Tuesday, July 18, 2006

A toast to the father of cool

104 years ago yesterday, the fore-runner of the modern air conditioner was invented by Willis Haviland Carrier. It was intended to help a print shop maintain quality printing throughout the dog days of summer but soon the idea spread. By 1915 he, with several other engineers, started their own company and air conditioners were helping different manufacturers consistently to produce products of a higher standard.

By 1924 different benefits pertaining directly to human comfort were seen when people flocked to the first air-conditioned department store. Other stores and movie theatres soon caught the trend and benefited from the popularity of a cool hang-out spot.

1928 was the year that the first home-sized air conditioner was produced. With the Depression and war, sales were not that hot to begin with but as general prosperity of the populace picked up, more and more families picked up one of Carrier's units.

Carrier remains a well-known name in air conditioning to this day. I think we have much to thank this man for so I would like to propose a toast (of something suitably cool like iced tea) to the father of cool who has made our summers livable.

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