Short pants: The long and the short of it
The summer of 1936 saw a heat wave so dangerous at least five thousand people died. It also saw the popularization of a cooler fashion alternative – shorts – which, in some jurisdictions, were illegal.
August 16, 2026 / 9:57 AM EDT / CBS News
The summer of 1936 wasn't just hot; it was dangerously hot. At least 5,000 people ended up dying from heat-related causes. "New York City, Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio, Lexington, Kentucky, Minneapolis – I mean, cities were hammered," said Geoff Williams, the author of "The Summer of Death," about that great heat wave. "For weeks, some cities were 100° or over. There were records that were hit, and still have not been broken."
Since air conditioning wasn't in most homes, many people resorted to sleeping in movie theaters, or even outdoors. "All day, you're suffering, and then you can't sleep," Williams said. "And this would go on day after day after day."
This was the kind of heat that changed the way people lived – and during an otherwise buttoned-up time in America, it changed the way they dressed .
Grownups wearing short pants in the summer. No big deal, right? But in some places around the country, you were flirting with the law. In Yonkers, New York, where Mike Spano is currently mayor, wearing shorts wasn't once just taboo; it was illegal.
The summer before the heat wave, in 1935, Yonkers Alderman William Slater led the city council to ban, among other things, halter tops and shorts from the city streets. Violaters could face a $150 fine and 30 days behind bars.