From "Dangerous Heat Grips Much of Europe, With More to Come/A punishing heat wave broke records in southern Europe and hasn’t peaked yet in some places, prompting warnings to residents, employers and tourists to alter their habits" (London Times).
This Roman revolution comes after years of distrust of air conditioning, driven by the fear of an ailment to which only Italians seem to succumb: the colpo d’aria, literally “blow of air”, the sudden cold draught that they believe leads to red puffy eyes, dizziness, chronic neck pain and even pneumonia.
“I signed up to a gym because they had AC,” an American expatriate in Rome said. “But the Romans I met there were all complaining about it, claiming they wouldn’t be able to sweat while the dangerous cold air was blowing.” Hence the sight of Italian women in gyms wearing scarves as well as leotards. “Women, but also men, put their hoods up when they go on the treadmill,” the American said....
March 27, 2022: "Italians love a bit of hypochondria. The trouble is, it’s catching...":
[Italians] spend time worrying about some deadly health issues only they are aware of. A noted example is the dreaded colpo d’aria — literally a blow of air — which is a sudden draught that stiffens the neck, explaining why Italians in air-conditioned gyms sometimes wear scarves....
July 27, 2023: "Why I’m dressing like an Italian this summer/What works on the streets of Portofino will suit you this season, says Anna Murphy":
“Italians are colour and print junkies. They are not like the French in that sense. The French are more subdued. The Italians like to stand out.” They are also “obsessed with quality” and “always carry some sort of pashmina or shawl to protect them from a ‘colpo d’aria’ or cold gust of wind”.
AND: It wasn't so long ago that Americans worried about ailments caused by "drafts." You'll catch a draft! You'll catch your death! I'm old enough to remember that as a common thing to say... perhaps mostly as a joke.
ALSO: Colpo d'aria has only appeared once in The New York Times, here: "A Roman, she worried that the wind had afflicted her with an epic case of colpo d’aria, the blast of air that many Italians blame for absolutely everything that ails them."
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80 comments:
Heat “gripping” you, Pilgrim?
Yes… it’s Summer.
I've opened up a couple window air conditioners. Sometimes you can easily repair them by switching out a capacitor or something. The interior of these units are almost always covered in mold. They are disgusting. One had a gelatinous substance growing in it -- literally, a sheet of jello like fungus on the condensation pan. The central air units are even worse. The A coils are covered in dog fur and filth. It is not at all surprising that some people think air conditioning is dangerous.
How is air conditioning bad for the environment?
The SW and SE couldn’t live without it.
Well I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I have AC
And I’ll disregard Greta Thurnberg’s cries
As she screeches "how dare me"
And I’ll Glaaaaaadly sit down in my house
And enjoy that sweet cold air
That frosty breeze
As Europeans seethe
♫God bless my Frigidaire♫
If they're considering an emergency AC install, they are probably contemplating window units. Having just one room in your house with frigid air blasting from a point source isn't that great. Your body never gets a chance to adjust to the heat or the cold. True central air that can get a constant temp in the entire house is easier to adjust to, but even then you do have some blasting from the vents. And if you go in and out a lot, there is still the problem of adjusting.
I remember doing summer ROTC training at Forts Campbell (KY/TN) and Bragg (NC) in old WWII barracks with no AC. The first day every time I would have a mini-heatstroke, but after that I would be adjusted, I think in part because all we had in the barracks were giant pedestal fans.
RR
JSM
I’m not opposed when someone wants to bear up just so long as it isn’t polar or grizz…
"Obviously, it's bad for the environment..."
Depending on who you ask, breathing is bad for the environment.
The people in Phoenix think you are all nuts.
- AC blowing in the face can give (me) a cough.
- AC on the neck or exposed skin can cause cramps and chills.
- AC systems full of dust and pollen cause obvious repiratory issues.
Some people never clean their car air filter, oil filter, vacuum cleaner filters, or HVAC filters. Some systems get frighteningly dirty.
“Italians are colour and print junkies. They are not like the French in that sense. The French are more subdued. The Italians like to stand out.”
Italians like to stand out? Like all the other Italians? If everybody else is a color and print junkie, seems like the way to stand out is with something more subdued.
Wait a minute, you're telling me that it's getting hot, in summertime?
Born and spent most of my life in FLA, which involves a lifetime of going from 90 degree-plus temperatures outside into a mid-60's AC'ed inside and right back again. It's just fine -- oh, and be sure to drink plenty of water.
