FanDeath: The End Is Next To Your Face

                One of the most interesting things I’ve ever heard in my life has happened here in Korea and it is that you can die because of a fan in your room.  Yes, you read that right Koreans believe that you will die if you leave a rotating fan on overnight.  No it’s not because the fan will transform into an evil Decepticon and stab you but there are several theories on how a fan will kill you. 
              The first one is if a fan stays on too long it will chop up the oxygen molecules in the air and you will die from carbon monoxide poisoning.  No, Koreans are not selling fans that have laser-sharp fan blades that can rotate near the speed of light but every single fan in the country cannot be sold unless it’s on a timer.  This is taking an urban legend to new heights when capitalism is affected by it. 

Be afraid be very afraid.

            The second theory is that if you fall asleep the fan will severely lower the temperature in the room and you will die from hypothermia.  You may now want to pick your jaw off the floor because I know you’re thinking that in the South that is the exact point of having the fan run during a hot, summer night. 

You have been warned.

            Lastly, if you leave your fan on and all of the doors are shut and your windows then you will die from suffocation because the fan will create a vacuum removing the air from your room.  What’s funny to me is that it is probably theoretically possible for all three of the Fandeath’s to occur just like it’s possible for Superman to travel back in time by reversing the Earth’s axis.  I mean sure anything is possible, right?

             It's probably one of those things that came about because running fans cost money and parents didn't want their kids running a fan all night so they said a fan will hurt you if you leave it on so the kids wouldn't run up a high electric bill.  It's similar to how our parents told us if we stared at a TV for too long and were too close then we'd go blind.  However, this Korean urban legend has gone to a whole different level.

            Here are some links to websites about FanDeath and articles in Korean newspapers attributing a person's death to overexposure by the fan.

So true, Korean style.

http://www.fandeath.net/

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1245/will-sleeping-in-a-closed-room-with-an-electric-fan-cause-death

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/07/30/korea-fan-death-and-your-belief/