The Air Conditioner Turns 100

One hundred years ago today, a cool thing happened......Willis Carrier introduced us to the first modern electrical air conditioning unit. And the world has never been quite the same.

As we continue to experience a smoldering heat wave around the country, a short walk outside can often leave you drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Sometimes, the only thing that gets you by is knowing that you'll eventually make your way back to a cool climate-controlled building.

As a kid growing up in the city, we didn't have air conditioning. Sure, it got really hot and uncomfortable at times. But since we really weren't used to having air conditioning, we learned to adapt. Back then, my "air conditioning" was limited to a fan in my bedroom window. My Dad would always configure the fan so that it pulled air out of the room. He insisted that it would make the room "cooler" as the hot air would be pulled out of my bedroom and into the back yard. I never really bought this and would usually switch the fan to blow air back into my room after my Dad went to bed.

It was so hot in the house that sometimes after taking a shower, I would immediately start to sweat. This would prompt me to jump right back in and take another one, only this time much colder. I would slowly turn down the hot water handle until I neared the unbearably cold point.. This would temporarily trick my body into thinking that it was only 95 degrees outside instead of 100.

During those really hot summer days, I would find a nice,cool place to hang out. One of my favorite places of refuge was the local public library. To escape the brutal outside heat, I would often spend hours in there. Sometimes, I would even read a book.

Another tactic was to go to the movies. As kids, we would only have a few bucks but it was usually just enough to buy a ticket for the matinee. My friends and I would catch one movie and then when it it was over, we'd walk into the adjacent theater to watch another. We would sometimes spend all afternoon watching movies and keeping cool. If the movie was really good, we would sit through it and watch it a second time. One time, I think I watched Jaws three consecutive times!

And as entered out teens, the shopping malls became a favorite place to cool off. The only problem was that without money, there was only so much to do at the mall. I would spend time browsing the record or book stores. Of course, way before the X-Box era, the malls used to also have arcades where you could play pinball machines and the first generation of video games.

When someone in the neighborhood finally got air conditioning, it was usually in the form of the heavy window unit. I instantly tried to make friends with anyone who happened to live in an air conditioned home. I would sometimes try to talk them into watching the Oriole's game at their house. Partly, because I was a huge O's fan, but mostly because I knew the game would buy me about three hours in my friend's AC.

And back in the day, air conditioning was a big luxury in automobiles. Because of the added cost, most working class people didn't have it. So, you had two options. You could either open the little air vents on the dash, which basically just allowed hot air from the highway to flow in. Or you could stick your head out of the window. Once the car got up to about 60 mph, this could actually be quite refreshing. (I can't help but wonder if my brother-in-law does this as he's delivering mail in his 120 degree air-conditioner-free USPS truck.)

Nowadays, it's hard to find a house or personal vehicle without air conditioning. Looking back on it now, I don't know how we ever lived without it. I'd like to thank Mr. Carrier, a person who definitely made a difference in this hot world!

kw