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 47 Alice Sheppard On dance as a channel to commune with the body—even when it hurts. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Dr. Woo Meet the tattoo artist who's inked LA. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Walt Odets The author and clinical psychologist on why self-acceptance is the key to a gay man's well-being. Arts & Culture Fashion Issue 47 A Picture of Health Xiaopeng Yuan photographs the world’s weirdest wellness cures. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Chani Nicholas and Sonya Passi Inside the astrology company on a mission to prove workplace well-being is more than a corporate tagline. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Julia Bainbridge On the life-enhancing potential of not drinking alcohol.
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