Fan Death - A Curious Superstition
Introduction
As I have discussed previously I am fascinated by human belief systems and how they extend to the paranormal, urban legends and various superstitions.
I was listening to a podcast a while back and heard the host discussing an odd superstition that I had not previously come across.
This is called "fan death".
In some far eastern countries (particularly South Korea) there is a belief that falling asleep with an electric fan running can kill you, particularly if you do it without any open windows.
How Can A Running Fan In Your Proximity Kill You?
According to an article in the Korea Herald believers in fan death have attributed the risk as being due to a few mechanisms:
.jpg)
Interference with breathing - from what I can ascertain, it is believed the fan can suck the air out of a person's lungs and cause suffocation.
Hypothermia - having the fan run can cool the person so much that their core temperature drops and they die.
Chemical reactions created by the fan can convert oxygen into (depending on the source) either carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide resulting in suffocation.
It would seem odd that this belief doesn't take account of the fact that points 1 and 2 would actually wake someone up if they were to occur (unless they were extremely rapid).
It is also interesting that people believe having doors or windows open can negate the threat - one can understand that might help in the case of a build up of noxious gasses, but it would not help for points 1 or 2.
It could even make those worse.
A Persistent Belief
Of course, to westerners and those with a scientific mind these beliefs may seem preposterous - yet they still persist in modern times.
The person discussing this on the podcast which I mentioned earlier said that several of his Korean relatives strongly believe in this idea.
They refuse to sleep with a fan on in the same room, no matter how hot it is!
The Korea Herald article I cited earlier (which luckily comes with an English translation) reports a 2011 case as follows:
"The 59 years-old victim, only known by his surname Min, was found dead with the fan fixed directly at him.
The police revealed that although Min used to suffer from relatively high blood pressure, it was not serious enough to require medication. They are still investigating the cause of death."
They go on to discuss how stories like this add fuel to the belief in fan death.
It's Not That Hard To Understand
I think in some ways it easy to understand why this happens. If you are frail, infirm or suffering from some kind of chronic illness (like coronary heart disease) then your risk of death may well go up during a heatwave.
This has actually been confirmed by statistical evidence - the number of deaths increases during heatwaves, although the exact numbers vary between studies as a result of there being no fixed definition for what represents a heatwave [2].
From my previous reading it seems that the most common cause of death in these cases is due to heart attack or stroke, possibly due to increases in blood clotting (thought there may also be other factors at play) [3].
It is just a coincidence that with it being hot the deceased may also have been running a fan at the same time.
Viewed through the perspective of an existing belief in fan death, people within the same community might see this as confirmation that fans do indeed cause death.
The psychological effect may be exaggerated further if the person who died was previously considered fit and well.
This is not surprising either, as many people who have coronary heart disease or diseased cerebral arteries may not actually be symptomatic until a catastrophic event (heart attack or stroke) kills them.
However to the person who is superstitious, this becomes further confirmation that fan death is a real phenomenon because a "healthy person" died whilst sleeping with a running fan in the room.
It is a form of confirmation bias that we are all susceptible to.
Conclusion
I would be curious to hear if anyone of my followers on Steemit have come across fan death.
Are you in South Korea? Is this a common belief in your experience or is this something that is dying out?
Have you heard of any cases that were attributed to fan death? Further are you aware of any similar superstitions that may not be commonly known in the West?
Please let me know in the comments.
References
Yoon-seung, Kang. 2011. “Summer Death Revives Fan Death Myth.” The Korea Herald, July 4. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20110704000552.
Xu, Zhiwei, Gerard FitzGerald, Yuming Guo, Bin Jalaludin, and Shilu Tong. 2016. “Impact of Heatwave on Mortality under Different Heatwave Definitions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Environment International 89-90 (April): 193–203. (N.B. I was only able to access the abstract for this.)
