Fun Facts about Air Conditioning (Yes, Air Conditioning!)

The archives of history are dense with information, and even some of history’s drier topics have seen some wild moments throughout the ages. Air conditioning has a long and rich history, and like most scientific discoveries which have come to enjoy widespread use, it has accumulated its share of fun facts and anecdotes. Here is a look at some:

-Air conditioning units were only gradually phased into use in public places. The first public area in which they were used may come as a surprise to some—movie theaters! This is how the movies originally came to rise as a top summer destination, and, to this day, is largely responsible for movie studios releasing their biggest movies over the summer!

-The United States is the world’s most enthusiastic air conditioning-using country. In fact, the U.S. uses as much energy on air conditioning as the entire continent of Africa uses on all forms of power.

-Willis Carrier invented air conditioning in 1902. His original motivation for the creation? He worked at a publishing company and was searching for a way to keep his ink from running and his paper from expanding.

-Schools originally took summers off due to the hot temperatures and lack of air conditioning of the season in the 19th and early 20th century. Even though air conditioners are commonplace in American schools nowadays, the creation of summer vacation lives on to the present day.

-Since air conditioning’s inception, humans’ natural tolerance for heat has decreased, according to some studies.

-The U.S.’ regional economic powerhouse was the Northeast, especially New England, for much of the country’s first two centuries of existence. The advent of widespread air conditioning in the mid-1900s helped spur economic booms in states like Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. It is no wonder that air conditioning pioneer Dr. John Gorrie is so revered in his home state of Florida! A statue of him is present in Florida’s section of the National Statuary Hall.

-Though air conditioning as we know it didn’t see its onset until, at the earliest, the 19th century, air conditioning had some prehistoric forerunners. In 180 AD, a Chinese artisan came up with a primitive air cooling device, which was comprised of a ten-foot rotary fan with seven connected wheels. Simply by having an operator turn a crank, the device could cool a full hall! Of course, AC units became more appealing once the need for continual human operation was eliminated.

It’s going to continue to be a hot summer—visit AC World for all your air conditioning needs!