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What Are Some Awesome Ear Plugs [my roommate is still terrible]

INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teethRegistered User regular
edited April 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
So after getting zero sleep last night because my roommate got a phone call in the middle of the night and subsequently bitched about my snoring (and, apparently, stayed up texting and making sure that any time I started to fall asleep, to wake me up again), I've decided to get some ear plugs so that I just don't hear him trying to wake me up.

What are some decent ear plugs, ideally ones that won't make me deaf and I can wear through the night while I am unconscious?

Also, I'm pretty sure I need to go tell him to stop waking me up, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

Input on either topic is appreciated!

INeedNoSalt on

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    saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Also, I'm pretty sure I need to go tell him to stop waking me up, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

    "Dude. Stop waking me up."

    saltiness on
    XBL: heavenkils
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    saltiness wrote: »
    Also, I'm pretty sure I need to go tell him to stop waking me up, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

    "Dude. Stop waking me up."

    I'm expecting a "Stop snoring" and I'm not really certain what my rebuttal is to that.

    Besides "I can't."

    INeedNoSalt on
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    SipexSipex Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Earplugs, while easy will not solve the problem. I'd still recommend getting some if late night phonecalls are a problem though.

    See, your roommate will simply escalate the situation, if you don't wake up (ie: stop snoring/whatever) than he'll probably resort to either
    A) Shaking you awake or something akin to that.
    B) Being a passive agressive bitch
    or
    C) (unlikely but possible) Confronting you about it.

    You should probably skip directly to C

    edit: Also, saying you can't is pretty accurate. Do you sleep in the same room as him? I've heard loud snoring before but never anything a closed door can't solve.

    Sipex on
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    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    "Invest in ear plugs."

    But go to your pharmacy and look through their sleep aide sections. You're probably going to come across your typical in-ear ear plugs. They're uncomfortable until you get used to them.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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    RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    I'm right there with ya. My roommate decided 2am was a good time to do laundry, and the fucker never checks his pockets so around 3am I get to wake up to about $3.57 rattling around in the dryer on the other side of the wall next to my bed. And this is Canada, so it's all coin.

    My advice is to be tactful but firm in relaying to him that shit like that ain't kosher.

    Ruckus on
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Sipex wrote: »
    edit: Also, saying you can't is pretty accurate. Do you sleep in the same room as him? I've heard loud snoring before but never anything a closed door can't solve.

    It's one room, yeah.

    Anyway, I'm going to head back to my room in a minute here and when I get there I think I'm just going to inform him straight up that if he can't sleep at night, he needs to get some ear plugs or take some nyquil because it's pretty retarded for my sleep to depend on whether or not he's getting any.

    INeedNoSalt on
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    adytumadytum The Inevitable Rise And FallRegistered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Ruckus wrote: »
    I'm right there with ya. My roommate decided 2am was a good time to do laundry, and the fucker never checks his pockets so around 3am I get to wake up to about $3.57 rattling around in the dryer on the other side of the wall next to my bed. And this is Canada, so it's all coin.

    My advice is to be tactful but firm in relaying to him that shit like that ain't kosher.

    Our drier makes the worst noise that reverberates throughout the entire house, and one of my roommates likes to dry his laundry at 1AM. I just go and turn the drier off as I go to bed. If he turns it back on, I go back down and turn it off. By then he's usually asleep, and he wakes up to wet clothes. The silly goose.

    As far as ear plugs, this has been mentioned in a variety of other threads: the simple cylindrical foam ones you can buy from CVS are comfortable, effective, safe, and cheap.

    adytum on
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Had a brief exchange that went

    "You need to stop waking me up"

    "Can you stop snoring so much"

    "Not really no"

    "Then I can't sleep"

    "Then you can buy some earplugs or take some nyquil before you sleep, it doesn't do either of us any good if we both don't sleep"

    INeedNoSalt on
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    Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    On the snoring issue, have you tried those nose strip things?

    Grid System on
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    no, i told him i'd pick some up and give it a shot but in return he has to shut the fuck up and let me sleep

    INeedNoSalt on
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    streeverstreever Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    I almost guarantee you sleep on your back... y/n?

    if so, simply side sleep or sleep on your stomach. It will eliminate your snoring.

    Also, if your snoring is REALLY bad, it's likely a symptom of sleep apnea, and you should have that checked out.

    streever on
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Who knows how bad it is -- last night, I wasn't even able to fall asleep because he'd bitch at me as soon as I started breathing audibly, essentially; the moment I started to lose consciousness, he'd be on it.

    I usually sleep on my back, but not always.

    INeedNoSalt on
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    streeverstreever Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    You should totally try side-sleeping/stomach sleeping tonight. If it's hard for you, simply affix a tennis ball to your shirt where your spine is.

    I know I'm not helping you get ear plugs, but I AM helping you fix your snoring :)

    streever on
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    WalterWalter Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    I don't know if this is your case but my old roommate snored unreasonably loud. It wasn't a soft snoring, it was at least as loud as someone shouting. If you've never had to sleep in the same room as someone like this its hard to understand how torturous it can be. Earplugs won't help. Luckily I only had to deal with it for a week when we went on a trip together and it resulted in me sleeping on the floor in someone else's room after two nights.

