Here's the drill: You step into a metal booth wearing nothing but a shower cap, raise your arms, and close your eyes while nine jets mist you with self-tanning lotion (active ingredient: dihydroxyacetone) for 6 seconds. The results are natural, but at $25 for a five-day tan it's an expensive look. Available at most Hollywood Tans.
THE BEFORE (Left)
Pasty-faced and pigtailed, the writer is ready to test the UV-free booth.
THE AFTER
It works, won't kill you slowly, but lasts less than a week.
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Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?