Fan Death and why it’s real[ly funny] in Korea
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009One of the most tongue-in-cheek moments that expatriates have to share is the beauty that is fan death. So cast away science and come with me on a fanciful journey to discover why exactly these sweet little fans are harbingers of death.
To understand fan death is to understand that there are several different theories as to why four small moving blades equal certain death. The more scientific sounding, the more convincing. Also, consider the fact that Korean homes are, in general, smaller than Western homes. Also, it gets crazy hot in Korea. But, enough about me (puns are just rolling today) let’s talk about the theories. But keep in mind, I’m way late in posting this. These comedic claims have long been the fascination by foreigners. Here’s an article from 1997.
One such theory involves hyperthermia. Fan blows on person, person gets hot, fan blows recirculated hot air over person, person gets more hot. Repeat. But don’t get sold on the theory because another theory claims the exactly opposite: hypothermia. Fan blows on person, person gets cold, fan blows recirculated cold air over person, person gets more cold. Repeat.
Soak that in.
Another involves carbon dioxide buildup if left directly facing a person’s body for a prolonged period of time. This hits home for me. Tangent: All of the men of my family have this “bad” habit of sleeping with like a half dozen or so electric fans on at night. Even in the winter. It’s true. I always have a few fans on in the room when I sleep. I like the wind, the white noise from the fan, the circulation - so much so that I have trouble sleeping at night if I don’t have at least one fan facing me. Even in the winter. So, to my future wife, here’s a heads-up - sorry to be a little weird about fans. Bundle up, honey.
There’s also some pretty outrageous beliefs which I think have all but disappeared - only to be replaced with more experts professing the true reason why you’re going to die in the quiet comfort of your own bedroom. Some of these older theories include the fan blades cutting and mincing oxygen particles leaving nothing to be inhaled but fragments of air. Think sloppy seconds for your lungs. Another goofball theory is that the fan death rumor was created by the government in a scheme to reduce consumer electricity demands. My personal favorite is the vortex theory: the fan creates a partial vacuum in the room causing you to suffocate.
Sure, it’s pretty ridiculous. Conservation of matter demands a much stronger machine in order to effect change to the surrounding air pressure. Translation? An oscillating floor fan is not powerful enough to create a vortex.
So, by and large, sorry to disappoint, but fan death is fake. Rest assured (haha, get it?) you will not die in your sleep from that little plastic round guy that makes your voice sound awesome when you talk really close to it.
But I can see the connection. Honestly. News: A man is found dead in his apartment. The cause of death is not readily available. Neighbors get curious and see the paramedics working. Neighbors ask what happened are are met with “We’re not sure at the moment” but the wise old neighbor down the hall confidently proclaims “Must have been the fan”, which, as it turns out, is still running. *Dun Dun Duuun* Now, two independent events (mysterious death and fan running) are linked. But for this story to work, you would have to conclude without any real logic or method. Or just be an idiot.
Remember the Simpsons episode where Homer wanted to buy Lisa’s rock? The one that keep tigers away? In it, Homer proclaimed that because of the Bear Patrol and no bear in sight, the Bear Patrol must have been working like a charm. Lisa applies the same logic to conclude that a random rock keeps tigers away (after all, there were no tigers). Sure, I butcher the comedic timing, but this comparison is not unlike fan death and reinforcement over decades. A mysterious death in the summer results in media hysteria and “experts” claiming to watch out for the warning signs of fan death. The vicious cycle continues.
It’s comical but also kind of real in a small margin. So long as a certain number of factors are played in. For example, the EPA recommends not to use an electric fan in an enclosed room without outside ventilation during warm weather. This makes sense, as the warm air being circulated essentially acts like a turbo oven pushing ever-increasingly warmer air across your body which could possibly result in either asphyxiation or hyperthermia. It’s a stretch but an understandable concern. I’d like to think that the person trapped in the room wouldn’t be held against their will - just open a window. But to be fair, this argument for the validity of fan death has already been made and is one of the best written articles on the subject. But I wonder when will the debate be truly solved?
I have the utmost confidence that Korea will continue to make strides in the area of scientific research and development. Others are seeing hope, too. And far be it for me to criticize Korea or any other country for its false claims on anything. It’s easy to be convinced by anything if one hears about it enough in the news - be it ridiculous claims about English teachers or vengeful electronic fans. I believe that any group of peoples are influenced by not only their own beliefs but also reinforced by their own media, too. Before Americans get too quick to judge Korea for some backwards-thinking theory on common household appliances, I would like to just say one thing:
Y2K.
Thoughts?
Posted by Matthew in How Koreans Do It |
September 8th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I have never heard of such a thing before. Is this a Korean thing?? I only know that fans are absolutely essential in hot-all-year-round countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand etc etc..
