1. FAN CHAIRS 风扇椅

 

Philadelphia-based musical instrument maker¹ John Cram² invented a clever cooling device in the 1780s. People used their feet to operate the fan that moved above their head, much like someone would power an old sewing machine. Benjamin Franklin reportedly owned one as well, but the device seems to have had limited mass-market appeal.

18世纪80年代，美国费城的乐器匠人约翰·克莱姆发明了一种巧妙的纳凉装置。人们用脚让悬在头顶的风扇转起来，就像运作老式缝纫机一样。据称，本杰明·富兰克林也有一台风扇椅，但是这种设备似乎在大众市场上不太吃香。

 

2. CANVAS AWNINGS³ 遮阳篷

 

One thing you immediately notice when looking at photographs of famous buildings before the invention of A/C is that they frequently sported awnings over nearly every window. Going back to antiquity⁴, awnings provided the shade vital for keeping the sun's heat at bay. In the latter half of the 19th century, new colors and patterns helped make canvas awnings more than a necessary utility: They became a key decorative⁵ feature of a home.

如果你去看空调尚未被发明时的著名建筑照片，你马上就会注意到几乎每个窗户都带有遮阳蓬。在古代，遮阳蓬对于阻隔日晒十分重要。到了19世纪下半叶，新花色的出现让遮阳蓬不再仅仅是一个实用装置，而是成了房子的重要装饰品。

 

3. PUNKAHS 布屏风扇

 

These hand-operated ceiling fans have their origins in colonial India. Each year thousands of poor seasonal⁶ workers were contracted, or otherwise compelled, to spend monotonous⁷ days pulling a cord that swept a piece of fabric⁸ back and forth⁹ across a room for the country's elite¹⁰.

这种手动操作的吊扇源自殖民时期的印度。那时候印度的权贵每年都会雇佣或强迫数千名穷苦的季节性工人从早到晚机械地重复拉绳子的动作，从而让布屏来回摆动，给屋内带来凉风。

 

4. DRINKING BUTTERMILK 饮用酪乳

 

The Indian subcontinent gave the world another refreshing¹¹ idea for keeping cool in the searing heat: drinking buttermilk. Even today, many varieties of a spiced buttermilk are consumed in Southeast Asia and many diasporic communities around the world. It was also a common refreshment¹² in late-19th and early 20th-century North America—the beverage¹³ was even recommended by physicians.

饮用酪乳这一清凉解暑的创意也来自印度次大陆。直到今天，东南亚和世界各地许多侨区的人都还在饮用各种加了香料的酪乳。酪乳也是19世纪晚期和20世纪早期北美常见的一种提神饮料，甚至连医生也建议人们喝酪乳。

点击收听单词发音