Here in Korea, it's generally a very modern society. People have electricity, internet, well developed public transportation, and basically everything modern societies have in which to obtain information. Somehow though, this thing called fan death lives on. Fan death is this superstition where if people in Korea leave their fan on over night they have the possibility of passing away, due to the fan.
Your worst enemy?
I thought that this phenomenon of fan death had possibly started in the 70's or 80's and died off within the past few years due to the spread of access to information, but realized I was mistaken after a conversation with my boss last week. Here is how it went down:
Jay: I had to sleep on my sofa last night because it was too hot in my room and I didn't want to run the air conditioner.
Me: Why didn't you run a fan?
Jay: Oh, this is not a good idea.
Me: Why, do you mean fan death?
Jay: Oh yeah.
Me: You realize this is a superstition, right? A fairy tale?
Jay: Oh no, there is a scientific explanation.
Me: OK, what is it?
Jay: Well if you leave the fan on, it lowers your body temperature.
Me: Isn't that why they invented blankets? I leave my fan on all night, do you think that's a bad idea?
Jay: Oh yeah, you really shouldn't do that.
This more or less is how the conversation happened, and I'm pretty sure my boss still believes in fan death. Let's keep in mind he is well educated, having studied for graduate degrees in the U.S.
It's funny reading how Wikipedia describes some of the beliefs as to how fan death works. One explanation is that the fan creates a vortex and sucks all of the air out of the room, creating a vacuum. Another is that the fan chops all of the oxygen molecules, leaving us with no breathable air. "Oh no, my fan has killed all of my precious oxygen! Why fan! Why!" Having a college degree....strike that....a high school diploma, I find all of these very laughable.
Let's move on, Korea. Fans are our friends. I just wish I could read mine to figure out how to turn it off without unplugging it.
This sounds like something similar to some of the Latin American beliefs that if you run a fan while you sleep you will surely become sick (not necessary resulting in death, however). Similar to the belief that you will get sick if you go playing out in the rain.
ReplyDeleteWow! I have never heard of such a thing. Interesting.
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