When I was a kid, we would soak & wring out A bandana( large handkerchef )& tie it around our neck.It cools the blood as it passes thru that part of your body. When it drys out, repeat the process. If you have to work away from a water source, take a large container with you. It still works.....Larry A

grab an old t-shirt, soak it with cold water, and wear it to bed. It's a bit of a shock at first but it cools you down. Place a thick towel on your couch or bed to lay on so you won't get it wet. Then put an ice pack on your forehead or frozen peas, etc. Use one or two fans during the day in your window facing outward to draw out hot air if you live in a two story apartment. Make sure your window is closed around them to make them efficient. At night when it cools off, use one in one window facing outward and one in one window facing inward to create a good circulation of cooler air.

Do a load of laundry and hang up clothes around the house. It wetness actually cools the air down, they dry fast, and you save energy.

My parents used to put a sprinkler on top of house, do you really think that will help cool off the house?

A sprinkler on top of the house should work to cool the attic durring the heat of the day. This will give your home a headstart for cooling down durring the night.
When the sun beats down on the house all day, it gradually heats up the roof, the walls, and soon the entire structure of the house heats up like an oven. The result is a house that stays warm throughout the night. A sprinkler will cool the hottest part of the house itself-- the roof. It's no air conditioner, but may cool the house an extra 2-3 degrees.

If you don't have an A/C unit...
FIVE ways to cool down in your Home
or apt.

1) Take a very warm to hot: Shower
for 20 minutes (as often as
necessary). After showering, don't
towel off... put on a light cotton
robe or long cotton T-shirt...

2) Put Gel-Packs in the Freezer and
when it's nearly frozen wrap it in a
face towel or wash cloth (depending
on the Gel-Pac size) and put it on
the back of your neck...

3) Drink warm tea / coffee / water
as cold drinks are hard on your
heart...

4) Avoid drinking Alcoholic
Beverages as alcohol raises your
body temperature...

5) Drape a Wet, Cold Face towel over
the Back of your Box Fan (Not on an
oscillating fan) keep towel moist
throughout the day by dripping water
on it or by constantly emersing the
bottom of the towel in a long,
narrow tray of water (the towel will
act like a candle wick and suck up
the water from the tray)...

Your local science teacher here to say a few things.

It turns out that evaporation of a liquid is always endothermic (it absorbs energy from the environment around it causing the area around it to cool off). This is why we sweat, the moisture evaporating off your skin cools it off! So any way you can cause some water to evaporate it will cool the air, or you skin, or even the roof of your house.

Next... Heat always rises so the closer you can be to the bottom of your house the better. Basements are great especially because they tend to be damp and buried in cool earth.

The smaller the space you are trying to cool the better. I have a tiny air conditioner in my house and find that if I curtain off one small room and run it I end up with a small cave of cool air, but a larger space won't cool down. I simply have hung a damp sheet between the room with the AC and the next room. And it's a flannel sheet doubled up because it makes a better insulator the heavier it is.

And my cats are still hanging out on the hot side of the house in the sunny patch. They might just be insane (or, actually, they don't feel heat the same way humans do). They are drinking more water than normal.

Keep a spray bottle handy and spray yourself frequently, then stand in front of the fan. I also spray my pets (for as long as they will put up with it) to try and cool them down a bit.

rap your self in a cold wet towal