Have a fan at home? Better get a timer for it!

[Eddie]

There's a strange phenomenon going on in the Far East that started in South Korea. It's one that many of us have overlooked, but it threatens our very lives. You see, if you sleep with a fan on, you will die.

This is a serious threat! I speak from experience! Fans killed my father... and raped my mother!

[Daos]

Wow, even their medical experts agree. Bizarre. Although I've heard of equally strange urban myths, like that one in Africa which states having sex with a virgin will 'cure' AIDS.

[Shannon]

Wow. I wonder how I survived my childhood. I think I slept with a fan on just about every night in the summer, because my room was always the hottest or coldest room in the house. (the AC didn't quite work right).

[Daos]

Clearly, you do not possess any Korean DNA. Because if you did...urk!

[Eddie]

My favorite part about it is how the only "opposing" medical opinion is just sitting on the fence.

[Daos]

That's the strange part. I mean, we have some pretty silly urban myths here in the States, too. But I can't think of any that are backed up by our (respected) scientists.

[Airellian]

Uh... Actually, if you read the quoted article from the Herald, it only says "medical experts." Yeah, I actually want to know the names of these so-called medical experts. The actual experts, those that are named, completely discount fan death.

It is amusing to speculate, I suppose. What I wouldn't give for a fan that could chop molecules in half...

[Eddie]

The Korean experts at the end of the article sit on the fence, like I said. They say it's rare, but still possible, that a fan will cause hypothermia. The non-Korean experts are the ones who dismiss it as impossible.

[Airellian]

Mmm, no, they outright dismiss it or attribute it to other factors. That's not sitting on th fence. Sitting on the fence is, "What? No, that's sillly, but.. I guess it could happen." I'm not seeing that here.

[Shannon]

admin said:

That's the strange part. I mean, we have some pretty silly urban myths here in the States, too. But I can't think of any that are backed up by our (respected) scientists.

I can think of a few, but, since they're hot button topics, I'm going to refrain from mentioning them.

[Eddie]

Here's an example from the first quoted Korean doctor.

If it is completely sealed, then in the current of an electric fan, the temperature can drop low enough to cause a person to die of hypothermia.

And from the second.

That's why it seems that fan deaths only happen in Korea, when in reality these types of deaths are quite rare.

I can think of a few, but, since they're hot button topics, I'm going to refrain from mentioning them.

"Doctor" Bill Frist doesn't count. =P

[Airellian]

Uh... Yeah, you should read the full context of the quotes, instead of snipping here and there.

Dr. Lee Yoon-song says, right before your snippet, "Korean reporters are constantly writing inaccurate articles about death by fan, describing these deaths as being caused by the fan." Later on, he says, "They should have reported the victim's original defects such as heart or lung disease, which are the main cause of death [in these cases]. If a Western doctor investigated these deaths, he would say what really caused the death, and say that a fan was beside the victim."

As for Dr. Yeon Dong-su, I stand corrected. He's a flipping idiot. I think he became enamored of his own logic. I thought he was attributing the deaths to excessing drinking, when in fact, he attributed it to a combination of those factors.

However, I would count Dr. John Linton, since while he isn't Korean, he does practice in Korea, and is thus a Korean medical expert.

[Eddie]

...You know, I just realized something. Why am I going on like this is an argument? I shouldn't be doing that. What I should be doing is spreading the word to others!