10 Ways People Stayed Cool In The Heat BEFORE Air Conditioning #Video

I grew up on a family farm. In the summer, we swam in the irrigation tank the was five feet tall and ten feet across. It got emptied every evening on to the pastures and gardens. It was filled every night with fresh, cold well water. My dad would come home from work and go to the tank and called us all his polliwogs.

I remember very well sitting and playing on the porch. I don't think we even had fans. Going to the local pool every day. Thank goodness for having Central A/C now.

I remember most of these - and did most of them. I miss the open porches and sleeping dorms.

The first time we got a swamp cooler, we thought we were eating high on the hog.

I have friends in the U.K. that still don't have a/c. Living in Florida it is a truly needed!

i remember the iceman well,also when evaporative air con came out we used to put ice cube in the water tank

I remember some of these and they were good. I miss those days. We were more connected to each other back then. Such a beautiful time in life.

Very interesting. I was lucky to have A/C my whole life, couldn't manage the summer without it.

I remember putting a fan in front of an open window to catch the cooler air at night and it helped cool off the house. We survuved the heat lol.

Loved this video!

A very interesting video about old-time cooling. You forgot the attic cooler, like we had in our 1950's house. Long slats in the large vent box, located in the hallway ceiling, opened when the switch (on the hall wall) was flipped on. A rather loud fan motor pulled the air from the hallway into a vent that ran to the outside. Windows were opened in every room. The fan would pull a light flow of air from the windows to cool the house. It work especially well at night, when the air had cooled down.

I remember attic fans and sleeping porches when I grew up in the south. Thank goodness for central A/C now!

I grew up in the 60's and 70's in a wood framed home in Central Florida. We couldn't afford air conditioning even though it was available. Dad had an attic fan installed. It would sit in the main hall of the house and would draw air in from the outside. We would close the windows in rooms we weren't using so as more of a "breeze" would come in through the room(s) we were using. They were great especially at night while asleep.

Asways cooler in the cellar !!

I remember!!!! Growing up in the South, we had a swamp fan, as well as small fans throughout the house, and my sister and I slept in a screened porch.

Windows open and attic fan on all night. Close up the windows and curtains during the day to keep the night's cool air inside. Sort of! A/C was a godsend! When we just had room air conditioners in the bedrooms, we'd eat dinner and practically live in the bedroom.

laying on a blanket reading a book, under a tree

Boy do I remember the days without A/C! Sleeping on the screened porch. Classroom on the 'sunny' side of the building - YIKES like an oven. Years before we had a fan. Thanks Mel - so thankful for my a/c today.