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Concept
Ice famine
Summary
An ice famine was a scarcity of commercial ice, usually during the hot summer months, common before the widespread use of the refrigerator. It often resulted in the widespread spoilage of food and medicines, and in some instances in death from heat stroke.
In 1918 ammonia was diverted to manufacturing munitions which led to a shortage of commercial ice. Harvesting of natural ice and storage for summer was increased.
1911 Eastern North America heat wave.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, ice was at a very high demand in America. A man named Frederic Tudor, dubbed the Ice King, brought forth a whole industry for ice. Ice was a necessity for many businesses who sold food and homes who hoped to preserve their food because the refrigerator and freezer were not yet invented. The people’s only choices were commercial and residential ice boxes that needed to be replenished every time there was a drop in temperature. Tudor saw the importance and the possibly high demand for ice which he immediately capitalized on. He started his work in Massachusetts and expanded his market over time. Once his ice had chilled the drinks and preserved the food of many Americans, it quickly became a highly desired commodity, and this commodity was supplied by ice harvesting which was done on frozen over fields and bodies of water as well as ice factories. The former provided most of the ice for the industry while the latter produced a significantly lesser amount.
The ice market boomed and ice was being transported from anywhere possible to many cities in the United States. New York City and Chicago were major consumers of American ice because there were higher densities of people and businesses that heavily relied on ice. But many problems arose from the relatively new industry that did not have the best technology to ensure a sufficient supply and that wasted much of the ice during the transportation process. Since the demand for ice was so high in nearly all of the United States, any delay or shortage in supply threatened the people with an ice famine.
Official source
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