Sure we're celebrating lots of cool dads on this Web site, but there's only one, original "Father of Cool" -- Willis Carrier. He is a surprisingly "unsung" hero who deserves to join the ranks of legendary inventors like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Henry Ford.
One hundred years ago this summer, July 17, 1902, Willis Carrier designed the first modern air conditioning system. A constant problem solver, Carrier created the system specifically for a frustrated Brooklyn, N.Y. printer who couldn't produce a decent color image because changes in heat and humidity kept altering the paper's dimensions and misaligning the colored inks.
Willis Carrier's invention changed the world. Just think of all the industries that today depend on air conditioning! If air conditioning were never invented, we would not get to enjoy cool movie theaters on a hot summer day. Domed stadiums would never be able to comfortably hold big crowds. And candy would melt on the factory floor!