Air conditioning is not necessarily bad for the environment. It makes people much more willing to live in warm places than they were before it was widespread. It does use energy, but heating normally uses more energy than air conditioning, so when people move south their total energy use is usually less than it was. This may not be true of Italy, which has long been mostly warm, but in the US it is.
AC gives you legionnaires' disease, in the US.
the idea is that you should keep you body in balance and not move it back and forth between hot and cold
Interestingly, Nordic folks believe strongly in the health benefits of going from intense heat to ice cold water. They call it the "Nordic Cycle."
If you don't keep the ducts clean, and the filter clean - yeah - all sorts of crap can build up.
New proposed amending for the Florida Constitution: After 1/1/26 anyone moving to Florida may have only one of the following two choices, air conditioning or bug spray. Choose wisely grasshopper.
Interior wall-mounted recyc-AC units are the norm most everywhere else in the world and I've been impressed by their effectiveness and longevity...all except those made by Haier. Purchase at your peril.
I scratch my head and wonder about this bizarre European aversion to air conditioners in hot weather. Then I think of Europeans' baffling noncomprehension of the appeal of cold drinks - you know, with ice in them - and I don't wonder anymore.
You’ll remove my two 5 ton air conditioning units by prying them from my cold dead hands.
- Krumhorn
I have always believed in air conditioning. I remember the days of drilling blast holes underground for 4 hours and then taking some time to walk down to the end of the vent tube hooked to the booster fan for some clean air. Nothing is better than being soaking wet and having air blown on you.
They're not wrong. But it likely isn't due to the hot/cold switching but instead to the stuff trapped and breeding in the air ducts and filters. A periodic (start of season) cleaning of air ducts and replacement of filters should eliminate most of the risk.
Back in early August 2021, I went to Cancun (actually Playa del Carmen) for a week. Spent most of the time outside exploring Mayan ruins and free diving in Cenotes. The heat was monstrously oppressive . The Air conditioning at the Airbnb was a godsend. However, after four days, I had become acclimated to the heat. It felt like a superpower.
@Ice Nine: "Then I think of Europeans' baffling noncomprehension of the appeal of cold drinks - you know, with ice in them - and I don't wonder anymore."
I once knew a German couple in the US who were downright condescending about American tourists who wanted ice in everything, and ice cold beer rather than "out of the cellar" beer.
Then, they took a road trip to Las Vegas. They immediately wanted ice in most everything and an ice maker in their refrigerator. "Oh, the US sits between the latitude of Spain and Egypt. I get it now."
on Sunday, i went to my cousins funeral..
Afterwards, the reception/gathering/thing was at the American Legion hall.
as i was walking in, i was talking with an old man (who taught my cousin to fly); and as SOON as we entered the building, he said:
"Air Conditioning! people like it.. But it's Too Cold for ME!"
and he stopped, and put on his jacket.
Now, on Sunday in central iowa, it was about 90 degrees (and 80% humidity)..
Inside the Legion hall, it was probably 75 and dry.
The 92 year old Aircraft mechanic was NOT the only old person i saw inside with jackets on.
SO, i guess Italians are JUST LIKE aged weak old iowans.
personally, as a 63 year old wearing a black funeral outfit, i was MIGHTY Glad of the AC
What do the Muslims in Italy think? It will be their country soon
@Ice Nine, speaking of cold drinks, it is very common in China, Taiwan, Korea, and some places in Japan for older people - usually over 70 - to be aghast at other Asians drinking "cold" anything (if you're not Asian they don't care), especially water. Doing so is a major risk factor in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as it relates to the hot/cold Qi balance within the body.
How miserable that must be, but then again Asians in that age cohort are used to misery.
it reminds them of home, although Rome along the Tiber is probably more humid than say North Africa,
because of the delusion that carbon is bad, which is in everything, people suffer, like the cunnicule in france in 2003,
With AC or conversely central heating, you make a place that otherwise would be inhospitable, hospitable. When you own land in what is considered naturally hospitable, you have now lost some value when people can move elsewhere and control their environment. What to do? Insult those who left.
I was on the tarmac at GHWB airport and later in Vegas, that was some years ago, I know what an ant under a magnifying feels like,
“Italians are colour and print junkies. They are not like the French in that sense. The French are more subdued. The Italians like to stand out.”
And how!
@RideSpaceMountain: "How miserable that must be, but then again Asians in that age cohort are used to misery."
I wonder how the Indians survive the noise, crowds, crazy heat, and monsoons, but 1B+ people can't be wrong! Misery or evolved adaptations that make it feel "fine"?
