Dubai. 1:00pm. 42°C. I finished the software training and planned on heading to the neighboring Mall of the Emirates to eat at an Iranian restaurant for lunch. It was brutal outside: millions of the sun’s rays hit the sandy surface. The scorching heat was a monster engulfing every living creature outside.

The idea hit me that I should get an umbrella. Upon my request, the hotel staff fetched a slim umbrella with a clear plastic film. Looking surprised, I asked, “Is this for rain or the sun?”

“It is specially designed to protect you from the sun,” he explained.

On my way to the mall, under the sun and the clear umbrella, I could not help but laugh at myself: the sole purpose of an umbrella in a city, where any rain would be newsworthy, is probably for the sun. How could I overlook something so obvious?

Maybe the clear plastic was a high-tech material such as ceramic that blocked more UV rays than cloth, while still allowing you the pleasure of viewing your surroundings, just like the window coating on my car. When I did my front side window coating, the shop technician told me that the clear one (not the dark coating) actually blocks more harmful rays.

Suddenly, it did not feel as hot under the umbrella. It might have been the film rejecting the heat or just my wishful thinking. To verify this, I extended my hand and arm outside of the umbrella and pulled them back in. You know what? It felt noticeably different: it was much less irritating when my hand and arm were under the umbrella. I repeated the experiment and was pretty sure about my feeling. I even closed my eyes when doing it.

Upon entering the mall, I collapsed the umbrella. Of course, there was no rainwater forming earthworms on the floor. But I could almost feel millions of heated air molecules falling and bumping around.