Fan death: the silent killer

[sigma7]

Okay, I didn't think I hallucinated this, but upon rediscovering it, I can understand why people might think I did....

Fan death is an urban legend that originated in South Korea, but has since spread to other countries in the Far East. The belief is that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can result in the death (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia) of those inside. This belief also extends to air conditioners and the fans in cars. When the air conditioner or fan is on in a car, some people are apt to leave their car windows open a crack to avoid "fan death." Fans manufactured and sold in Korea are equipped with a timer switch that turns them off after a set number of minutes, which users are frequently urged to set when going to sleep with a fan on.

Comments

[aardy.livejournal.com]

Well, y'know, maybe if it's a gasoline-powered fan (needs more power!! Hunh hunh hunh hunh hunh) that exhausts into the room, it might eventually build up enough carbon monoxide to do some harm, but...

I think this is just yet another example of the adage, "Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups."

[missmiah.livejournal.com]

WTF?

Are they serious?

The fan in my bedroom has been running constantly since the day we received it (lovely tower fan thingy, house warming gift from my parents, been running now for close to four years nearly non-stop, I would suggest one for everyone who likes to sleep with a fan in the room, for reals) and we close the door every night to keep the menagerie from tromping all over the bed while we're trying to sleep. Yet, I still live.

People are weird.