August is almost over but there's still time for one more heat wave (which could very well spill over into September.) The "cooling centers" mentioned above are actually recreation centers, community centers, libraries, etc., places that weren't especially conceived of to cool people off but nevertheless are able to do so because of this technological marvel:
Air conditioning has been around since shortly before World War I but didn't become truly commonplace until after World War II. So how did people keep cool during the summers between the wars?
Well, you had to be innovative, I guess. Take these four women, all employees of the St. Paul Daily News. The year is 1936, Minnasota is the grip of a major heat wave, and it's vital that those who work for the paper don't pass out from the heat and stay cooled off enough to report on that day's big story--namely that Minnesota is in the grip of a major heat wave and people have to look for ways to cool off or else they'll pass out. As you might have guessed, this picture came from the Daily News. Sometimes in journalism you are the story. Anyway, as you can see an electric fan is sitting on top of a four-hundred pound block of ice. That struck me as dangerous when I first came across this photo. Ice is actually water, and I was taught at an early age that water and electricity don't mix, one reason why it's wise to turn off the faucet when using an electric toothbrush, or else you might end up zapping the enamel off your teeth. I did some research and found out that water is only conducive to electricity when in liquid form. So what the women in this photo are doing is perfectly safe. As long as the ice doesn't melt. Which it won't because it's got an electric fan sitting on top of it keeping it in a frozen state. It's all perfectly timed. Nothing can go wrong. If by chance something did go wrong, the four women would have again ended up in the paper--on the obituary page.
Before air con days, we just suffered. People used to sleep outside. People used to sleep on a beach. I recall sleeping with a damp sheet over me with a fan blowing onto me. If the weather is killer hot, I don't go out. None took the warning about about electricity and water to the extreme like the English, without power points in bathrooms and pull cords for lighting.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I enjoy the air conditioning to be found in libraries or malls or restaurants or even the church I attend, but I hardly ever use the air conditioning unit in my apartment because it just makes too much of a racket. I do have an overhead fan which is twirling above me as I type, and that works just fine. Sleeping kind of depends on my level of fatigue. Sometimes if it's hot (and humid) enough, that makes me MORE sleepy, so it's not a problem. But there are times I do have a hard time falling asleep. My bedroom has neither air conditioning or an overhead fan, and I'm somewhat phobic about sleeping with a plug-in electric fan running, so in that case I just retire to the living room for the night, the only time I ever really use the air conditioning.
DeleteA true "stunt photo!"
ReplyDeleteYes, I suspect it was just that, Debra. The block of ice was probably rolled out of the room the moment the photographer was finished snapping the picture.
DeleteHeat wave you say? We haven't seen any heat this summer over here. It has rained all summer long! We usually get highs of 28C or so for a week or 2 but only have highs of 20C this year! Interesting to see what they did back in the day!
ReplyDeleteAnanka, you're in Scotland, right? You're so far north global warming may end up sparing your country.
DeleteYup Central Scotland. I think it might and we'll never have a drought. I think England are experiencing hot weather though. Luckily I don't mind the rain so much, just would like a few dry and sunny days!
DeleteActually water is an insulator. (Distilled water) It the salt and mineral ions in the water that conduct the electricity.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, Mike. I just noticed that there's a shaker of salt sitting a little too close to my electric toaster.
DeleteThe photo is “shocking” and your write-up is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mitchell.
DeleteHello Kirk, In Taiwan, to which I am about to return, it can be quite hot, often 100F May to October, without even cooling off at night. I keep a/c to a minimum, but use a lot of fans to keep air circulating. When my room a/c started making excessive noise, my landlord put in a replacement one, but not without bitter complaints that it was "practically new" even though my local friend told me it looked like it belonged in an air conditioning museum, and was of a brand not even made anymore.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Jim, I didn't know Taiwan got so hot. I just looked now and see it's in fact on the Tropic of Cancer, roughly on par with Northern Mexico. I need to brush up on my geography.
Delete