# Those antique oscillating fans... how did they get away with it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899 "2009-06-25T02:32:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/1 "2009-06-25T02:32:26Z")
Like [this](http://www.electronixandmore.com/misc/2fan3.jpg) one and [this](http://poetichome.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/poetic-home-antique-fan-3.jpg) one. Were there any injuries? Did the manufacturers ever get sued? Seems lawyers would have had a field day with that design. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/2 "2009-06-25T02:35:24Z")
I’m guessing that when those fans were made people knew not to put their fingers past the limits described by the cages, and people had a stronger sense of personal responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/3 "2009-06-25T02:39:08Z")
Fan motors aren’t very powerful, and I imagine they were even less powerful in those days. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/4 "2009-06-25T02:41:48Z")
There’s a restaurant in central Taiwan that has decorated its floor space with those kind of (operating) antique-looking fans. After I saw my 3 year old daughter checking it out, I went over and turned it off, then felt the blades. They were metal, heavy and almost sharp [ETA: and the motor seemed quite powerful – it was putting out quite a breeze, rotating those heavy metal blades]. They could have easily broken one of my kid’s fingers if not severed them. I had a word with a manager, who listened with the typical Taiwanese smiling, respectful, embarrassed head bobbing earnestness while at the same time blowing me off entirely. I’m sure she started the fan again as soon as we left. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/5 "2009-06-25T02:44:52Z")
Reminds me of the guy on Letterman who stopped a fan blade with his tongue. [Guy stops metal fan with tongue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU9nlT52cSo) His show used to be so…worthwhile. :sigh: ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/6 "2009-06-25T02:46:16Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Like [this](http://www.electronixandmore.com/misc/2fan3.jpg) one and [this](http://poetichome.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/poetic-home-antique-fan-3.jpg) one. > > Were there any injuries? Did the manufacturers ever get sued? Seems lawyers would have had a field day with that design. Because back in the day, we had contributory negligence. If you were even the slightest bit at fault, you could not recover. Thus, the slight negligence of “not being careful enough” would negate any lawsuit over the massive negligence of “really sharp metal blades at high speed”. As the law changed to be less … well, bullshit, manufacturers decided to make safer products. Of course, that led to lots of bitching about a lawyer’s paradise, but our current system seem pretty fair in apportioning blame and resultant damages. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/7 "2009-06-25T03:34:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Reminds me of the guy on Letterman who stopped a fan blade with his tongue. > > [Guy stops metal fan with tongue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU9nlT52cSo) Please watch that video more carefully, and you’ll see things you probably never noticed. The leading edge (i.e, the cutting edge) of the blade never touched that guy’s tongue. I just now tried it with my own fan (on a super low speed, and with my finger not my tongue) and it works the same way. And if you think about it, a fan MUST work that way. If the leading edge would slice into the air, it would push the aid _backwards_. The way a fan works by slicing the air in _back_ of the fan, and then the side (flat part) of the blade pushes it forwards. So, although that guy’s tongue took quite a pounding from the part of the blade that kept pushing into his tongue, there was really not much danger of it getting sliced up. In other words, he did NOT stop the fan by putting his tongue in the way of the blade’s edge and not allowing the blade to turn. Rather, he simply applied pressure, and the friction eventually slowed the fan down to a stop. I’ll admit that the area around the circumference of the fan can still be awfully nasty, but the face of it suddenly seems a lot less dangerous than we would think it to be. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/8 "2009-06-25T03:52:48Z")
Yes, I think those fans were from the era of “If you are stupid enough to stick your finger in a fan or prevent your kid from sticking his/her finger in a fan, you get what you deserve.” Back in the bad old days when the discharge chute on lawn mowers was at the back, my brother lost three toes because he slipped on a slope and his foot went into the chute. He was mowing for a neighbor who didn’t want him to mow back and forth along the slope because that “scalped” the grass. My parents didn’t sue the neighbor or the mower manufacturer. Thye chalked it up to bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/9 "2009-06-25T04:50:40Z")
