10 Fun Facts About Air Conditioning

If you underestimate the value of Air Conditioning, just think back to 100 ago when homes, factories, offices, and municipal buildings lacked the comfort of air cooling! It might not sound like the most interesting thing to learn about, but your Air Conditioning actually has some surprisingly fun facts.

• Willis Carrier came up with the idea for the air conditioner while working at a publishing company. Its effects helped ink to dry faster and smudge free, as well as keeping the paper from expanding and contracting.
• The first home to be fully air conditioned was built in Minneapolis in 1913 by Charles Gilbert Gates. Sadly, he passed away before experiencing the beauty of it.
• The first president to have air conditioning in the White House was Herbert Hoover. He spent $30,000 to install the system in the oval office, just after the start of the Great Depression.
• You Can Thank the Invention of Air Conditioning for the Summer Blockbuster. The first public air conditioning systems were installed in movie theaters and made it a popular destination, especially on hot days.
• Air conditioning saves lives. American researchers found that home air conditioning cut premature deaths on extremely hot summer days 80 percent since 1960.
• Air conditioning helped grow populations in states like Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada in the 1960s.
• Without air conditioning, we wouldn’t have certain medications today – some medications could only be studied and developed in a cool environment.
• Air conditioning has also played an important part in the development of computer technology and manufacturing.
• Air conditioning shaped modern architecture. The glass fronted high rise buildings that dominate our large cites could not exist without air conditioning.
• Every spring, air conditioners have relieved millions of allergy sufferers by providing clean, filtered air.

We take heating and cooling for granted, but this background information truly gives a better insight into Air Conditioning, as well as a better understanding of the impact it has on the world.