Fan Death: silent, deadly, illogical

This is something I've been hearing about a little bit here and there since I arrived but hadn't quite been able to piece together yet: fan death. It's basically a belief in South Korea (an urban legend, as we might call it in the U.S.) that sleeping overnight in a room with the door/windows closed and a fan running can kill you.

It sounds strange, maybe like something the older Korean grandmas and grandpas try to tell the younger people about fancy electronical gadgets and such.

But, surprising numbers of people of all ages, backgrounds, and education levels are quite convinced of this. Some people I've talked to say most Koreans believe it, although another American university instructor held a debate about it in class (for and against) and conducted a survey afterward, saying about half of his class believed it.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia article on fan death, which explains the supposed scientific reasons for it. I was pretty intrigued by the fact that both the Korean government and the mainstream media endorse fan death as a legitimate phenomenon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death

I asked someone if it applies to air conditioning, but I didn't get a clear answer on this. If it does, odds are I'll be dying before the week is out...

Maybe this explains why the fan in my room was hidden away in the closet when I got here. Put that death trap away! At least it only happens in South Korea, so we don't have to give up our Whirling Dervishes or Hawaiian Breezes at home.