Electric Fan
Schuyler S Wheeler was an innovative 19th century scientist, known for over a thousand inventions in the field of practical uses of electricity. One of them was the electric fan.
Till Wheeler's time people used hand-held fans, which were, of course, tiring to use during the extended summer days. In 1882, one day Wheeler was waiting for a ferry on the Hudson river. While standing on the dock, he noticed another ferry moving on the waters. He noted that the propeller fan of the ferry made expanding waves of water. Wheeler reasoned that same mechanism can also be used for creating expanding waves of cool air.
By 1886, Wheeler had perfected what he called the "buzz fan". The wide usage of electric fans, however, had to wait for another few years till electric motors started getting mass produced.
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