Home > Duluth.Talk > Archives > 2007 > August > 15 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTips for beating the heat
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Man, it’s hot!,” my friend Todd said the other day.
We had been enjoying a frosty beverage at the watering hole, doing everything within our power to escape the maddening heat and humidity. “I grew up in Tampa, and I don’t remember it ever being this stifling.”
I remember the heat wave back in 1980. I was 15 years old at the time. Atlanta was just as frenetic, if not quite so populous. Every day was 98, 99, 100°. There was no respite at night. The one good thing is that it seemed too hot for the mosquitoes, so we only had to deal with the oppressive humidity.
“You know, with all the Southerners having grown up in this neck of the woods, one would think that we would have all kinds of remedies to help ward off the heat,” I said.
“Heck, without air-conditioning, I wonder how many of us would even be in the South right now,” Todd replied. I reminded myself that being Floridian is not the same thing as being a Southerner, so I let it pass. “Do you think anybody has any tricks of the trade for dealing with this heat?”
There is a device in manufacturing called a swamp cooler. Without going into too much detail, I can tell you how to make a small version for yourself. You need a salad bowl, a lot of ice, and an oscillating fan. Put the ice in the bowl, and set the bowl in front of a fan. Turn the fan on. The fan will blow the melting ice and water into your face, offering a cooling respite from the heat. The more ice, the bigger the fan, the better the opportunity to get cool. I must caution you, though, not to use too big of a fan. Otherwise, your book will be ruined.
So I ask you, friends and neighbors, what are some of your tricks to help you keep cool during these dog days of summer?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Bill Allen
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By Stan
August 15, 2007 1:08 PM | Link to this
Iced tea and COLD beer…yup I’m a native southern male :)
By Sandy_G
August 15, 2007 3:55 PM | Link to this
People have lived in the south for hundreds of years before air conditioning. How did they do it? They built their homes and businesses with high ceilings and large windows, center hallways or breezeways to carry breezes through the building and they planted shade trees around their homes. Homes also had front porches, back porches and “sleeping porches”. In other words, the homes were built to compensate for the environment.
In today’s homes and businesses, you can’t really survive comfortably without air conditioning unless you have a swimming pool. One thing I learned while living in Florida without electricity for a week after a hurricane, was to stay outside in the shade as much as possible, not to move around too much during the hottest part of the day, drink lots of water and to stand under a cool shower a couple of times a day. If you stay out of the sun, stay hydrated and keep your body temperature down, you can actually survive somewhat comfortably.
By Bruce Wilcox
August 15, 2007 7:13 PM | Link to this
Canada.
By coolio
August 19, 2007 1:42 AM | Link to this
Sandy_G, you are absolutely right. I grew up in the 80’s in KS with no A/C in a 1930’s farm house with high ceilings and a ton of windows and ceiling fans in every room. It still sucked, but I can’t imagine surviving in my apartment with three or four windows, no cross-ventilation, etc. now, even in cooler temperatures.
As for keeping cool, definitely the cool shower idea is great. When you get out, stand in front of the fan to dry off for the most part. Personal swamp cooler. Use the laws of fysiks to your advantage. Evaporating water takes a lot of energy and guess where that energy comes from? Your body will release the heat to evaporate that water. Kind of the reason you sweat, you know. And a big reason (besides shade) that standing under a tree is so much cooler than in the sun on concrete, for instance.
Also, visit convenience stores with walk-in beer coolers and take a LONG time looking to decide which beer you want to buy. And then drink it while lying in a horse tank filled with ice water in your back yard under the shade tree. If that doesn’t cool you down, move to Alaska and then whine about the cold.