Inasmuch as wall units were invented in 1945, I am older than air conditioning as we first knew it. 

We got our first wall unit in the 50s. Prior to then, on hot summer days we took midday cold showers, ran through the lawn sprinkler, sat in a kiddie pool, rode our bikes as fast as we could while still wet, went to the beach (without suntan lotion – sunscreen wasn't even invented), read a book under a shady tree, opened the freezer, went down into the basement, drank lots of cold water from the garden hose, used cold compresses and towels, sat by open windows or a fan searching for a breeze, slept outside on the porch on hot nights and filled up with ice pops, ice cream, lemonade or water melon.

Today, despite the threat of power failure, my office is so cold that we need to wear a sweater on these Steaming Summer days while doing all we can do to stay indoors in this age of global warming.

It almost makes me want to return to those "cool" days of yesteryear!