Beware of....fan death??!?!

Fan death is a widely held belief (and misconception) prevailing in South Korea that an electric fan left running overnight in a closed room can cause the death of those inside. Fans sold in Korea are equipped with a timer switch that turns them off after a set number of minutes, which users are frequently urged to set when going to sleep with a fan on. Here are the many ways Koreans believe you can die from a fan (all of which are complete bogus, by the way!)

1. An electric fan creates a vortex, which sucks the oxygen from the enclosed and sealed room and creates a partial vacumn inside.
2. An electric fan chops up all the air particles in the air leaving none to breathe.
3. The fan uses up the oxygen in the room and creates fatal levels of carbon dioxide.
4. That if the fan is put directly in front of the face of the sleeping person, it will suck all the air away, preventing one from breathing.
5. That fans contribute to hypothermia, or super low body temperature.As the metabolism slows down at night, one becomes more sensitive to temperature, and thus supposedly more prone to hypothermia. If the fan is left on all night in a sealed and enclosed room, believers in fan death suppose that it will lower the temperature of the room to the point that it can cause hypothermia.
6. The fan overheats after it has been left on for too long, and ceases to cool the room, instead causing the already sweltering heat to increase uncontrollably until the person dies from it. That fans contribute to prolonged axphyxiation ue to environmental oxygen displacement or carbon dioxide intoxication.

The best part? The Korean governement issues warnings warning people of fan death during the summer months, stating that is REALLY is a danger to people! Crazy! Many people call Korea "The land of the not so right" as many things are always just a bit OFF. This is definitely one of those times! :)