What did we do before air conditioning?

I often hear the story of how older folks walked 5 miles in the snow to get to school but I rarely if ever hear about what folks did before air conditioning to beat the heat. In the winter time we can put layers and more layers on to try and stay warm. We could even try to build a fire outside or use wood in fireplace to warm a house. This has probably been since beginning of time.

But I wonder what did people do before air conditioning? This can't be the first time heat was 119 degrees with the heat index. Anyone know what people did before air conditioning? My first thought was if I didn't have air, I might try to go underground, to like a basement. But eventually I have to come up out of there and what did people do who lived on 2nd floor apartment? It must have been unbearable and I can't even imagine being in close living situations like a row home or and apartment.

So who can share with us, what did you do before air conditioning?