From Gatorade to Pith Helmets: 10 Inventions Born of Extreme Heat
Quartz highlights ten innovations that emerged from humanity's battle against intense heat: air conditioning (invented by Willis Carrier in 1902), electric fan (created by Schuyler Skaatts Wheeler in 1882), Persian windcatcher, swamp cooler (gained popularity in the early 20th century), mechanical ice machine (developed by John Gorrie in 1851), seersucker fabric (originating in India), pith helmet (adopted during the 1840s), white roofs (endorsed by Arthur Rosenfeld in the 1980s), Gatorade (formulated in 1965 by researchers at the University of Florida), and NASA's liquid cooling garment (designed for Apollo astronauts). These essential inventions have profoundly impacted contemporary comfort and survival.
Key facts
- Willis Carrier invented the first modern air conditioning system in 1902 for a printing plant in Brooklyn, New York.
- Schuyler Skaats Wheeler built the first electric fan in 1882, later commercialized by Crocker and Curtis Electric Motor Company.
- Windcatchers (badgirs) have been used in Persian architecture since antiquity, with Yazd, Iran, as a notable example.
- The swamp cooler, based on ancient Egyptian principles, was popularized in the American Southwest in the early 20th century.
- John Gorrie patented mechanical refrigeration in 1851 to cool yellow fever patients in Florida.
- Seersucker fabric, named from Persian 'shir o shakar' (milk and sugar), was developed in India and popularized in the American South.
- The pith helmet, made from sola plant stem, was adopted by colonial armies in the 1840s and became the British Army's official sun helmet from 1899 to 1948.
- White roofs, used since ancient Egypt, were scientifically validated by Arthur Rosenfeld and Hashem Akbari at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
- Gatorade was created in 1965 by University of Florida researchers to prevent heat exhaustion in football players.
- NASA's liquid cooling garment, developed for Apollo astronauts, has been adapted for use in medicine and industry.
Entities
Artists
- Willis Carrier
- Schuyler Skaats Wheeler
- Philip Diehl
- John Gorrie
- Joseph Haspel Sr.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Garnet Wolseley
- Arthur Rosenfeld
- Hashem Akbari
- Robert Cade
- Dana Shires
- James Free
- Alejandro de Quesada
- Dewayne Douglas
Institutions
- Sackett & Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company
- Cornell University
- Crocker and Curtis Electric Motor Company
- University of Arizona
- Emerson Electric
- East India Company
- University of Florida
- Louisiana State University
- Stokely-Van Camp
- NASA
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Life Support Systems Inc.
- ILC Dover
Locations
- Brooklyn
- New York
- United States
- Florida
- Apalachicola
- Arizona
- Phoenix
- Yazd
- Iran
- Egypt
- India
- New Orleans
- California
- Santorini
- Greece
Sources
- Quartz —