Philco Bantam Window A/C Unit - Imagine the relief.

Most of the U.S. is getting jacked in the face again by the "Polar Vortex 2 - Electric Boogaloo". It's friggin winter all over the place out there. Safe to assume that the weather wants to kill you. You're probably sweltering under many layers of coats, shirts, carpet samples, oven mitts and anything else you could stuff under your parka. Too bad bath mats are not famous for their sweat-wicking properties. Here, have some relief with this 1957 ad for Philco (no relation) window air conditioners.

"WORLD'S FIRST TAKE_HOME AIR CONDITIONER" shouts the ad. Huh? First? According to Popular Mechanics' brief history of air conditioning, window A/C units become affordable to normal humans in The Fifties. And over at Great Achievements.org, this happened as early as 1947. What's the deal with "World's first" claim? Maybe the Philco (still no relation) Bantam was the first one you could lug home and install yourself? See that happy gent, humping his new Bantam up the walk? You know he's hot and sweaty because they loosened his tie for the shoot.

Here are some impressive numbers from the PopMech link. The first home unit of any kind appeared in 1914 in Minneapolis in the mansion of Charles Gates. It was the size of a car. In 1931, the first commercial window unit became available, and cost from $120,000 to $600,00, accounting for inflation. Jeebus!

Doesn't that make you glad you can just stick your head out a window to cool off on a day like this? Didn't think so.

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