Old fashioned "air conditioning" -- Does this work?

[Curmudgeoness]

10. I assume that your end result is to keep cool

without a/c. Your suggestion of using ice (I would even just use ice cubes in a shallow bowl) sounds like it might work and I might try that----just experiment with it, you will know soon enough if it works. Why listen to us???

I do have one thing that I do whenever the heat gets too high and unbearable. I have a piece of fabric (from an old percale sheet), and I wet it, then put it around my neck. The material that I use seems to matter---towels do not work, t-shirt material does not work, but sheet material does. As soon as it gets warm, I take it an flip it in the air (just needs one flip) and it is instantly cold. I will wipe down my arms, legs, face, feet, whatever, and keep flipping it to cool it. It really works for me. In fact, I am using my fabric right now.

And a window fan turned on AFTER the sun goes down will really cool a room off. That is how I am able to sleep. The night air really is cool. I used this even in Houston in the worst of the summer when the a/c went out for a week and I was fine---at night.