Thursday, May 1, 2014

The Fan Of Death...!

It always amazes me how a simple bit of misinformation or an outright lie can cause a true panic in a large number of folks.

Many stories like the following one from Listverse could be stopped in it's tracks if people would have used a little common sense!

Fan Death

Fan death is a South Korean urban legend (also found in Japan) which states that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can cause the death of those inside (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia). 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. This is so widely believed that the press report it as fact: “The heat wave which has encompassed Korea for about a week, has generated various heat-related accidents and deaths. At least 10 people died from the effects of electric fans which can remove oxygen from the air and lower body temperatures” [Korea Herald, July 28, 1997]

This article is licensed under the GFDL because it contains quotations from Wikipedia.

Just imagine! If a rumor like that was to ever be believed here in the southern states with Summer coming on, the deaths would probably be a lot higher than in Korea or Japan! I say that because of how many folks tend to take anything the media says as gospel, know what I mean? Sad but true!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. Want me to bring out a fan?

7 comments:

Chickenmom said...

Guess they have the same problems with the press as we do! Since you're bringing out the fan to keep us cool, I'll bring butter pecan ice cream for all!

Gorges Smythe said...

Yeah, I'd have been dead years ago if that was true. Of course, I HAVE had some folks ask if my brain ever suffered an oxygen deficiency!

linda m said...

I can't believe how some people can "fall" for that kind of stuff. My hubby and I must surely be dead by now as we sleep every night with a fan on in our bedroom. Hubby would most certainly die from the heat long before the fan would kill him. Coffee and ice cream on the patio this morning - doesn't get any better than that. Guess what - it is raining here!

texasann said...

Bubba -
We've had attic fans, stand fans, box fans as long as I can remember, going 24/7. And Houston without ceiling fans? No thanks! Been there, done that. But remember when we were kids and slept with no a/c and the windows open next to the bed? Or out on Grandma's sleeping porch in G-Town? Lived through it, didn't we? Let's see if we get thru next week.....Big Hugs -

Sixbears said...

41 and rain here today. No need of a fan, so guess I don't have to worry about that threat today.

Dizzy-Dick said...

You don't want to believe everything the media or news tells you. I was a witness to an accident that both the TV and the news papers got all wrong. I guess they have to spice things up to sell to the general public.

HermitJim said...

Hey Phyllis...
I do like Ice Cream! Don't worry about my fans...they all have safety ratings on them!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Gorges...
Yeah, I get the same question from time to time!

Thanks for stopping by today!



Hey Linda M...
Just won't leave you alone, will it? Lots of folks getting way too much of the wet stuff!

Thanks for dropping by today!



Hey Sis...
I still kinda miss the ol' attic fan!

I dread next week a little. I can sure use the break, though.

Thanks for coming by today!



Hey Sixbears...
Doesn't sound like you'll need one!

Thanks for dropping by today!



Hey Dizzy...
Like the old saying goes...believe nothing that you hear, and only half of what you see!

Guess the truth sometimes just gets in their way!

Thanks for coming over this morning!