm getting a slight tan from sitting in front of the fireplace lately? In addition, could I also be receiving small amounts of Vitamin D from a simple fire?

Maybe fire itself has nutrients that humans can absorb through exposure to the light-rays of a natural fire. Humans have evolved with fire, since our hominid ancestors had bonfires before modern humans fully evolved. Our species is unique in that way, among other ways of course.

I really think that there is a lot we still don't understand, about fire, human evolution, and energy & nutrient sources.

Any thoughts?

Uhhh, you're turning oven gold?

LIKE A TURKEY!

Originally posted by bettermakings


My theory is this:

If we're gunna do this scientifically then we'll do it right.

It's your hypothesis, not your theory!

The sun is a big ball of fire.

Actually, the sun is not a big ball of fire. It is a big ball of hot gas undergoing nuclear fusion, thereby heating Earth through radiation.

Isn't it possible that I'm getting a slight tan from sitting in front of the fireplace lately?

It's not heat; it's radiation that causes one to tan.

In addition, could I also be receiving small amounts of Vitamin D from a simple fire?

Not unless you have a special fire that's emitting UV radiation. You see, Vitamin isn't actually emitted from the sun; your body uses UV light to synthesize it from cholesterol.

Humans have evolved with fire, since our hominid ancestors had bonfires before modern humans fully evolved.

People living in extreme cold weather for the majority of the year are forced to live indoors (or caves) which keeps them from sunlight. They eventually adapt to this by having a lighter skin tone to allow for maximum exposure to UV radiation so that vitamin D is readily "absorbed" and less time is needed to do so.

And think about, those people (the light skinned ones in the extreme cold) were exposed to more fires than most people in the world; and yet they were, and are, very light skinned.

-Dev