Air Conditioning Apr 2026

Before this breakthrough, attempts to stay cool were often desperate or dangerous:

: Thousands of years ago, Egyptians hung wet reeds in windows so the breeze would cool the air through evaporation. History of Air Conditioning - Department of Energy AIR CONDITIONING

Modern air conditioning was not actually invented to keep people cool, but to keep paper dry. In 1902, a young engineer named was working at a Brooklyn printing plant where the summer humidity was causing paper to expand and contract. This ruined the alignment of four-color printing jobs. Carrier designed a system that used chilled coils to pull moisture from the air, unintentionally creating the world’s first electrical air conditioner. Before this breakthrough, attempts to stay cool were