AC saves us down here, Deb. I grew up in the deep south with windows open and an attic fan going. I don't know how I survived those years. There was no such thing as AC back then, at least not in homes. I remember our first window unit in the den. It could only sort of cool that single, smallish room. We thought we were in heaven!
That was in the mid-50's. Believe it or not, according to statistics I have seen, only 10% of American homes had even a window unit in 1965.