Hausfater, Pierre, Benoît Doumenc, Sébastien Chopin, Yannick Le Manach, Aline Santin, Sandrine Dautheville, Anabela Patzak, et al. 2010. “Elevation of Cardiac Troponin I during Non-Exertional Heat-Related Illnesses in the Context of a Heatwave.” Critical Care / the Society of Critical Care Medicine 14 (3): R99.
Thank you for reading
That's pretty crazy, but not the weirdest that I have heard of. There is something called koro that is basically the craziest mental disorder fear of death that I can think of. If you have never heard of it, look it up. Very bizarre.
Yes I've heard of Koro.
@theabsolute got you a $0.89 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)
Want a boost? Click here to read more!
This phenomenon reminds me of why people can make the same connection between autism and vaccines.
In a book titled "Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases", the author included a story of how a kid was just about to be vaccinated, and just then, seconds before the syringe was inserted, the kid had his first ever seizure.
Of course, the cause was due to something else, but this seizure was the first of a life of seizures, and if the kid had gotten vaccinated just seconds later, there would be absolutely no convincing the parents of this kid that the vaccination was not the causal factor for his seizures, because until that moment, they'd never manifested.
Correlation does not equal causation. We must always remember that.
Absolutely. Sadly we are prone to such errors of cognition.
I would think that thier are times when Correlation does equal causation, though. The problem is determining if this is one of those times, except in your cicumstance it was clear the seizre happened before the shots. Thier are children whom have had vaccination shots and have had negative immune responses. I remember in school we all had just been vaccinated and me and a freind were playing in grade 7, I jokingly and lightly strangled him and he had a response to the vaccine shots around the same time. Some thought I actually was the cause until it was determines he was having a reaction to the vaccine. Now what happened to me was Correlation does not equal Causation but the vaccine reaction was clearly correlation which does equal Causation in that instance. Thier is so much grey to this world, nothing is ever Black and White.
No really, correlation does not equal causation. Are there instances where two correlated observations have a causal connection? Yes. But you can't go around assuming that because two things are correlated, that one caused the other.
That's the point of keeping it in mind. Never assume that two seemingly connected things are connected. It takes more than that. Preferably, it takes an experiment where one variable can be isolated. Science allows us to do that.
It is entirely true to say that not all milkshakes are chocolate. Are some milkshakes chocolate? Yes. But the point of reminding yourself that not all milkshakes are chocolate is to remember that there are other flavors, and that it would be stupid to just assume someone means chocolate every time they mention a milkshake.
You lost me on the milkshakes, where's the cause and correclation?
Then at what number of aware people do you see a correlation?
If you and I and a hundred other people come to a conclusion it needs to be investigated.
It may not always lead to causation but it is evidence that needs to be examined to be ruled out.
People used to say the same thing about the Cannabis Oil and now it has become common knowledge it does help with many things but we all had to wait for science to tell many of us something we already new. Kind of like the Milk Maids that contacted CowPox to find they were immune to Smallpox, I'm sure it began with Correlation does not equal Causation but eventually it was proven otherwise their was . If no one looked into this correlation we would have never know, it all has to Begin somewhere to find the cause.
A very good example but you just looked at one side of the coin. The psychology of that babe with seeing a syringe or need or any other vaccination instrument could also have led to the seizure.
For a comprehensive evaluation of such cases, I will recommend that psychology be considered as a factor also.
I think it is outlandish that they suspect that it is something that can potentially kill you.
The only threat I can think of is if the fan was pointed straight at you and while you sleep as you turn and rotate the wind could be angled towards your face impeding you able to breathe in air.
It also acts as a way to ventilate the air and have a constant airflow preventing any gases building up. The only problem could be if the motor of the fan is overworked or ignites for some weird reason but that seems unlikely but it is probable.
It seems like it is something which is endorsed by the South Korean government and I'm not sure if it is supposed to be a gimmick to reduce energy use in the country.
South Korea is known for it' progress in technology and its beautifully lit up city with many illuminating billboards.
