Coolants

My tendency to cut it fine when going for a bus or train, or when simply travelling on foot to the croquet club, has the result that I often arrive hot and feel the need for cooling, especially if the weather is warm.

I recently (in July 2009) hit on the idea of putting a plastic bottle of water in the freezer and then taking it out as a bottle of ice to carry with me on my journey.  This gives me a slowly released supply of cold water throughout the day, to drink on the train or at the croquet lawns or on the hills or wherever I happen to be.  I can also use the bottle to cool my face down if necessary - and this helps with the release of the water from solid to liquid form.

Another thing I sometimes do when I'm hot is throw water over myself - another quick and effective means of getting cool, more so than fanning myself, since water has a much greater heat capacity per unit volume than air.

These ideas are very simple, but I have rarely if ever seen anyone else using them; so I offer them here as a contribution to my readers' comfort in hot weather.

PS [2009 September 1] I realised today that a bottle of ice has a further benefit.  When placed in a warm, humid room, it collects condensation: thus it acts as a dehumidifier.  So, in an office context, it reduces or eliminates the need for air conditioning machinery, as well as the need for an electricity-consuming water cooler.  Whether the running costs saved exceed the extra running costs of the freezer to freeze the water, I don't know, but the saving in capital costs for unnecessary equipment is probably worth having.

PPS [2009 September 4] I posted this idea at the Halfbakery a couple of days ago, and it got voted down as being too widely known (in areas with warmer climates than Scotland's).  I still say that I'd never seen it or heard of it (as far as I can remember) until I came up with it the month before last.

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