What methods have people used over hundreds of years to protect themselves from the cold

People have always been very creative when it came to their own survival. For example, underfloor heating was invented more than 7,000 years ago, and today Swedes are already able to use internet technologies to stay warm on the coldest of days.

We, from awesome.club, we decided to find out what tricks and methods different peoples have used over the centuries to fight the harsh winter cold — and how effective they really are. Follow!

In China, many homes do not have central heating. People with better living conditions usually install heaters and heated pipes under the floor. Those from past generations, or those who don’t have a lot of money, use an ancient method to protect themselves from the cold, known as dressing in layers: a few coats and layers of clothing must be put on at once. Sometimes the cold was so intense that it was necessary to get dressed when you get home, not the other way around.

There are also other more traditional ways:

Houses are built with windows and doors facing south. That is, the house is designed in such a way that the sun does not hit the windows directly, but still warms the environment. In rural houses, even today, it is possible to find a brick platform heated by fire — called “ kan” — which must be at least 2 m long. Sometimes it even covers the entire floor. For the Chinese, the “kan” is more than just an oven: in the old days, it could be used as a table, a bed, a chair. Wedding ceremonies and other local rites were performed on “kan” mats. Therefore, we can say that the Chinese have been making heated floors for the winter for 7 thousand years.

A woman sewing on top of a “kan”

In Japan, central heating is still not very widespread, and the walls of houses are often as thin as paper. Thermal insulation, therefore, is not very effective in protecting against the cold: the wind can pass through the window, through the doors and even through the floor. What happens is that many houses were built to be “disposable”, that is, they were not designed to last very long: their useful life is about 30 years, after which they are destroyed and rebuilt. As a result, living in such places can be quite cold, even in mild winters. Despite this, the astute Japanese created some solutions to work around the problem:

To keep warm at night, the Japanese can use yutanpo. This is basically a bottle or bag filled with hot water. Such bags are usually made of plastic, aluminum or, less often, rubber. But there are many negative points: they only heat parts of the body, and if you don’t close the container well, or if you put in too hot water, you can wake up with burns. Japanese creatives use the kairo — a small heated bag, like a bag with gel in it. If the bag is shaken or crushed in the hands, it releases heat. Such heated bags can be placed in shoes or even pockets; and some people even incorporate them under the lining of their clothes. And, of course, the Japanese can also keep warm with the help of their favorite table called a kotatsu—essentially, a blanket is used to cover a table and keep it warm. On colder nights, it becomes the focal point of the house, where the whole family gathers to chat, watch TV or play games.

This “wood oven” to warm the feet was just a wooden box, inside which a pottery (or metal) vessel or pot with embers was placed. On the surface of the box there should be holes, through which hot air would pass. Afterwards, the wooden box was covered with a huge blanket or piece of fabric so that people could support their feet to keep warm. In the nineteenth century, in the United States, people took these “little tables” often for long church services, so as not to get cold from sitting for a long time.

Low-income people, who traveled in wagons or sleighs, kept warm in their own way: they carried heated bricks with them, and they could also use irons or even boiled potatoes to keep warm.

Israel is a hot country, so most homes built there are equipped for the summer. As a result, in the short periods of winter, when it was quite cold, the icy ground, the cold cement walls and drafts took away all the heat that built up in a room🇧🇷 However, in addition to central heating and air conditioners with a heating function, locals have found some simple ways to combat the cold:

They install wood, gas or electric fireplaces. In addition, they use underfloor heating systems. They drink a lot of tea and don’t walk around the house without warm woolen socks or without the characteristic plaid slippers. They enjoy hot hominy dishes with vegetables and couscous.

Finns have been basking in saunas since ancient times. Saunas were not just places to wash and clean: in winter, they functioned as shelters. In the old days, there was just a hole in the ground without any windows, inside which a wood fire was lit. After 6-8 hours of heating, the smoke was released and people could come in and enjoy the heat.

Modern houses in Finland have a good thermal insulation system and often three (up to four and five) layers of glazing on the windows. Many houses already have central heating, but 70% of new homes are small houses that use certain heat pumps, capable of converting energy from other external sources (water, air). Such bombs are not large in size and do not require fuel.

Seeing fireplaces in movies might evoke feelings of coziness, but in reality, their usefulness was low: after all, most of the heat escapes through the chimney. Even if the fire were left burning all day in the house, the temperature in the room would hardly rise above zero, and food could simply freeze. Thus, even in large houses, generally, only one room was heated, where the whole family gathered. In order not to be too cold while they slept, the English and Americans resorted to some creative methods:

People went to bed in woolen caps and clothes, over which they still wore sorts of shirts to sleep. It was also necessary to wear several blankets on top. The bed was heated with brass heaters, which looked like large pots filled with hot embers; and these pans were then placed between linen sheets. Later these pans were replaced by rubber heaters filled with hot water. At the beginning of the 20th century, they were replaced by electric blankets. However, until the beginning of the 21st century, it was not very safe to sleep under such blankets: they could cause fires, since they did not switch off by themselves in case of overheating.

Much of Sweden has switched to eco-friendly thermal control systems in homes. There, the geothermal heating system is responsible for keeping many homes warm, taking advantage of the natural heat of the earth. Although installing geothermal heating is quite expensive, within 8 years the money spent pays off. Other ways to warm up that are also quite interesting are:

Many Swedes install solar panels and thus absorb thermal energy for free for a lifetime. All the photos and texts we post on Instagram and Facebook are stored on large server warehouses. One of them, which is located in Stockholm, provides a great benefit to locals: all the heat generated by such servers is used to heat the homes of city dwellers. There was also an initiative to transform the heat generated by train passengers to heat the nearest local offices. Excess heat would be diverted through the ventilation system and heat the water pipes, which in turn would heat the offices.

How do you keep warm on the coldest of days? Do you have a favorite drink or food that you reserve for the cold nights? Comment!