Ceiling fan be used to reduce the stratification of warm air in a room by forcing it down to affect both occupants' sensations and thermostat readings, thereby improving climate control energy efficiency. Punkah-type ceiling fans date back to 500 BC, and are native to India. Unlike modern rotary fans, these punkah fans move air by moving to and fro, and were operated manually by cord. The first rotary ceiling fans appeared in the early 1860s and 1870s in the United States. At that time, they were not powered by any form of electric motor. Instead, a stream of running water was used,
Scarlet (cloth) Scarlet (cloth) Scarlet was a type of fine and expensive woollen cloth common in Medieval Europe. In the assessment of John Munro, 'the medieval "scarlet" was therefore a very high-priced, luxury, woollen broadcloth, invariably woven from the finest English wools, and always dyed with kermes, even if mixed with woad, and other dyestuffs. There is no evidence for the use of the term "scarlet" for any other textile, even though other textiles, especially silks, were also dyed with kermes.' The origins of the word "scarlet" have been debated quite extensively and are crucial to understanding what scarlet actually was in