IS THERE something deadly lurking in your bedroom? Leave an electric fan running overnight with the door and windows shut, and you can suffocate to death. The fan uses up all the oxygen in the room and produces lethal amounts of carbon dioxide. Dozens perish every year. It happened to a friend of a friend.
Sounds ridiculous? Of course it is, but then we’re talking about urban legends here. This particular example, known as fan death, circulates in South Korea. While it’s safe to assume most South Koreans don’t believe a word of it, enough pass it on to keep the idea alive.
“They’re baloney, but urban legends perform a vital social function”
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Before you scoff, be assured that every culture has its share of word-of-mouth nonsense. Think how many times you’ve heard that eating such and such decreases your fertility, or that the average train seat harbours umpteen deadly diseases. For a vast roll-call of gullibility, check out – you might recognise a few you’ve helped pass on.
So what is it that keeps urban legends going even when they’re clearly baloney? Strangely enough, they seem to perform a vital social function; nothing brings us together like a good story.
In a paper published in December 2006, researchers at the University of Waikato in New Zealand analysed what it is about rumours and urban legends that makes them so compelling. They concluded that their primary function is not to impart information but to “entertain or keep the listener’s attention, thereby enhancing social relationships” (The Psychological Record, vol 56, p 23). Lots of us love to have an enraptured audience, even if that means spouting garbage.
Given that it’s all about entertainment, little wonder that the more grisly legends are the most persistent. A study published in the US in 2001 uncovered a process of “emotional selection”, akin to natural selection, that occurs in this type of storytelling. The tall tales fittest for survival are those that are most likely to make you go “yuck!” or send a chill down your spine. The researchers found that people were more willing to pass on stories that elicited disgust or horror – the more disturbing the better (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol 81, p 1028). Fan death fits the bill perfectly, with its blend of unexpected danger and a gruesome end.
So next time you’re trying to bond with someone, or you’re stuck for an entertaining bit of conversation, why not ask if anyone’s heard about those flesh-eating worms that live inside baked beans…?