Fans move air around. They create an artificial breeze, which is generally more comfortable than a hot room without a breeze.
Me too! They turn up on Ebay but they are very expensive. I'm afraid that I'll have to settle for one of these.
Fans are bound to do some good or people woulds't use, them. For years we had a window fan. Maybe that's the same thing as a box fan. We also have ceiling fans, a portible fan the living room and in my office and a tower fan in our bedroom. It was a 109 degrees here the other day. Our thermostat is set at 76, so the A/C comes on if it gets warmer than that. Inside I'm usually cool or cold and often put on a light jacket. When its not too hot fans work pretty well. If it's hot and humid, well they move air around and an A/C feels good.
Fans encourage skin evaporation, which is a cooling process. They induce a small "chill factor". All four of our bedrooms and our kitchen dining nook have multi-speed ceiling fans, but I like the portable ones too; they are 16" variable-speed and oscillating units. I have one in the master bedroom that I use instead of the ceiling fan because I can aim it right at me! My wife doesn't like fans, but that's OK...she sleeps in the guest bedroom! Hal