It’s August, the hottest month of the year in many American cities and towns. As you read this, the hum of your computer is probably accompanied by the sound of your fan, window air conditioner, or central a/c humming in the background. It may even be a symphony of all three because it is hot, and nobody likes the feeling of their clothes sticking to them as sweat pours down their forehead. So how do Americans keep cool?

The most economical and easiest-to-install method is your everyday fan. Fans have been around for many years: think of the ancient Roman royalty being fed peeled grapes while their servants cooled them with giant leaves. And the modern fan has existed since as early as the 2nd century BC, when the Chinese wove them out of bamboo and side-mounted them. Today’s fans can be as simple or elaborate as you wish, ranging from the non-electric, folded-paper type to beautiful ceiling fans that circulate air with class, and even high tech misting fans spraying small droplets of water. But no matter your price bracket and personal style, all fans’ functions are equal: provide comfort through gentle air ventilation.

The next common method of cooling yourself down is through the installation of a room air conditioner. Usually, they fit snugly into your bedroom window but if you’re unlucky enough to live in a house where a window unit just won’t fit, there are several models of portable a/c available. The benefit of these air conditioners is that, unlike a fan, they actually reduce the temperature of the room. However, they’re not powerful enough to cool down an entire house, so you must either buy several units or suffer in a house that is 90% hot, 10% cooled.

The most common hot-weather solution is definitely central air conditioning and residents of hot climates gladly welcome this salvation into their homes, even when it comes at a significant cost. Of course, price is the disadvantage to central air, as it is definitely the most expensive of the cooling options, but you have to keep in mind that it will chill your entire home to whatever temperature you’d like. Can’t quibble with that!

Of course, we’re not always lucky enough to be near a fan or air conditioner. Whether we’re running errands, working in the yard, or just unlucky to live somewhere with no cooling apparatus, we’ve all experienced heat that’s so hot you think you’re melting. So what do you do? You remember what it’s like to be a kid and you take action. As my child eyes beheld the problem, there are three options:

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• Take a shower: By far the least fun option, taking a shower is a guaranteed quick way too cool off fast.
• Turn on the sprinklers: As any kid in the city or suburbia knows, sprinklers are your best friend in the summer. All you have to do is [bathing] suit up, hook your sprinkler to the hose, and start running through the water sprays. You’ll be cool — and happy — in no time.
• Hit the pool: In any season but summer, unheated pools are a nightmare because they feel cold enough to cause hypothermia. In the summertime, they’re your best friend. Bonus: there are lots of potential friends to meet a the public pool.

   

So what are your tricks to staying cool when the mercury spikes?