This summer, I'm bringing back the tiny fans of my youth
For anyone who grew up attending a school that, come the first day above 65 degrees, became a steaming sauna of pre-teen sweat, dragging oneself from one overheated classroom to another was a terrible fact of life.
And though I don't know how things went down at your school, I can tell you that at my school, the ultimate warm-weather status item was a handheld misting fan.
In hindsight, handheld misting fans are semi-disgusting. Essentially, it's a plastic spray bottle with fan-blades surrounding the nozzle. On particularly sweltering bus rides to school, we'd pull out our never-cleaned spray bottles and mist one another with stale tap water.
One the one hand: this is a little gross. On the other hand: this was spa-level refreshing to 11-year-old me.
The more hygienic (but less effective) option was a tiny battery-powered fan featuring teeny, tiny blades that looked very cool, even as they failed to keep us actually cool. Jennifer Love Hewitt carried one down the red carpet at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards!
Now, as a regular rider of the New York City subway system, I find myself missing my disgusting misting fan while staring down a packed platform at rush hour.
So, for the first time since grade school, I've gone on an online hunt for the adult version of my beloved childhood gadgets. Such innovation!
A few examples: This cute hand-held option that fits in your pocket and doesn't threaten long hair the way my old one used to.
A small misting fan that cuts out the spray bottle element, and opts instead for a continuous spray mode.
Or, for those without the fear of tangling delicate strands of hair in spinning blades, there's this cute fan that plugs in via your iPhone.
Could any of these items ever be considered cool? No, not likely.
Would I look cool using one of these products while surrounded by commuters on a humid subway platform? Also not likely!
But would those commuters quietly envy my hot weather preparation and private stream of air? Yes, no question.
