Thought you were the first and only Brooklynite to sweat so much you nearly transform into a salty pool on the asphalt below? Well, the dog days of summer have plagued our crowded city streets for decades and resouceful Brooklynites have had to turn to a number of different activities for respite, particularly when coasting from AC office to AC train to AC apartment just wasn't an option. We mined the Brooklyn Collection Historic Photographs to get some ideas as to how Brooklyn-dwellers of the past managed to cope with the long sweaty days of August.
You could try to:
Find a furry friend (animal or otherwise) and an ice cold beverage.
Rest in a patch of shade when the basketball court blacktop gets to be too much.
Tie your hair up in a couple of neat braids and set off fishing in Prospect Park with your friends.
Ditch the depressing news cycle and create an alternate reality to distract yourself from the sweats made worse by the horror of current events.
Find some hot food to match the hot weather. What's outside should be inside right?
Get a fresh haircut with your whole crew. Reflecting on the flat top, it's probably the most effiecient head cooling solution: nothing on the shoulders or sides, just a little bit on top to protect your head from a sun burn. Genius August-weather advice from the 80's to you.
Grab a chair, throw it in the sea, and catch up on your dailies. Before you jump in though, you might want to make sure your nails are tip top and your hair is looking right. You never know who you might run into.
Hop on your bike, grab a couple of friends, and head to the beach to test out the latest technology in an attempt to distract yourself from the sun beating down overhead.
Find an indoor swimming pool to ditch the UV rays altogether. Practice that diving technique.
I mean. Classic.
Like a true New Yorker, wear all black, even at the beach. Nothing says cooling off like a long-sleeved black bathing suit!
That seems like a pretty good batch of suggestions from Brooklyn residents through the ages. Perhaps if we follow their lead, we'll make it through the rest of this sticky month in the city.
Good luck staying cool!
This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.
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