# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/21 "2009-06-25T14:32:31Z")
Our fans had metal blades and none of us kids even got cut by the blades. Your fingers got a whack that pushed them back out. We even put fingers in on purpose to stop the fan quicker so we could move the fan to a new location. They were not so dangerous that they cut off or broke fingers leaving them piled to the right and left of you. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/22 "2009-06-25T14:48:48Z")
Its actually difficult to cut off a finger or toe. A fan? Probably not. A lawnmower? Yes. So even in the lax safety standards of the day, those fans were pretty safe. As far as responsiblity and liability goes, well, I dont think much has changed other than the demand that the world be child-safe because the behavior of children cannot be controlled. I think thats a good assumption in life. Children are like little animals, we cannot berate the parents every time they act out. Even the best raised children do stupid things time to time. Its something of a minor miracle I have all my fingers, eyes, and toes. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/23 "2009-06-25T14:52:35Z")
There is much to be said that becoming a Darwin Award nominee is equivalent to pouring more chlorine into the human gene pool. Both are sadly needed today. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/24 "2009-06-25T15:04:19Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > Why not watch your child and teach your child to behave in a restaurant rather than blaming the restaurant? Here’s a new concept for you, genius. How about if parents were to watch their kids carefully _and_ try to eliminate any obvious safety hazards. A good parent will remove steak knives from a toddler’s place setting, blow out candles, and ask an employee to remove any other perceived dangers (e.g., exposed fan blades). It’s not enough to simply “watch your child and teach your child.” ---
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/25 "2009-06-25T15:15:05Z")
Since the fans were at the table level, the mother could have just turned them off. Lecturing the Maitre’d that their entire restaurant decor was unsafe for baby, therefore needed to be totally redone, is a bit [french accent] _l’Americanne!_ ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/26 "2009-06-25T15:15:32Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > 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. You say that like it’s some sort of revelation/enlightening for all. ---
**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, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/27 "2009-06-25T15:16:00Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > It’s not enough to simply “watch your child and teach your child.” And yet, somehow, humanity survived for thousands and thousands of years. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/28 "2009-06-25T15:17:41Z")
> [@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. Just wanted to say that these are not oscillating fans. They are…fans. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/29 "2009-06-25T15:22:18Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > Here’s a new concept for you, genius. How about if parents were to watch their kids carefully _and_ try to eliminate any obvious safety hazards. A good parent will remove steak knives from a toddler’s place setting, blow out candles, and ask an employee to remove any other perceived dangers (e.g., exposed fan blades). It’s not enough to simply “watch your child and teach your child.” Your statements are sensible. If you take a child into an environment containing dangers you try to adjust the environment so that the child is safe. But reread **Koxinga’s** statement. > [@](#): > > I’m sure she started the fan again as soon as we left. That goes beyond making adjustments for your child. That’s telling somebody else that they have to adjust their environment permanently in case you show up again. Like **Hampshire** implied, dangerous places exist and you shouldn’t expect the rest of the world to actively accommodate the safety of your child. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/30 "2009-06-25T15:44:14Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Its actually difficult to cut off a finger or toe. A fan? Probably not. A lawnmower? Yes. This brings to mind the _Mythbusters_ episode where the team tried to build a fan that would be able to cause major damage. They had to rig the fan to a souped-up engine and replace the fan blades with sharpened lawnmower blades before they even got to “chopping off body parts” damage. So, really, the answer to this question is “because antique fans didn’t actually hurt anybody.” You’d be more likely to get hurt by getting a hernia by lifting the things…some of them weighed a ton. ---
**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, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/31 "2009-06-25T15:48:33Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Your statements are sensible. If you take a child into an environment containing dangers you try to adjust the environment so that the child is safe. But reread **Koxinga’s** statement. That goes beyond making adjustments for your child. That’s telling somebody else that they have to adjust their environment permanently in case you show up again. > > Like **Hampshire** implied, dangerous places exist and you shouldn’t expect the rest of the world to actively accommodate the safety of your child. Actually, I thought I was doing the manager a bit of a favor in warning her of a lawsuit risk; and I don’t care to think of any kids being hurt, whether mine or or someone who comes after me. And in Taiwan, everyone brings their children in tow, _everywhere_. There’s no such thing as a designated child-free public space. And they like to let their kids run around, probably more so than most Americans or Europeans (though not as much as those bloody Mexicans 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/32 "2009-06-25T16:19:27Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > Here’s a new concept for you, genius. How about if parents were to watch their kids carefully _and_ try to eliminate any obvious safety hazards. A good parent will remove steak knives from a toddler’s place setting This wasn’t “at a toddler’s place setting,” it was somewhere that the poster “went over” to, so it likely wasn’t at the table, and therefore not of much actual concern. