Interesting Facts About Air Conditioning

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Once summer hits, we all love to keep cool!!! Here are some interesting facts about air conditioning that you may not know:

1. Movie theaters were one of the first public places to have air conditioning, so to get everyone to come to the movies, theaters would release big pictures in the summer. Hence the term “summer blockbuster.”

2. Without air conditioning, we wouldn’t have certain medications today – some medications could only be studied and developed in a cool environment.

3. Each year, the U.S. uses the same amount of energy to power air conditioners as Africa uses to power the entire continent.

4. Before air conditioners, people would keep things cool with big blocks of ice. When air conditioners were introduced, their output ratings were judged based on how much ice you would need to get the same cooling power.

5. The first air conditioner was invented by Willis Carrier in 1902. He worked at a publishing company and needed a way to keep his paper from expanding and ink from running.

6. Kids can thank air conditioning for summer vacation – before air conditioners, it was too hot to learn during the summer, so the kids were granted a break and the idea stayed.

7. Scientific studies have shown that the introduction of air conditioning has actually lowered the natural human tolerance for heat.

8. In 180 AD, a Chinese artisan invented a 10-foot wide rotary fan that had 7 connected wheels. It could cool an entire hall of people just by turning a crank.

9. Air conditioning helped grow populations in states like Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada in the 1960s. Before that, the U.S.’s economic powerhouse was in the Northeast.

10. Contrary to popular belief, closing vents in unused rooms in your home is actually not a good idea – it makes your HVAC unit work harder.

11. Packard was the first automobile manufacturer to include air conditioning in their cars.

12. John Gorrie is considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning. As a Floridian doctor in 1842, he developed a machine that made ice in order to cool the air for his patients. He was granted a patent to create a similar machine for homes and buildings, but died before he could create it.

13. The New York Stock Exchange Building in NYC was one of the first buildings to use air conditioning in 1903.

14. Every spring, air conditioners have relieved millions of allergy sufferers by providing clean, filtered air.

15. Before air conditioners, architects used to design homes and buildings with high ceilings, porches, breezeways, and landscaping that provided shade in order to keep occupants cool