That’s likely a rather unnecessary order, as you’ve probably been soaking up the air conditioning for at least the past week. We certainly have been! And although cool air on command in a wonderful thing, you might not realize how very revolutionary the invention of air conditioning actually was.
Before Willis Carrier invented the first air conditioning system in 1902, business and industry pretty much ground to a halt during the hottest part of the summer. Lots of American workers enjoyed a summer vacation of sorts as factories and warehouses shut down for a few weeks in August. Even the U.S. government often recessed during the zenith of summer heat.
And you can thank Mr. Carrier for the advent of the summer blockbuster, too: movie theaters quickly latched on to the new invention, providing cool air for those checking out the latest films. In fact, movie theaters in the early 20th century were often the first place that regular folks experienced the wonder of artificially cooled air. As you might expect, people flocked to theaters to cool down, prompting the movie studios to release their most exciting and anticipated films at a time of year when theaters were pulling in capacity crowds.
If, for some reason, you’ve lost your cool, we’re here to help. We’ve always got a large selection of air conditioners, fans and other cooling apparatus in our Air Conditioners & Fans category.