While the perception of the image of a typical Briton varies greatly from one country to another, e.g. most Americans would describe the typical British as a dandy with good manners, while on the contrary, most Europeans will come up with an image of a uncontrollably partying football hooligan, there is one thing about Britain everyone in the world will agree on – the bad weather! Most expats living in the UK will describe the typical British weather as consisting of only two seasons – spring and autumn. But this year the weather is on its way to prove the stereotype wrong.
With UK seeing the hottest July day on record since 2006, with temperatures hitting nearly 37 degrees Celsius – heat and humidity were followed by dramatic storms. And while media is warning out about the dangers of the heat waves and many are looking for the refreshing comfort of modern air conditioners, we will present one of the more traditional ways to cool off – a ventilator.
Though the name seems like a recent invention of the industrial revolution, its origin dates back to the Latin language, coming from ventilātor (a winnower – a separator which functions by means of air).
The use of ventilators and ventilatory assistance can be traced back to biblical times. However, mechanical ventilators which use negative-pressure ventilation mechanisms, first appears in the late 1700s. The first time the British readers were introduced to the term was back in 1741, when Stephan Hales published his Description of Ventilators and their potential for useful implementation in mines, hospitals, factories, ships, along with grain and food drying.
Apparently, the first ventilators served mainly production and industrial functions and were often driven by wind and water-power. As the next written reference confirms: The Scots magazine, 1753: “Ventilators, worked by a windmill, having been fixed.”
Ventilator production
Ventilators found their way in garment production as well. In 1875, Edward Knight in his The practical dictionary of mechanics described the role of ventilators in hats’ and boots’ sewing: “The ventilator for hats consists of a hole in the crown, and a head-band supported at a certain distance from the sweat-lining…..The ventilator for boots consists of a double upper with holes.”
In the early 20th century, the medical negative-pressure models were widely used during the polio epidemics and in various versions of what was eventually called the iron lung.
Positive-pressure ventilators started to become available around 1900 and the typical intensive care unit (ICU) ventilators which we use nowadays were not developed until the 1940s.
The ventilator is still a term which is mainly associated with its medical and industrial implementation, while we call our portable home devices – fans. Many might think the term fan is a modern abbreviation, but actually it dates back to the 9th C. But more on that another time, for now – regardless of the name we use, the rotating blades which ventilate the air, are there to help us fight the record summer heat waves.
