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?