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/33 "2009-06-25T16:45:49Z")
> [@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. > [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > This wasn’t “at a toddler’s place setting,” it was somewhere that the poster “went over” to, so it likely wasn’t at the table, and therefore not of much actual concern. Sorry, but appears that **Koxinga** and **McClure** have very different memories of the event. Remind me again who was actually there? But anyway, that’s not the point. My point is that it seems reasonable for parents to watch their children _and_ try to keep them in a safe environment. I doubt that Koxinga returned to that same coffee shop with small children, which probably suits the manager just fine since I doubt he was trying to create a child-friendly ambiance. ETA: I apologize for participating in the hijack. I’m done. Now back to discussing poorly designed fans… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/34 "2009-06-25T18:11:52Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > And yet, somehow, humanity survived for thousands and thousands of years. _ **Some** _ humans survived. Not all did, and many of those who did got hurt. Personally, I prefer to live in a world where things are designed with an eye to safety, instead of a world where I have a good chance of ending up hurt or dead due to bad design. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/35 "2009-06-25T18:21:54Z")
> [@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. Those are from the time when parents came equipped with common sense and children with discipline. As those went out of fashion, they started blocking the wind with hundreds of little bars. ---
**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, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/36 "2009-06-25T18:41:47Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > _ **Some** _ humans survived. Not all did, and many of those who did got hurt. Personally, I prefer to live in a world where things are designed with an eye to safety, instead of a world where I have a good chance of ending up hurt or dead due to bad design. I don’t disagree with you entirely, I just see it differently. [Cars that explode after relatively minor accidents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto#Safety_problems_and_scandal) make you hurt or dead due to bad design. Fans you can stick your finger in make you hurt due to the user’s dumb behavior. If you want to say that we should design everything in the world to eliminate any and all possibility of a user’s dumb behavior resulting in them getting hurt, well, that’s a different subject entirely, but it leads to a world I don’t want to live in. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/37 "2009-06-25T18:47:40Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I don’t disagree with you entirely, I just see it differently. [Cars that explode after relatively minor accidents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto#Safety_problems_and_scandal) make you hurt or dead due to bad design. Fans you can stick your finger in make you hurt due to the user’s dumb behavior. Or if you trip while walking across the room and as you reflexively stick your arms out to break your fall, your hand goes into the fan blades. There are plenty of ways an intelligent user could injure himself on a bare fan. I don’t see the big deal - encasing the fan blades in a cage is a cheap solution that doesn’t significantly impede the function of the device. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/38 "2009-06-25T18:55:45Z")
I think some of us are forgetting that accidents happen. It’s not like someone will be looking at those spinning blades, and think, “Hmm… I wonder what would happen if I stick my fingers in there? Oh, I see now. I’m bleeding profusely. Shucks!” Heck, old Uncle Carl could be describing his most fishing trip, explaining how he caught a fish thiiiiiis big, extending his arms, getting into the story, then before you know it, jamming his hand into the nearby fan. Is Uncle Carl a moron? Not necessarily. But is everyone a moron who’s ever sliced their finger in the kitchen? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/39 "2009-06-25T18:58:56Z")
I grew up around those kinds of fans and did in fact stick my fingers in them. It hurt. But I wasn’t injured. The front of the fan has the trailing edge of the blade so, unless you jam your hand in there as fast as you possibly can, it is extremely difficult to touch the leading and cutting edge of the fan blade. The back side of the fan was a different story but the backside was lest dramatic as the front. The front had more noise and moving air. The back had much less of that. So maybe those fans existed because most encounters with children happened on the noisy whooshing attractive but painful side (the side that is pointed in the direction of the rooms occupants) instead of the quieter but bloody side (the side that’s usually very close to a wall). ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899/40 "2009-06-25T19:04:42Z")
> [@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. You can explain all day and night but the bottom line is that you wanted someone else to change their behavior so you won’t make sure your child sits and behaves. It would certainly take only a few seconds for a child to get up but not if the parent is watching the child and the child has learned that he is NOT to get up without permission. Sorry but you have no point other than you have some entitlement issues to work through. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-antique-oscillating-fans-how-did-they-get-away-with-it/500899.md?page=3)