If you see someone outdoors with what looks like a bulky set of headphones around their neck, take a moment and consider the weather. If it’s a sweltering summer day, it might actually be a neck fan. Writing in The Atlantic last year, Saahil Desai described basic design of these devices as “if Beats headphones had a baby with a travel pillow.”
Despite the often cumbersome design, they’re rapidly gaining popularity. Wirecutter’s Thom Dunn provided a good explanation for why this technology has become so widespread. “Right now, there’s a good chance you’re living through the hottest summer of your life,” Dunn wrote. “It’s so hot, in fact, you’re considering the benefits of a neck fan.”
That begs the question: are there real benefits? Do neck fans actually help keep you cool? NPR’s Bill Chappell recently sought an answer to this question. From what experts told him, the answer is….kind of. The University of Roehampton’s Chris Tyler pointed out that the most effective way to beat the heat involves letting sweat evaporate. “The best way to cool down would be basically to take all your clothes off, expose the entire body to the air and let all of the sweat evaporate,” Tyler told NPR, with the caveat that this might get you arrested.
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AI isn’t only turning our brains to mush, it’s sucking our country dry in the processInstead of actually lowering your temperature, neck fans may simply make you feel cooler and more comfortable — something Chappell described in his own interaction with the devices. Finding a balance between feeling cooler and actually cooling oneself down can be a challenge; in a recent Washington Post article, Dr. Trisha Pasricha pointed out the limits of larger fans when it comes to combatting heat exhaustion.
As the world gets hotter, one suspects we’ll be having these conversations more and more.
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