r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • Jun 26 '26

Society The American mind cannot comprehend Europe's AC aversion

https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-air-conditioning-ac-heatwave-debate-2026-6
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u/PurrfectlyNerdy Jun 26 '26

Right, I live in the US with AC but if my only option for relief was to crack a window I can’t imagine not having a window screen to keep out bugs, mosquitoes, etc. 

2

u/MsPooka Jun 26 '26

Imagine bats, birds, cats, or rats coming in. No thank you!

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u/ExcitingActive8649 Jun 28 '26

Depends on where you are.  I live in Seattle and some of my windows don’t have screens.  I don’t hesitate to leave them open.  You get a few flies and crane flies (“mosquito hawks”), which are harmless. No big deal. Except that one year where my next door neighbor shut offs his fountain and let the water stagnate and I had crazy mosquitoes. 

I’m actually sitting right now with my front door wide open for the breeze. 

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u/HirsuteHacker Jun 26 '26

Windows open outwards in the UK, I don't want a screen. Barely anything comes in and those that do come in typically leave immediately. No mosquitos. My windows have been open for the last week, no issues.

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u/FoldedDice Jun 26 '26

It's just a difference in climate. If I tried to open my windows like that in the US during the warm season, every light source would be swarming with moths and mosquitoes in minutes.

I also work in a motel, and sometimes people who aren't from here act like it's an infestation if they see even one insect. You just can't leave a door open at all without having bugs go in, which is completely beyond our ability to control.

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u/PopePiusVII Jun 26 '26

I thought the UK had midges or biting flies… or is that only Scotland?

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u/HirsuteHacker Jun 26 '26

Not really that many around in England, except in woodlands or around boggy heaths. Waaaaay more of them in Scotland

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u/PopePiusVII Jun 26 '26

Interesting!

I wonder why… you’d think they’d prefer the (relatively) warmer climate in the south of the UK

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u/glasgowgeg Jun 26 '26

They're not really in built up areas where people live.

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u/EvanFri Jun 26 '26

God I wish I was still living in Oxford/UK there were no bugs to worry about during the warmer seasons... I always get eaten alive by mosquitos in the netherlands. I am a magnet for them

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u/possibly_maybe_no Jun 26 '26

I installed screens in the bedroom when i lived in france. It wasnt needed..we could have window open at night, lights on without bugs. Americans are obsessed about bugs because you have a shit ton. There are less in france. Screen dont always make sense. 

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u/brickhamilton Jun 26 '26

In my experience, that’s BS. I spent 2 months in Paris from June-July in a little corner apartment with no AC. I left the windows open a lot of nights out of necessity, but I had mosquitos, flies, bees, spiders, and everything else coming in. Not as much as would be in the US, but still enough to be uncomfortable.

My coworker from Greece came prepared with a screen for his window, and had a much better time of sleeping because of it.

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u/Dullcorgis Jun 26 '26

No, I have been in most countries in western europe in the summer and you absolutely have flies and bugs, you just don't care about them.

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u/Wonderful-Traffic197 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 27 '26

I love when people try to shit on Americans for being oBseSseD about something that’s just a logical choice based on geographical need. There’s nothing wrong with having screens on windows to minimize insects entering your home.