Check out _any_ old device or machinery and you can see that they were very dangerous by today’s standards. Whether electrical or mechanical they were dangerous. They were primitive and safety was not high on the list of priorities. Life was unsafe since always. Only recently safety has become a topmost priority. Before now safety was one’s own responsibility and also, trying to avoid risk at all cost would not be seen as courageous. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/10 "2009-06-25T04:58:27Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > Because back in the day, we had contributory negligence. If you were even the slightest bit at fault, you could not recover. Thus, the slight negligence of “not being careful enough” would negate any lawsuit over the massive negligence of “really sharp metal blades at high speed”. > > As the law changed to be less … well, bullshit, manufacturers decided to make safer products. Of course, that led to lots of bitching about a lawyer’s paradise, but our current system seem pretty fair in apportioning blame and resultant damages. Also, Justice Traynor only invented products liability in 1963. ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/11 "2009-06-25T05:05:06Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > There’s a restaurant in central Taiwan that has decorated its floor space with those kind of (operating) antique-looking fans. After I saw my 3 year old daughter checking it out, I went over and turned it off, then felt the blades. They were metal, heavy and almost sharp [ETA: and the motor seemed quite powerful – it was putting out quite a breeze, rotating those heavy metal blades]. They could have easily broken one of my kid’s fingers if not severed them. I had a word with a manager, who listened with the typical Taiwanese smiling, respectful, embarrassed head bobbing earnestness while at the same time blowing me off entirely. I’m sure she started the fan again as soon as we left. Why not watch your child and teach your child to behave in a restaurant rather than blaming the restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/12 "2009-06-25T05:08:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m guessing that when those fans were made people knew not to put their fingers past the limits described by the cages, and people had a stronger sense of personal responsibility. Yep. My grandpa had one of those, and us kids were always warned not to get too close to the fan. Did you hear about the firefly who backed into the electric fan? He was delighted to no end. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/13 "2009-06-25T05:21:56Z")
I don’t understand your choice of thread title. Do you believe they would be dangerous because they oscillated, which many fans still do, or because the blades were metal instead of plastic? I’ve stuck my fingers in plenty of modern, plastic-bladed fans and they are incredibly weak. It isn’t even painful to stop the motor. I suppose it would depend on the size/weight and sharpness of the blades, but if the motor was as weak or weaker (as **scr4** suggested) I don’t think metal blades would be _that_ big of a hazard. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/14 "2009-06-25T05:25:17Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > Why not watch your child and teach your child to behave in a restaurant rather than blaming the restaurant? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/15 "2009-06-25T05:48:21Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > :rolleyes: Seriously? The thought of taking personal responsibility for your child and having them behave in a public space causes you to roll your eyes? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/16 "2009-06-25T12:57:31Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > There’s a restaurant in central Taiwan that has decorated its floor space with those kind of (operating) antique-looking fans. After I saw my 3 year old daughter checking it out, I went over and turned it off, then felt the blades. They were metal, heavy and almost sharp [ETA: and the motor seemed quite powerful – it was putting out quite a breeze, rotating those heavy metal blades]. They could have easily broken one of my kid’s fingers if not severed them. I had a word with a manager, who listened with the typical Taiwanese smiling, respectful, embarrassed head bobbing earnestness while at the same time blowing me off entirely. I’m sure she started the fan again as soon as we left. Wow, how rude. I hope the restaurant manager bars you until you and your child learn how to behave in other people’s property. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/17 "2009-06-25T13:11:24Z")
I’m not going to bother responding to anyone specifically – somehow, things are not visible to me – but to clarify for anyone else, these were a number of standing, 3-4 foot high floor fans situated right next to the tables, in a casual open coffee shop kind of setting. It would have taken only a second for a three year old to leave her seat, walk by and have her fingres make contact with the fan near our table even inadvertently. It was their positioning right next to the tables that I found the most worrisome. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/18 "2009-06-25T14:16:02Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Reminds me of the guy on Letterman who stopped a fan blade with his tongue. \*Never rob a bank without a plan Never use your tongue to stop a fan Smokin’ on the night train, chewin’ on a jelly-roll…\* ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/19 "2009-06-25T14:23:13Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > The thought of taking personal responsibility for your child and having them behave in a public space causes you to roll your eyes? Welcome to the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/20 "2009-06-25T14:29:57Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I’m not going to bother responding to anyone specifically – somehow, things are not visible to me – but to clarify for anyone else, these were a number of standing, 3-4 foot high floor fans situated right next to the tables, in a casual open coffee shop kind of setting. It would have taken only a second for a three year old to leave her seat, walk by and have her fingres make contact with the fan near our table even inadvertently. It was their positioning right next to the tables that I found the most worrisome. Best not take your kid to the Grand Canyon. They never got around to putting up a fence around the whole thing. I complained to the park ranger but he just nodded his head. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899.md?page=2)