Coming as I do from a state below the Mason-Dixon line, we have humid, hot summers…and so, love our air-conditioners.
But where did these things come from, and when? Did the words always mean devices that cool us?
Nope! When the terms air-conditioning and air-conditioner were coined, they meant something very different. Dating from 1909, these terms were invented for use in textile manufacturing. The moisture-content of the air was critical in spinning cotton into a fine yarn, so machines were built that were meant to cleanse the air and regulate the moisture content.
But of course, though industry may pave the way, the general populace tends to pick up on clever inventions too, right? By the 1930s, large stores and restaurants were using similar methods to cool the air.
Are you from a region where air-conditioning is considered mandatory?
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Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.