Wear Sunscreen, now a hit video on YouTube, is seen by millions of viewers. It all began with a column titled Advice, Like Youth, is Probably Just Wasted on the Young, written by Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune on June 1, 1997. Posted on the web, Schmich's column quickly became an international sensation. Friends emailed it to friends, the media picked up on it, and a star was born.
There was only one problem: everyone thought the column was an actual commencement address given by author Kurt Vonnegut. Eventually, Mary Schmich was correctly identified as the author. Andrews McMeel Publishing published her advice as a gift book in 1998. The following year, Wear Sunscreen became a hit song.
