Weer'd World

So not really a “Gun Death?” Story, but worth noting. South Koreans believe that electric fans can suffocate you!

The genesis of this misconception is unclear. Some have speculated that the South Korean government created the idea of fan death as propaganda in order to curb the energy consumption of Korean households. This theory is based on the fact that reports of fan death first appeared in the 1970s. This coincided with the 1970s energy crisis, which led to a short supply and high prices of oil; it also coincided with the rule of President Park Chung-hee, who listed attaining a self-reliant economy and modernization as his top goals, as announced in his Five Year Economic development Plan…..”Fans cause hypothermia”

Hypothermia is abnormally low body temperature caused by inadequate thermoregulation in humans. As the metabolism slows down at night, one becomes more sensitive to temperature, and thus supposedly more prone to hypothermia. People who believe in this theory think that a fan operating in a closed room all night will lower the temperature of the room to the point of causing hypothermia.[4]

Empirical measurements show, however, that the fan does not cause the room temperature to drop; if anything, it should rise slightly because of friction and the heat output of the fan motor, but even this is negligible. Fans actually lower body temperature by increasing the convection around a person’s body so that heat flows into the air more easily, and by the latent heat of vaporization as perspiration evaporates from the body. However, there is no scientific study which indicates that this effect would be sufficient to cause hypothermia unless the temperature were already very low.
“Fans cause asphyxiation”

It is alleged that fans may cause asphyxiation in humans due to oxygen displacement and carbon dioxide intoxication.[4][5][6][7] In the process of human respiration, inhaled fresh air is exhaled with a lower concentration of oxygen gas (O2), and higher concentration of carbon dioxide gas (CO2), causing a gradual reduction of O2 and buildup of CO2 in a completely unventilated room.[8] Other indoor sources of carbon dioxide include burning fossil fuels, such as a gas-fueled water heater, and seepage through foundations in areas of high CO2 soil content.[9] Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas, and because it weighs 1.5 times more than normal air,[10] it tends to concentrate toward the floor,[7] depending on temperature and air currents. In South Korea, some people sleep on traditional floor mats called yos, while others prefer western-style beds, and floor vents may be absent in rooms equipped with radiant underfloor heating, called ondol.[11]

According to The Straight Dope website run by the Chicago Reader, asphyxiation is an unlikely cause of fan death because “few rooms are totally sealed, and the fan would tend to keep CO2 and other gases well mixed”.[5]

Straight up nutty! I work with a South Korean, and I’ll need to ask him if he’s heard of this.

h/t Chris McBride