A extremely infrequent reader of the bayblab returned from Korea recently and informed me of the dangers of electric fans. According to many professionals, including police, media and doctors, there are many deaths due to electric fans. What is curious is the mechanism of death by fan, aka Fan death. Apparently sleeping with a fan on in a room with no open doors or windows can kill. The death is by suffocation as the fan steals oxygen in the room whilst you sleep, or possibly hypothermia as the fan cools your core body temperature.
Your probably laughing but this is a real belief held by many people in Korea.
Check out the comprehensive FanDeath.net. From the site:
"When I first heard about fan death, I discussed it with my Korean friends and students. I was the foreign skeptic and they were the loyal natives. I was shocked at how powerful their belief was and at the lack of critical thinking about the issue. All you have to do is bring up the issue of fan death with a Korean and it would be difficult to get them to accept the fact that fan death might not be true. Especially when talking to a foreigner, they are more likely to defend their cultural belief than question it. So, unable to have a semi-neutral discussion, I turned to the internet. After checking the internet for more information about fan death, I became greatly frustrated. I could not find any detailed information about fan death. So, I decided to make this site to encourage others to tell their stories and share their knowledge about the issue."
Makes the aquatic ape seem like a really believable hypothesis.
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6 comments:
You've got it all wrong. The real danger of electric fans isn't oxygen deprivation, it's falling into their moving blades! That and having one fall into the tub with you when you're using it in the bathroom.
Beware the whirling menace! I'm holding onto this one until I see a scientific study (with a statistically meaningful sample size) prove otherwise.
Hmmm.. creates a conundrum on the WHMIS safety labeling front. We're told to list the one or two most significant dangers assocated with the item on the safety label. For a fan is it oxygen deprivation, electrocution or puree?? I've concluded that for most of the bottles on my bench I should write "Do not smash bottle over head and then repeatedly stab jagged bits into neck, eyes etc." Just as ridiculous as "Do not drink".
So many hazards...probably best just not to use anything at all...
Go here for an interesting and factual article on fan death.
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