Tag: heat
How Folks Kept Cool in Old Arizona
People often ask, “How did you survive the hot summers in the Valley before air conditioning?” Best answer I can think of is we didn’t know what we were missing. Here are some ways people coped with our heat in the good ole' days.How Much Water Does My Swimming Pool Lose Through Evaporation?
Q: How much water do I lose from my swimming pool through evaporation? A: This is a question that comes in a lot, evaporation from swimming pools or from Tempe Town Lake. It seems to be preying on the minds of many of you. I actually found an equation for this...Do Misters Play a Role in Humidity?
Q: My mother wants to know whether the widespread use of misting systems has any effect on humidity levels? A: I also have at hand a letter from a guy whose mother told him that if you eat something that’s been kept cold in a refrigerator in a metal container you will die. I like your ...To Run the AC, or Not to Run the AC?
Q: My friend turns his air-conditioning off when he goes to work, goes on vacation or plans on being out of the house for more than a few hours. It gets up to 100 degrees in his house. Is he really saving money on his electric bill? A: Coincidentally, as this is written, the air-conditioning is ...Eat Spicy Foods to Cool Off?
Q: My husband insists that eating hot, spicy food during hot weather actually helps you cool off. He is wrong about so many things. Please tell him he is wrong about this. I think he’s going to give himself a stroke.Old Arizona’s Dick Wick Hall Puts Salome on the Map, Humors Travelers
Some of the West's most colorful characters ended up in Arizona sooner or later. For some, it was the lure of the boom town bonanzas. Others found it a refuge from the restrictions of more established societies in the East. For DeForest Hall, it was the wide open spaces and the weather. He liked the ...What Causes “Pool of Water” Reflections on the Road?
Q: On a cross-country trip, my husband and I started wondering about those “pool of water” reflections on the road ahead. What causes that? A: These travelers have seen, as we all have, a very common mirage. There are two kinds of mirages: inferior and superior. Inferior means the object is displaced downward. Superior is the ...Why is Tucson a Few Degrees Cooler than Phoenix?
Q: If Tucson and Phoenix are both in the desert, why is it always just a little bit cooler in Tucson than it is in the Valley? A: Tucson is usually a little bit cooler than Phoenix because it is a little bit higher up. You may not actually have a sense of ascending when you ...Why Do People Paint Citrus Tree Trunks White?
Q: Why do people paint the trunks of their citrus trees white? A: HA! At last, a question we actually knew the answer to without having to look it up or ask somebody. It’s to protect them from the sun. We are soooooo smart. To celebrate, we asked an actual newcomer in the office if she knew why ...Do Your Feet Get Bigger When You Move to the Desert?
Here at Valley 101 headquarters, white-coated lab technicians have been working round-the-clock to answer one of the greatest questions ever to cross the Valley 101 transom: Do your feet get bigger when you move to the desert? You know, we spent hours flipping pancakes, doing day labor, weeding soybeans to get through college, followed by years of ...