India and China, don't abide by the silly Paris Accord, so that tells you everything,
again the thunderer has lost most of it's prestige,
"Obviously, it's bad for the environment" Not so obvious: depends on source. What does "bad for environment" mean if particular actions greatly advance human well-being and life expectancy?
@Enigma, having been to India 3 times and I can tell you that for non-Indians it can be - depending on where & when you go - one of the worst places you'll ever visit. The South, specifically Chennai in Tamil Nadu, is one of the hottest places I've ever experienced and I lived in the ME for a significant period of time. In addition to the heat, places like Rajasthan and the Punjab are quite dusty and there's always this particulate in the air you can't avoid, just like the ME. The further East you go, such as towards Patna, it is both very hot AND very very humid.
In India, the heat in some places (along with the odors it generates) is inescapable...it really is a place that only natives born there become acclimatized to IMO.
RSM, ref Asians "aghast at other Asians drinking "cold" anything":
I went to Red China in 1981, shortly after it opened up. Most of the place was still stuck in the 1950s. It was summer, and everyone drank hot tea. Partially because you needed to boil the water to make it safe, and partially because of the humour theory. And also partially from some kind of idea that if you made your body hot, you wouldn't feel as hot.
I don't know if the current generation over there with all their mod cons still do this.
RR
JSM
People have opinions. Some have also long recommended saunas and ice baths as healthful. Do what you enjoy. Some enjoy giving advice even when they have no idea what they are talking about. Life is too short to try getting it perfect, whatever that is.
I wonder about people who spend an inordinate amount of time, effort and money to hopefully live longer. For what? So you can spend the extra time trying to live longer. It has very limited potential. Maybe a few months or a year with worn out tendons and joints and then a bus hits you on the way home from the gym. Dammit!
To me, the worst thing about the South in Summer, isn't that its hot, its that it stays hot all through the night. At least when its dry heat, like Las Vegas, you get a break when the sun sets. It get up to 100 during the day, but it will drop to 80 at night.
The South just stay humid and hot. And i hate to sleep with AC on. OTOH, having been in Hotlanta in August, you do get used to it somewhat. After a week, 80 seemed cool.
"I don't know if the current generation over there with all their mod cons still do this."
Not really. Young Chinese are more Americanized than you'd think, but that doesn't mean they don't occasionally look over their shoulders for an old shrew's (老太婆) evil eye as they sip an icey diet coke, especially younger girls.
I did a scan of the last couple of weeks for 3 different southern European cities and their heat wave was, in all three cases, 8-12 degrees F above normal for the time of year. This would the equivalent of a 100 degree day here in Oak Ridge in late June which isn't terribly unusual given the natural variance in temperature extremes. In short, not an unusual heat wave.
One thing I did learn that surprised me is that the average high in Rome is 2 degrees higher than here in Oak Ridge, TN in late June, but that is probably due to the naturally higher humidity here in Oak Ridge.
oh noes, but those red chirons are very scary, sarc,
"Obviously, it's bad for the environment"
No, that's not obvious. Heating uses far more energy and generated far more greenhouse gas emissions than AC. In order to reduce your emissions, it is far better to live in a warm climate and use AC than in a cold one and use heat. Worst case is to live in a place like the upper Midwest that has large heating requirements in winter AND large AC requirements during the summer. From a sustainability perspective, nobody should live in Minnesota (or Wisconsin).
I've come to love the desert heat of Las Vegas. It's over 100 every single day for about 2 months and near that a couple more months, but I crave that heat all winter. I find the summer comfortable, and the very low humidity really makes things easy. You can get wet, spill things, have wet clothes on, and within a few minutes everything is dry again, with mold and mildew non-existent. Sweating is not really a thing here. All summer long we picnic around Lake Mead on our pontoon boat with family and friends. We pull up on one of the hundreds of beaches and just play in the crystal clear water all day. At home we are around the pool day and night. You don't even need a towel. For being an unforgivingly hot place, I find it easy and comfortable. One thing is that you cannot be barefoot after 11 am. The ground is a frying pan.
Is AC "bad for you"? For what it's worth Imperial County California is very hot in the summer time. AC is universal. And kids who live in Imperial County--out in the heat, in in the cold, tend to have more respiratory infections than those in say the neighboring (and much cooler) San Diego County.
"Obviously, it's bad for the environment"
Correct statement Obviously we have been told over and over again it is bad for the environment. Actual evidence of this fact is poor.
