'Fan death' describes the belief of many Koreans that if you leave a fan on overnight you are at risk of dying. I had heard rumours of this belief before but largely ignored them because Korea is a nation very focused on education and all cultures believed in some ridiculous ideas at some point in their histories. This week I discovered that fan death has not yet faded in the collective minds of the Korean populace.
According to my coworker (American) there are several theories on fan death. One is that the fan chops air molecules up and they become unusable and thus you might suffocate should you sleep in the same room as an operating fan. Another is that the fan creates some sort of vortex into which your soul or essence is sucked, if left unattended. There is a third school of thought, almost equally silly, that says fans actually induce hypothermia. According to wikipedia there are many beliefs surrounding fan death. Apparently my (Korean) coordinator, who is about 24 and has a college degree[1] in the sciences, believes in fan death. When we were discussing the topic in vaguely disdainful tones she informed us that several people had passed away from 'fan death' and it was in the newspaper. We were none of us moved.
[1]Granted, she got her degree from a small, religious college in America. I'm generally suspicious of the science program of any college or university whose foremost focus is faith-based.
4 hours ago
1 comment:
Didya read the Wiki? The leading expert on hypothermia is in *Canada*! I'm both shocked and amazed. I wonder where he travels to do his research?
I like the "we've got people lying in snowbanks overnight here" quote. Like it's something we actually set up on purpose.
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