Fan death
Koreans have this insane belief that the electric fan is the deadliest household appliance. Every summer, many deaths are reported in the papers attributed to fan death.

If you fall asleep with the fan on and the windows closed, Koreans believe you will likely die.

How does this work? There are a number of theories:
-the fan on exposed skin will cause hypothermia
-the fan creates a vacuum around your face, causing you to suffocate
-the fan unmixes the air, separating it at a molecular level and pushing the oxygen away from your face
-the fan burns the oxygen itself
-and when they're cornered, "Koreans have a unique physiology which makes them prone to fan death while other races are unaffected"

I first heard it from my Korean boss, who warned me to keep a window open. Curious, I asked why. It led to me asking every Korean I knew, and they all said the same thing. I even asked a doctor, and he told me in very scientific terms how a fan can kill. And the people most likely to tell you, "No, that's total bullshit," the FAN MANUFACTURERS THEMSELVES, well, they make sure to include safety tips on the instruction manual so you will keep the window open.

My girlfriend insists that this is not superstition, and has basis in science, even though we've slept together with the fan on many, many times.

Okay, I never fell for it. Hope this isn't too off-topic. I just find it weird that an entire country would believe it and insist it's scientific. Then again, it's not so weird when you compare it to belief in the Jesus vampire.
(racetraitor has an alibi for, Fri 6 Jan 2006, 2:38, Reply)