Whenever I see a ceiling fan whirling away, I think, "There must be occasional mishaps with these things. You can't hang a big, 40-pound, vibrating mechanical device with long, whirling blades from a ceiling somewhere and expect it to stay indefinitely conflict-free." (Well, I don't think that every time; sometimes I use slightly different words.) That's why there should be a publication called Ceiling Fan Accident Quarterly, to keep the general public up-to-date on all the heretofore untold ceiling-fan boo-boos you know are going on all around us. Very tall people who don't duck; workmen with ladders; bunches of balloons whose strings were too long; not to mention the spectre of loose screws, crumbling plaster, etc. There's a lot of material there. Maybe it should be a website, so it could include video. In any case, I thought there was a dearth of ventilation-related ideas here.
-- Ander, Jun 28 2000

Peter Pan hits ceiling fan http://www.smh.com..../1044927661038.html
[hippo, Oct 04 2004]

Ceiling Fans http://www.ceilingfan.com
Very amusing stories! [kelly23, Oct 04 2004]

Emerson Fans http://emerson.metrolightingcenters.net
Hypnotic Rotation [SheinTao, Jan 12 2007]

Accident with ceiling fan and trampoline http://www.youtube....watch?v=tPAhaLh4aCQ
The fan 'accident' to end all fan accidents. [wagster, Jan 12 2007]

Just yesterday, I had a harrowing ceiling fan accident. Alone in the house, I was climbing a ladder to put something away in a shelf. Suddenly, my head starts whanging out of position, with a disturbingly regular rhythm. "Oh, god. There's a tall, weird, stalker in the house, and he's standing behind me messing with my head," I think. I quickly turn around, jumping off the ladder in the process, hoping to startle the freako and save my life.

Then I realize it's just the ceiling fan blades hitting my bun. This is not the first time my hair bun has acted as a head safety buffer zone, but that's a story for another time.
-- clynne, Jun 28 2000


some could be quite entertaining. i remember hearing an urban legend about a woman heard calling from her bedroom window for help. when the neighbours forced their way in they found her nude, handcuffed to the bed, covered by her unconcious husband who was dressed up in a rubber batman suit. it seems he had leapt from the dresser onto the bed, but was rendered unconcious in mid flight by the whirling blades of their ceiling fan.
-- pixelswisher, Jun 28 2000


I was in a TGI Fridays in Covent Garden, London a couple of months ago for my brothers birthday. We had told the staff it was his birthday and they duly arrived at our table with lots of helium filled balloons. Being slightly inebriated we decided that tying the ballons together to form an immensely tall string of balloons was a good idea. We tied them to my brother so they didn't float away but unfortunately failed to notice as they crept towards the ceiling fan.... My brother managed to untie himself just in time but the fan suffered a slow death as five balloons (plus ribbon) entangled themselves in said fan. Luckily the staff saw the funny side...
-- MrTheRich, Jun 30 2000


Can the adults be drunk?
-- Ander, Oct 13 2000


And now: Someone give me a writing job, please. Thank you.
-- Ander, Oct 13 2000


I have cats. I don't have enough time to play with my cats to satisfy their needs. I figured a strip of fleece with a mouse glued to one end and the other attached to the fan was a great idea. Now being the clever guy that I am figured that something could go wrong. I need to make sure there is a quick release on the blade so the strip will come off easily. I'm so clever! I leave my ingenious device dancing in the room to the amazment of my furry friends. I forget about it almost immediately. I hear a thunk, thunk, thunk, yeow followed by a thud. As I run out to the other room my little gals run past me going the other way. The strip is about 1 foot longer than it was, my ceiling needed to be repainted and my girlfrinds crystal dust collecter is broken on the floor. I guess my idea of easy release wasn't the same as Newtons.
-- easilyodd, Aug 17 2001


Yes. Nasty. I'm sure for every amusing tale of batman costumes there'd be dozens like the unfortunate man from Auckland, NZ, who tossed his niece into the air and only caught one of the pieces that came back down.
-- Trouvere, Aug 18 2001


easilyodd: lol. Well told, that should be in the very first issue of the Quarterly.
-- Dog Ed, Aug 18 2001


in Britain, 2 people per year are killed by tea pot cosies (covers) !
-- po, Aug 26 2001


there really was no answer to that was there?
-- po, Dec 14 2002


none....
-- Marassa, Dec 14 2002


Was sent a link - had to share. MeeOOOOOwwwww
-- thumbwax, Apr 03 2003


I wonder if Ander ever found a writing job?
-- krelnik, Apr 03 2003


The "Trading Spaces" crazies could use it as justification!
-- Tabbyclaw, Apr 03 2003


As this has been bumped I might as well link to the fabulous Steve-o fan trick (link).
-- wagster, Jan 12 2007


I have stuck my arm in said devices while putting on my jacket more than once. I also got clipped on the head. Don't remember the details, had to do with stepping on something to reach a book high on a shelf.
-- normzone, Jan 12 2007



random, halfbakery