At the turn of the 20th century, engineers referred to early air cooling technology as “man-made weather,” a splendidly optimistic phrase suggesting that science was about to master those most unconquerable of all natural forces—the elements. In the decades that followed, “air conditioning” became the preferred term—a more pragmatic description of filtering, cooling and optimizing the moisture of interior air. This less impressive label hardly diminishes the huge impact AC has had on the planet. The technology has made much of the world comfortably habitable for billions of people and facilitated the explosion of new cities. As historian Hal Rothman explains in Neon Metropolis, “air-conditioning was the catalyst for habitability” in the American South. Every visitor to Las Vegas knows that almost nothing happens in the desert city without conditioned air. Even in the intense summer heat, it makes This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Two Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 50 Close Knit Close Knit: Meet the weavers keeping traditional Egyptian tapestrymaking alive. Arts & Culture Issue 50 The Old Gays Inside a Californian TikTok “content house” of a very different stripe. Arts & Culture Issue 50 New Roots The Palestinian art and agriculture collective sowing seeds of community. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Angela Trimbur An all-out tour de force. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Peace & Quiet In the UK, a centuries-old Quaker meeting house encourages quiet reflection. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Free Wheelers On the road with London’s Velociposse Cycling Club.
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