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Comment by clove | Hacker News Reader

My ex-gf was Korean and she assured me that fan death is scientifically backed. Her logic was that running a fan in a closed room can result in asphyxiation due to CO2 accumulation. But she said that this only applies to Korean rooms, which are smaller than normal rooms.

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One thing that is overlooked is historical context. In Korea, there's a type of building called an Ondol[0], which is basically a building w/ underfloor heating (traditionally via smoke from wood fire). There's also a bed variation called a dol bed.

When you take into consideration that there's a literal CO2 spewing furnace underneath your room that you can't easily turn on or off, the introduction of electrical fans into the picture becomes the next obvious thing to watch for.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondol

> the introduction of electrical fans into the picture becomes the next obvious thing to watch for

How is that in any way obvious? I don't see any connection, like at all. The furnace does not vent into the room.

See this layout[0], for example. Notice how the black soot marks are directly underneath the windows.

[0] https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/202104/301...

I’ve never thought of that before! I had heard of the effect and always thought it was a freak case that spiraled into fame, but CO2 accumulation actually makes perfect sense.

So, would that not normally happen without a fan? If a room is that small, and that pooorly ventilated, how does a fan make the co2 concentrate in a more dangerous way?

Unless your fan has a gas motor, it's not going to produce any CO2. The tiny Korean room, which I'm betting is not any smaller than your average New York City bedroom, would have to be pretty poorly ventilated indeed for you to not survive the night.

Not sure if you're joking, but no, that doesn't make any sense. Asphyxia is a lack of oxygen, not an excess amount of CO2. Even slight increases in CO2 will make you feel extremely uncomfortable, long before you actually run out of oxygen.

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