I'll have to look into it more I guess @thecryptofiend
I think this one of the things that interests me most about this belief in that South Korea is possibly one of the, if not THE most technologically advanced country in the world, so it is an interesting contrast. That said, we are all prone to superstition as human beings no matter how logical or rational we are.
It seems like it is a widely accepted belief and it is hard to take away or dispute the incantation and superstition instilled in the mind of the masses.
Truly amazing how superstitions can have such control of our lives toying with how we live our lives and inevitably restricting us due to some folk tale, but as many say: it is better to be safe than sorry.
What was the podcast?
I listen to podcasts all week while at work so I am always looking for more interesting things to listen too. I run through Radiolab, JRE, hardcore history, coffee break spanish, lore etc pretty quickly. Always need more and this sounds interesting.
It was an old episode of Mysterious Universe that I found on my phone - I think from a few months back (don't know which number as it was playing in the car). You can find them here:
http://mysteriousuniverse.org/
It's a top quality show and quite funny as well.
Thanks, I'll download some episodes and try it out.
Definitely worth it. They have a paid version too that gives you an extra episode and removes the ads which is well worth it.
This is crazy but very fascinating seeing cultural concerns and urban myths. Definitely a 0% chance of 1 2 or 3 happening without additional factors being the real cause.
Yes thank you.
The only threat I can think of is if the fan was pointed straight at you and while you sleep as you turn and rotate the wind could be angled towards your face impeding you able to breathe in air.
It also acts as a way to ventilate the air and have a constant airflow preventing any gases building up. The only problem could be if the motor of the fan is overworked or ignites for some weird reason but that seems unlikely but it is probable.
It seems like it is something which is endorsed by the South Korean government and I'm not sure if it is supposed to be a gimmick to reduce energy use in the country.
South Korea is known for it' progress in technology and its beautifully lit up city with many illuminating billboards.
That is not a threat though. A normal electric fan that you use in your house cannot impede your breathing - it is just not powerful enough.
Yes I think that was suggested as one possible source of the idea being perpetuated but I have not seen any direct evidence of it.
Humans are prone to attribute concepts together. By linking together these things they will attempt to try and understand the world better. However these false linkages come often and can be difficult to absolve.
In A Clockwork Orange, there is a psychological experiment called the Ludovico Technique in which the main character is introduced to aversion therapy. Given a syringe that causes pain and nausea, they are exposed to scenes of violence and sex. This transforms them such that every time they see violence/sex, they feel the same symptoms.
It's an inescapable mechanism of being human.
Yes very true. Aversion therapy is not exactly the same though, since it is not a purely cognitive or conceptual effect - pain is also being used. I have heard some people argue that memes may in some way be more powerful because there is less overt psychological resistance to the concept being presented.
I'm Korean and I remember my mom always told me not to turn on the fan when I was sleeping. I felt it was a kind of lesson from parents, and I hadn't doubt it until I heard the objection.
This story has a long history of a century. It's not dying out yet. Most of the older generations still believe it. Young people do not fully believe it, but are not sure it is completely false. Our media say that there is no evidence accoring to experts, but do not say it is completely false.
In fact, it has become less important issue because most people use air conditioner nowaday. Of course I've never seen the news that sleeping person was dead while the air conditioner was on.
Interesting. Thank you for sharing your own personal experience. The thing is air conditioners have a fan inside them too.
my son and I put up the ceiling fan over my bed. We had to use a tension bar because the existing light fixture was in between two joists and we needed a sturdier mount for the fan. For several days afterwards my son called me expressing fear that the heavy fan shook lose and crashed down on me in my sleep. Even so, I felt this was a paranoid fear, since he could swing on it with his 200 lb. weight. Still, a more probable possibility for fan death LOL!!
Yes I think that is a more rational fear - any kind of heavy object could cause serious injury if it fell on you.
Very nice article. I don't know whether a hypercoagulable state occurs when someone is hyperthermic. Rather, dehydration and intravascular "underfilling" seems to be the most likely cause of circulatory problems, which could of course have an indirect effect on bloodflow and therefore coagulable state.
Yes that is possible.