#Fan August 7

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August 2026 several of us are going to take on the 30-Day Plugged in Coach4aday Challenge. Each day, we will feature an item from home or office that requires being plugged into a source of electricity to operate. We will reflect on how it makes life easier. For Day 7 it is the FAN.

Moving air across our skin increases evaporation, which helps cool our bodies. The concept of using a fan to create that cooling effect dates back thousands of years. As early as 4000 BC, the Egyptians used servants to wave palm leaves and create a refreshing breeze, and around AD 180, the Chinese developed a human-powered rotary fan.

Day 7-Fan

In 1882 thanks to Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla bringing electricity to the world the first electric fan was invented. Growing up in a house without air conditioning, a window fan was a life saver in the summers during the 1960’s.

Schuyler Skaats Wheeler made a fan turn without human or horsepower. The first electric fan consisted of just two blades without a protective cage.

Early makers of fans like Edison, Emerson, and C&C Electric, or scarce battery-operated and iron-clad motor designs, fetch a high premium to collectors.

Here is a YouTube video of a collector of fans-with a penchant for box fans.