September 8th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
My sister and I live in Korea. She was “almost” killed by a fan a few months ago. The fan in question decided to explode. The fan in question has since been taken out (to the trash).
September 8th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Oh man… fan death. It’s always such a touchy subject. I’m half-Korean so this has always been a struggle in my household. Especially since when I was younger my mom told me the fan would literally suck my soul out. I was scared and believed in this for years… until high school science classes actually.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:49 am
@ Shan - a uniquely Korean fear as it seems. Despite foreign experts laughing and pointing fingers, there are plenty of young Koreans that still believe in fan sickness (if not fan death)
@ Karen - that fan must have been the bomb (sorry, but it was too tempting) seriously though I’m glad that no one was hurt.
@ Elvie - half of you knows it’s a farce but half of you convinces you that you should still crack a window at night. A delicate balance, indeed. It’s hard not to argue with the parents, though right? Like an evangelist, I am compelled to spread the good word of Science to all those who will hear me but alas, many have succumbed to the secular teachings of “my mom told me when I was little…”
September 9th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I remember telling my Korean friend that i sleep every single night in the summer with the fan on and the door and window closed. He was horrified and in disbelief!
September 14th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
… Your outer world is a reflection of your beliefs. Meaning, if you believe then it’s true and it is real. @ Jackie: I also get the same reaction when I admit that I spent my youth with the fan on, constantly, all year round. They seemed completely bemused that I survived such wreckless behavior, while I am befuddled at their bemusement.
September 15th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I remember stumbling upon the Ask a Korean guy’s analysis of Fan Death, and being surprised. Here’s a guy who is totally reasonable and very insightful, making a totally reasonable and very insightful argument that Fan Death is indeed real. I didn’t know what to think. However, I’ve slept many a night in my small officetel apartment, with no windows open (to keep out the hardcore mosquitos) and a fan perched at the foot of my bed. And I’ve lived to tell the tale. And I never woke up feeling over-heated, under-heated, or otherwise on the road to death.
I remember reading an article about an ESL class in Canada. People from many different countries were studying English together, and they had a class discussing ways to beat the heat in summer. Of course, fans came up. The one Korean student took it upon herself to warn the other students about Fan Death. All the other students either thought she was crazy, or that they weren’t understanding her properly. The teacher found it incredible how at the same time one person could believe something so strongly, that all the other people in the room found ridiculous.
It is interesting the way the mind works, and how it comes (or doesn’t come) to believe weird things. A great book on this subject is Michael Shermer’s Why People Believe Weird Things. I’d love to hear his thoughts on the Fan Death phenomenon.
September 18th, 2009 at 2:10 am
my half-sister’s mom (who is Portuguese) and “all” other Portuguese ppl believe that you cannot take a shower after dinner!!!!! oh my god, it’s so dangerous
speaking of sciences and being a wise-ass … but I think fan noise is not white noise cos fan noise has a tonal component to it (that is linked to the rotations per minute of the fan and the blade number)
September 21st, 2009 at 8:48 am
@Daniel K - The Korean may have presented a scenario in which a fan actually could cause someone to die, but I think that in most cases of fan death reported in Korea, the actual cause is something different. These causes would tend to fall into two categories: 1.) The true cause of death seems less likely than fan death and 2.) the true cause of death is more embarrassing than being killed by a fan.
An example of the first would be a teenager dying of a preexisting heart condition. As the person seemed otherwise healthy the fan seems a likely culprit. An example of the second would be a middle aged man getting so drunk that he chokes on his own vomit. This would cause embarrassment for the family, so they work out a deal with the medical examiner who blames the fan for the death.
I will say that in the past few years that reports of fan death have declined. This seems to coincide with better forensics training.
September 21st, 2009 at 2:11 pm
“Fan Death” is a lot nicer to write on the death certificate than, “drank himself to death”, or, “choked on his own vomit.”
Don’t believe me? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death Read the govt. position circa 2006. How do you save face when a family member accidentally dies of being unable to get completely trashed? Put a running fan in the room, then call the cops.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:31 am
[…] Like fan death in Korea, I never really questioned it - I just did it. I just drank water. But what about Koreans? Most would agree that the majority of Koreans drink only a small amount, if any, during a meal. Unsurprisingly, my Korean friends simply don’t drink water at all during meals. […]
November 14th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I am an American Soldier serving in South Korea. After hearing of “fan death” I couldn’t contain myself, I had to ask. There are several KATUSAs (Korean Augmentations To the United States Army) All have degrees, and one is a physicist. There is also a Korean born, US citizen serving as an US Army Officer. All 5 of these people believe firmly in fan death. When I told them I sleep with a fan every night, they were shocked and adamantly told me that I will die if I don’t stop this practice. I have several fan death warning stickers now that I entertain myself with in the work place, its a blast!