Bowl of ice and fan?

Take a couple of aspirin. It’ll keep your body temp down.

That might work in a desert environment, OP, but anywhere with any amount of humidity, you'd just be making it worse in the long run.

Here's what works for me when I'm working outside in the heat and finally sit down to take a cooling break:

Fill a bucket with cold water and ice - then sit down and plunge your feet into it. You'll scream a little and yank your feet out after a few seconds, but stick them back in. After two or three plunges, you'll feel much cooler.

Before A/C was common in homes, many did use the fan and ice method. It works reasonably well for the area in front of the fan but it will not cool down the temperature room much.

Take a cold shower.

Aspirin

Second/third the aspirin - and to save on energy, I've kept a face cloth in a bowl of ice/water on my nightstand - put it on the back of your neck, OP. I'm gonna try the 'feet in a bowl of ice water'-thing when it heats up around here, again.

I grew up in a time when the only people who had air conditioning were rich. We had a fan at our front door blowing in, and one at our back door blowing out. My Dad also installed a big fan in the attic.

There was no air conditioning anywhere at my college. It was hot in August and May.

When you never felt air conditioning in the first place, you were just used to living in hot rooms. It was fun to watch the rich guys having to adapt.

The worst thing about it when I was five or six years old, was my bedroom windows were open in the summer nights and I swore there were alligators in the bushes below who were going to come in and eat me. My parents didn't tell me there was nothing to worry about...

I could have never ever lived without AC

Before air conditioning subways trains in NYC had the windows and doors between the cars open with fans blowing and the draft from the train moving is what helped you cool off (somewhat).

Take a cold shower, don't towel off and let the water evaporate off your body while walking naked around your house. Repeat as necessary throughout the day.

Wash a t shirt and wring it out, then put it on. Instant cooling effect and will last until your body heat dries in out - a few hours.

When lying on your back, gently run your fingertips from your belly button up to chest. It oddly cools you down and gives chills.

when lying on your back, gently run your fingertips from your belly button down to the shaft of your cock. It oddly makes you hot.

Redneck A/C: Big wide bowl with a mountain of ice and a fan pointing toward the ice. (Once the ice melts, don't toss the water out. Put it in something, refreeze it and use it again to cool down.)

Soak a sheet in cold water. Wring it out. Wrap yourself in it. Sit in front of the fan. (Couple of DL jokers said you can get pneumonia doing that. Bullshit.)

Run cold water on the inside of your wrists for a few minutes, or ice cubes along pulse points.

[quote]one at our back door blowing out

Man, I could use one of those.

Get another A/C unit.

I like to get an icicle about the size of a big carrot and stick it up my ass.

Has anyone tried the "Seven Year Itch" trick of putting your underwear in the freezer?

Don’t be poor.

When I had a cast iron bathtub, I’d fill it with water and just leave it. Then every so often I’d get in and lay down. The water was always cooler than the air temp for some reason (science!). Now I just take tepid showers.

I had a stomach bug in India and was stuck in my fleabag hotel room for about 48 hours until I recovered. It was June, a very very hot time of the year in North India. There was no AC and only a lazy ceiling fan, but I can second R21s recommendation to take tepid showers. I would take a quick splash under the shower every hour or so, since I was in the desert I evaporated very quickly. It helped a lot. I wore just a lungi, the traditional one piece male garment, during my tenure stuck in the room, that helped a lot too it was very thin cool cotton.

Eat a lot of ice, cooling from the inside out works better.

[quote]Is it true you can place a bowl of ice in front of a table fan and that’s effective for cooling?

If you're a cartoon character.

OP, you’re describing a version of a swamp cooler. It should help a little, but you’ll need to combine it with some of the other suggestions.

One time I put a few ice cubes up my asshole.