I Often Wonder How Our Ancestors Coped In Hot Weather
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
June 12, 2016 2:28am CST
I never have been a great fan of the hot weather, and the summer seems to bother me a lot more as I get older, wrecking havoc with my RA pain issues for starters. I was reflecting though, just how did our ancestors cope? In the "old days" a "proper" lady was expected to wear full length dresses, the petticoats, stockings, shoes even while at home. There was no such thing as A/C or even fans back then and it must have been "lovely" cooking meals during the summer…NOT.
Here I am schlepping around my place in an over-sized t-shirt and I'm "melting", so can never imagine how our ancestors coped. The photo is one of my great great grandmother…it's a glass photo so must have been taken around the 1860s when glass photography was popular.
7 people like this
10 responses
@youless (112481)
• Guangzhou, China
12 Jun 16
I often heard that in the past the weather was not so hot. And it was not so extreme at that time because there was less pollution. Today even the north pole is melting. So you can see how different for the weather between present and past.
2 people like this
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
21 Jun 16
To assume that people didn't deal with heat is a narrow view. People have lived in hot places like the tropics for as long as there have been people.
What @pyewacket's question deals with is a culture that required heavy clothing and had no air conditioning.
1 person likes this
@toniganzon (72281)
• Philippines
12 Jun 16
There was no global warming then though and no el niño.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
12 Jun 16
There is no global warming now. That has been debunked. There is natural climate change occurring.
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Jun 16
@toniganzon The scientists who created the global warming thing admitted to saying what the government wanted to hear in order to get grant money. Al Gore became a billionaire promoting global warming. The reason why the term "climate change" is now used by Obama and everyone else instead of "global warming" is because the myth was exposed. There has always been climate change and even global warming throughout the history of the planet. There was the ice age and the era of hot humid swamps. Shifting climate changes is a natural thing.
@celticeagle (166830)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Jun 16
Maybe this is one reason woman back then changed their clothes several times during the day. They were expected to wear all this when in public but if in their rooms they could wear less. They did a lot of setting in the shade and fanning themselves.
1 person likes this
@Lolaze (5093)
• St. Louis, Missouri
12 Jun 16
My mom grew up without AC. She said in the summer they sat in front of the fans a lot and didn't sleep much or well at night due to the heat. During the day they would go to the department stores downtown which had AC and wander around, trying to keep cool.
I can't imagine living without AC. If ours goes out, I go to a hotel because I'm so sensitive to the heat!
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160642)
• United States
24 Jun 16
@Lolaze I have a/c available in my bedrooms only. I only use the one where we sleep. I rinse off in the shower frequently, drink mint infused refrigerated water. I sweat, a lot. I did discover a pilot light still on on one furnace yesterday and shut it off, much better now. Mid afternoon I try to go work in my bedroom and run the a/c if I am too hot.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Jun 16
Well believe it or not, I don't have A/C either since my electric bill would be too high 
1 person likes this
@Lolaze (5093)
• St. Louis, Missouri
13 Jun 16
@pyewacket You're the second MyLotter I've met who doesn't have AC and I don't know how you guys survive!
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Jun 16
Yes maybe that helped, but I have no A/C myself, and yes do have all my windows open and it's still hot
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160642)
• United States
24 Jun 16
@pyewacket As I remember you are also in an upstairs apartment, so you get all the rising heat.
@GardenGerty (160642)
• United States
24 Jun 16
@msiduri In the cold you add layers and blankets, but it still make me have body pain. My muscles spasm.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
13 Jun 16
I actually prefer the cold over the hot weather though.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160642)
• United States
24 Jun 16
My grandmother would have been out in the field or garden, of course that does not go back as far as the ancestor you speak of. They drank cold spring water. I know that they tended to build their houses to catch prevailing breezes and plant trees for shade Southern homes had a separate cook house but they ate more fruits and vegetables than we do as well. Hair was worn up and bonnets on in the sun. It still would be very uncomfortable for us. With fibro I have fewer aches and pains in hot weather than in cold, but I sweat horribly and feel clammy a lot.
@dfollin (25351)
• United States
25 Feb 17
I suspect they just used the hand fans and probably wet clothes
That is a great picture.
That is a great picture.
@IreneVincent (15962)
• United States
20 Jul 17
Wonderful photo. I've been putting together some old photos of some of my ancestors which are similar to yours. Yes, A/C and fans are modern inventions. When I was growing up, we did not have A/C. We did have fans. But, I don't remember having really HOT, sweltering days back then.
