How Americans stayed cool before air conditioning: From sitting on smelly ice to sleeping on the roof

To say Summer 2026 has been a scorcher would be an understatement. In Europe, prolonged heat waves and record-setting hot days have crossed the threshold from unpleasant to deadly. This year alone, Europe has already reported around 25,000 heat related deaths. And more heat waves are on the way.The United States hasn’t escaped unscathed, but it’s managed to mitigate the heat’s lethality thanks in large part to widely accessible air conditioning. An estimated 90 percent of U.S.