On Fans
Just a quick note to let people know #160 will be up early this evening, and to also draw some attention to this great little urban legend, sent to me by a fan of the site. (A fan sending folk-fan-info – fantastic!)
Fan death is an urban legend prevailing in South Korea in which 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.
I’m really enjoying this week’s trend – if you’ve got a local myth, leave it in the comments, hit me up on Facebook, or mail it to me at skinner@skinner.fm!
My mother always made us not have our bed near a window or have the fan on the other side of the room because she heard a story about someone who’s face was paralyzed because of cold wind on their face.
I always thought she was nuts.
Turns out my husband’s mother told him the same thing!
All I can tell you is that I love sleeping in a breeze, but sometimes the fan blowing on my back all night leaves it very stiff in the morning. Always listen to your mother!
I find this VERY interesting, as I recall my Mom telling me the same thing as a child – although there was sort of a larger story included with that, involving a poor fellow with Downs Syndrome. (Uh, I think I may have told the tale in an early FlashCast.)
Now you’ve got me tempted to record a Skype interview with her, to see if I can’t dig up the source of this weird nugget of misinformation.