Cool Roots
Who is considered the “father of air conditioning,” inventing the modern AC in 1902?
Willis Carrier
Which Disney movie features a hockey team called the Ducks?
The Mighty Ducks
In Home Alone, what scary furnace scares Kevin in the basement?
The old coal furnace (with a “monster” sound effect)
What sport’s indoor arenas require massive air circulation to keep the court dry and safe?
Basketball
What unit of measurement is most commonly used to rate how much cooling an air conditioner provides?
BTUs (British Thermal Units)
In what decade did household air conditioning become more common in the U.S.?
1950s
What 1977 movie starring Paul Newman is a cult-classic hockey comedy?
Slap Shot
In Ghostbusters, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man attack causes chaos — but what HVAC system did the Ghostbusters rely on in their firehouse headquarters?
A boiler heating system
Which 2022 World Cup country built air-conditioned outdoor soccer stadiums?
Qatar
What law of physics explains why refrigerant absorbs and releases heat during phase change?
Latent heat
What invention in the 1800s used ice and fans to cool air in theaters?
Ice-based air cooling systems
In the 1992 Olympics, who won the first Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating for the U.S.?
Kristi Yamaguchi
Which action movie hero crawls through ductwork to escape bad guys in Die Hard?
John McClane (Bruce Willis)
In swimming pools, what system is critical to prevent excess humidity and mold?
Dehumidification system
What’s the typical residential voltage for HVAC equipment in the U.S.?
240 volts
Name a once widely used refrigerant, that has since been phased out due to ozone depletion?(Hint: also Tom Bradys #)
R-12 (Freon)
In what country did hockey officially begin in the late 1800s?
Canada
In Friends, Chandler and Joey’s apartment often shows what type of HVAC unit in the window?
A window air conditioner
What indoor sport requires climate control to keep wooden courts from warping?
Volleyball
What part of an air conditioner absorbs heat from inside the building?
The evaporator coil
What does ASHRAE stand for?
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers
What hockey legend is nicknamed “The Great One”?
Wayne Gretzky
In Toy Story 2, Buzz Lightyear and the gang sneak into Al’s Toy Barn by hiding inside what HVAC component?
An air vent
NFL domed stadiums often use HVAC to manage what common problem caused by large crowds?
Heat and CO₂ buildup
What safety switch prevents an air conditioner from running when refrigerant pressure is too high or too low?
Pressure switch