Here is a interesting observation I just now made. When I checked Wikipedia, the average high for Oak Ridge in July is 87F which seemed odd to me- I had a distinct memory that the average high in July was 88, not 87. So I checked on the Wayback machine and my memory was correct- it was 88.4F in 2019. So, either the past has been cooled to cool the average, the Wiki editors chose a new information source, or we have had cooler Julys for the last 6 years that have lowered the average July high.
As a native of coastal Los Angeles - Hawthorne to be specific - I/we never had or needed air conditioning. If you lived 10 miles east, you did. My grandparents who lived in Riverside and then Chino, had swamp coolers. I don't know the particulars of swamp coolers, but they certainly worked. I now live in Central Texas and if it wasn't for AC I would have turned around and went straight back to CA. The weather and beaches are the only thing I miss.
Indonesians also have this malady, called "masuk angin" which means "the wind enters"
They worry about sleeping with a fan on or air conditioning.
I think its legit in some cases.
And they speak of "colpo d’aria" or "colpo di freddo" — "blow of air" or "blow of cold"
________
Foreign languages are weird that way. The French call a telephone call a "coup de téléphone": a blow or hit of the telephone.
When it's zero degrees outside, and you want your home to be at a comfy 74 degrees or so, you sure as shit are using a lot, lot more energy than you are when it's 95 outside and you want to get down to that comfy 74.
DERP
Is the earth really getting hotter or did we just stop saying "So hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk" or "Whew! It's a scorcher!" and start saying "Climate change" whenever the temperature went into the high 90s? It seemed like temperatures got that high in the Northeast decades ago without provoking dire predictions of environmental disaster.
Don’t look up!!
You really have to laugh at these charlatan “scientists”. All religion.
“Dangerous heat ….” In Tucson we played tennis in 100+ degrees. Wimbledon will survive. Meanwhile, Chicken Littles find more reasons to punish their fellow Americans economically while pretending that China and India don’t exist.
I grew up without AC, spending my youth in New England and northern NY. It wasn't until I moved to Oklahoma that I realized the need for cold air. Even 3 years in Arizona was tolerable with a simple swamp cooler.
That being said, I hate working out in hot gyms! It is always too warm for me. I used to run in the winter a lot. I always felt best that way. I cannot fathom wearing a "hoodie" in the gym.
"the past has been cooled to cool the average"
you BET it has!
how else do you think the last twenty years could have each been "the warmest on record"
y'all are old.. And a lot of you STILL have working memories..
Does it seem warmer to you NOW, than it did
in 2015?
in 2005?
in 1995?
in 1985?
1985 was forty years ago.. IF there WAS global warming;
shouldn't it be NOTICEABLY warmer now, than then?
Think back to 1985?
I ask my mom about this on the way back from my cousins funeral.
she said (good lib that she is): "well, NOW we have air conditioning"
and i reminded her, that we had air conditioning in 1985 TOO!
and she said: "well, 1985 wasn't very long ago"
and i told her that it was FORTY years, and she got confused
There ought to be a statue of Willis Carrier on the mall in Washington DC.
Personally, I hate the heat, but I lived in Arizona for decades with our AC, just swamp coolers and I was perfectly comfortable. I know these are ineffective in humid climates, but they would work well in places like Spain and Portugal. I've never noticed them there.
In Ireland mini-split units are not that uncommon these days.
They make portable A/Cs now that are quite powerful, little cabinets on wheels, suitcase-sized, with a flexible duct that you stick out the window for exhaust of warm air. They work pretty well (we have one in our church annex building) and are very affordable, and easily stored in a closet when not needed. If my shop needed it, I would get one. But I insulated my shop when I built, and this mitigates the sun's blast - I can make do with a simple fan.
That's why I remember Pavarotti wearing scarves at Central Park, rehearsing and doing mike tests, before the concert later that night. June 1993.
link to pic of Pavarotti rehearsing
I thought it was like a signature look or something. Maybe there was more to it.
I met an Italian, towel on the ground, who came all the way from Venezuela, where he lived, to see the concert. It was an awesome day.
Ref gym air conditioning: I like to lift warm and run cold. For weights, I worry about the muscles not being warmed up enough and ripping something if the gym is too cold. When running, I am so inefficient that my body temp goes up pretty quickly, so the AC helps when I run on a treadmill. But outside, if it's much colder than 50, my legs don't work that well.
So my solution is layering and de-layering as appropriate. It does create ridiculous tableaux as I make my way to the gym in sweats on a 90-degree day, but oh well.
RR
JSM
Cold air draft can trigger or worsen the painful episodes of trigeminal neuralgia also know as tix douloureux. People who suffer from it learn to sit away from air conditioning units and fans the hard way.
