Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mishlert]

I would like to know from the 8% why they think it's a valid cause of death.
Before any of you beging typing I would like to say that I'm living proof that a fan will not kill you. Yes, I have slept in many rooms where the the doors and windows were closed, and the fan was running.

[makushi]

[marcy]

I asked my adult class about fan-death and they said that yes, it can happen and it happens every year in Korea. In small spaces, like a small studio or a car, if you don't have any windows open to let in fresh air then all of the oxygen in a room can be 'sucked up' by the action of the fan. They apologized that they couldn't explain the science of it in more detail but that's what happens...

I really don't know what to believe but they were definetly convinced.

[viva]

All of my students, as well as my adult friends firmly belive in fan death. i am sure that the whole concept is simply a superstition that they take too seriously.

Once in a free talking class I brought up the concept of superstitions and used "fan death" as an example of one. I compared believing in fan deaths to believing that a black cat is evil, or beleiving that a broken mirror will bring you 7 years of bad luck. The funny thing is that by the end of the class they could list all kinds of superstitions that exist in thier society without cause, but they refused to agree that a fan death is just a superstition.

There's just no changing their minds about this one. I think we just have to accept that this is their belief even if it seems completely ridiculous to us.

[Butterfly]

[qwunk89]

okay, let's say that its possible just to be _______________. wouldn't you wake up when u had dfficulty breathing at least??

[Butterfly]

[mishlert]

Well, as I stated before, I am living proof and I had no trouble breathing upon waking up.

[kangnamdragon]

[desultude]

A colleague was out drinking with a senior (student, not elder) the other night, and after a few drinks she asked him about his belief in fan death. He conceded that it is probably not true for adults, but is absolutely true about children. This is an excellent student.

I can see where one could believe it about children, though. There are people in the U.S. who will get rid of their cats when they have babies, because it is believed that a cat will suck the baby's breath. I know this is the case even with educated adults. It has been rationalized now to believing that cats will go to sleep on top of the baby and suffocate it. Nobody wants to experiement with the safety of children. You know, better safe than sorry.

[makushi]

Yeah, it can be tough to breath when the putty cat is sittin on your face...

[kiwioutofthenest]

Well im surprised some even fall into well it could be possible theory! Im sure people get rid of cats because their crap has a disease in it that can cause death (see trainspoting and how the junkie died) or perhaps the cat can sit on your face etc. but last time i checked my fan was an inorganic object thus devoid of "sucking oxygen" out of the air unless it is into the back of it which ofcourse comes out the front of it which ofcourse is how a fan works....and i don't think i have anything to fear from my fan sitting on my face!

[gypsyfish]

A fan can kill you if it's big and falls on you.

[just because]

I have heard the fan death argument and I honestly don't believe in it but I was a tiny bit hesitant to leave all the doors and windows closed the other night. i think the saying goes if you hear something over and over again and enough people believe then it becomes definative truth. There are so many things in society that are bull but because you hear them so many times they are taken to be true.

[kiwiboy_nz_99]