People did that in movies? I thought I invented it during a summer in Boston when my apartment rental had no aircon. The only relief from the 110F temps was going up to the roof of the apartment block during the nightly thunderstorms (which some of the neighbours did in swimming trunks). Even the department stores were sold out of electric fans -- I had to pathetically wave a two-inch toy one at myself. Speaking of movies, after all my pure Irish wool suits disintegrated from sweat, I looked like a bedraggled character from Ice Cold in Alex.