"Air Conditioning! people like it.. But it's Too Cold for ME!"
I found that when I was in Hong Kong in the summer people would travel around with a light jacket because the buildings would have the air conditioning cranked up high enough that you would feel a chill coming in from the heat and the humidity.
That, and it was good having that jacket for the brief after rain showers.
“There's a mistrust of modern inventions and a preference for traditional ways, such as opening windows, fanning, and seeking out the shade. Natural seems better than artificial.
Is there an element of truth in that... truth... or beauty?”
It’s called ignorance.
“Obviously, it's bad for the environment, but what about our health? ”
Obviously, you have a need to feel guilty about something.
When I was kid in Florida, pre-A/C and pre-Salk vaccine, 1954, we were told that being near a fan could give you polio. My cousin in Windsor, Canada had polio in her legs, wore a brace for most of her childhood. Folk tales.
AC is bad for your health, say the Italians. Maybe they should stick to volcanic ash.
John Mosby said of his China trip:
“It was summer, and everyone drank hot tea…also partially from some kind of idea that if you made your body hot, you wouldn't feel as hot.”
Back in the mid-,70’s, I worked on the DM&IR railroad track gang (in northern MN) in the summers of my college years. It was often blistering hot (90+), and we college boys would gulp down ice water and cold drinks to stay cool/hydrated. But the old timers on the gang always drank hot coffee, explaining that if you warmed up your insides in hot weather, your body would work more efficiently to cool you down. I never bought the theory, but those old farts swore by it.
How do the Italians feel about that ice bath thing that Joe Rogan and various other health nut celebs are doing (or say they are--I've seen Rogan do it, but I'm not sure I believe anybody else)?
Another Italian word, malaria, literally bad air. Not bad mosquitoes, not bad stagnant puddles, not bad plasmodia -- bad air.
Go ahead. Use your air conditioners. Crash the carbon-neutral grid. Someone needs to do it before the EU mandates another trillion Euros it doesn't have, might as well be you, Nonno Julio.
@Roadkill711
Here's what Google AI says:
Drinking coffee does not directly cool you down. In fact, it can slightly raise your body temperature due to the caffeine and other stimulants it contains.
However, some studies suggest that drinking hot coffee in hot weather can paradoxically make you feel cooler. This is because the heat from the coffee triggers your body's sweating mechanism, which helps to cool you down. The increased sweating can compensate for the slight increase in body temperature caused by the coffee.
It's important to note that this effect is only temporary and may not be significant for everyone. Additionally, if you're already sweating heavily, drinking hot coffee may not be the best way to cool down. In such cases, it's better to stick to cold drinks or water.
Unfortunately, caffeine is a diuretic, which could contribute to heat stroke.
hot coffee on a hot day, don't think so, then again cold coffee doesn't appeal to me,
This perpetually cold old lady was quite comfortable with the recent upper 90° temps. With the windows open and the pedestal fans on low, I was smug in the knowledge Althouse would be proud. ;-) Then a young relative came over to clean for me, and knowing how miserable he would find it, I turned the central air on full force. Afterwards I raised the temperature to 78°and left it on. I've slept better and longer (important for health) and, to be indelicate, my bowel movements are easier. Dehydration had gone unrecognised. A win for the AC.
Sat in an airplane in FL and they didn’t want to turn on the air for some reason. I asked flight attendant-she blew me off. So I walked up to first class, told a few passengers we were sweating our asses off in the back and asked them if they would ask the flight attendant if the air could be turned on. 2 people asked and just like that the A/C was on!
I thanked those 1st class folks during the flight for their asking.
As I write this it's 102 in Las Vegas, but 80 in my house. That's a 20 degree difference. While I was living in Minnesota it was common to heat the house 60 degrees warmer than outside, and nobody suggested it was "bad for the environment".
I remember a couple of decades ago when 10,000+ old people in nursing homes in Europe died from a heat wave after most of the staff went on their generous vacations.
The further East you go, such as towards Patna, it is both very hot AND very very humid.
In India, the heat in some places (along with the odors it generates) is inescapable...it really is a place that only natives born there become acclimatized to IMO.
Sounds just like Paducah.
- Krumhorn
The second comment in this thread, by Spiros, covers the real subject quite well. AC units are filthy. And if you get ice in a hotel from that unserviced ice machine down the hall whose insides look like a theater floor, good luck and keep close to the toilet.
I read that something like 8x as many people die from the heat in Europe compared to the number of people who die from guns in America.
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