    He ended up going to a doctor after he got a girlfriend and she refused to stay the night with him. I don't know what he did but it was fixed without surgery.

    Walter on
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    ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Have you tried taking a decongestant or antihistamine?

    Thanatos on
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    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Have you tried taking a decongestant or antihistamine?

    No, thanatos, that's bad, he'll get addicted.

    :lol:

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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    Protein ShakesProtein Shakes __BANNED USERS regular
    edited April 2010
    http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/snoring?page=2

    I'd follow that first.

    Keep in mind, snoring can lead to other complications so trying to address it is a good idea regardless of your dumbass roommate.
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Have you tried taking a decongestant or antihistamine?

    WebMD says that will only make him snore more.

    Protein Shakes on
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    ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Have you tried taking a decongestant or antihistamine?
    WebMD says that will only make him snore more.
    It's referring to sleep aids; if you're going to take something regularly as an antihistamine, you probably want to do one of the morning pills (like Zyrtec, Allegra, or Claritin) as part of a regular regime, rather than one of the ones that cause drowsiness.

    Thanatos on
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    Dr. FrenchensteinDr. Frenchenstein Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    there comes a time where you need to do something about your snoring though, especially if you are keeping him awake. yeah he's being a douche about it but you are also coming off as "fuck you deal with it and leave me alone." you drinking enough water? dehydration can cause apnea (if that's what's going on) also drinking/smoking.

    Dr. Frenchenstein on
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    Protein ShakesProtein Shakes __BANNED USERS regular
    edited April 2010
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Have you tried taking a decongestant or antihistamine?
    WebMD says that will only make him snore more.
    It's referring to sleep aids; if you're going to take something regularly as an antihistamine, you probably want to do one of the morning pills (like Zyrtec, Allegra, or Claritin) as part of a regular regime, rather than one of the ones that cause drowsiness.

    I see, yeah that makes sense.

    Protein Shakes on
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Walter wrote: »
    I don't know if this is your case but my old roommate snored unreasonably loud. It wasn't a soft snoring, it was at least as loud as someone shouting. If you've never had to sleep in the same room as someone like this its hard to understand how torturous it can be. Earplugs won't help. Luckily I only had to deal with it for a week when we went on a trip together and it resulted in me sleeping on the floor in someone else's room after two nights.

    He ended up going to a doctor after he got a girlfriend and she refused to stay the night with him. I don't know what he did but it was fixed without surgery.

    he was able to put up with whatever snoring i've been putting out for months before he resorted to this ridiculous "wake salt up every time he inhales" approach

    INeedNoSalt on
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    saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Sounds like you both need to quit being children and actually discuss what the issue is and how you can both work together to fix it.

    saltiness on
    XBL: heavenkils
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    BoomShakeBoomShake The Engineer Columbia, MDRegistered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Walter wrote: »
    I don't know if this is your case but my old roommate snored unreasonably loud. It wasn't a soft snoring, it was at least as loud as someone shouting. If you've never had to sleep in the same room as someone like this its hard to understand how torturous it can be. Earplugs won't help. Luckily I only had to deal with it for a week when we went on a trip together and it resulted in me sleeping on the floor in someone else's room after two nights.

    He ended up going to a doctor after he got a girlfriend and she refused to stay the night with him. I don't know what he did but it was fixed without surgery.

    he was able to put up with whatever snoring i've been putting out for months before he resorted to this ridiculous "wake salt up every time he inhales" approach

    That's possible, but much more likely is that it's been bothering him this long, he's let it fester instead of confronting you like an adult, and now he can't take it anymore.

    Is he being a douche for approaching it like this? Yes. Are you being a silly goose for getting so upset with him without realizing how annoying snoring can be nor how loud you in particular snore? Yes.

    Compromise is the way to go here. You get the nasal strips and try sleeping on your side or stomach, as you've indicated you will, and he needs to be understanding (or even helpful) while you fix the snoring issue.

    Really, this is just another situation that could have been avoided, and now could be mitigated, if people came right out and communicated civily when there was an issue.

    BoomShake on
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    Protein ShakesProtein Shakes __BANNED USERS regular
    edited April 2010
    Walter wrote: »
    I don't know if this is your case but my old roommate snored unreasonably loud. It wasn't a soft snoring, it was at least as loud as someone shouting. If you've never had to sleep in the same room as someone like this its hard to understand how torturous it can be. Earplugs won't help. Luckily I only had to deal with it for a week when we went on a trip together and it resulted in me sleeping on the floor in someone else's room after two nights.

    He ended up going to a doctor after he got a girlfriend and she refused to stay the night with him. I don't know what he did but it was fixed without surgery.

    he was able to put up with whatever snoring i've been putting out for months before he resorted to this ridiculous "wake salt up every time he inhales" approach

    That doesn't really matter. Maybe he is stressed these days, or has developed a health problem, and his sleep is being negatively affected as a result. So while he may have put up with your snoring in the past, he no longer can.

    This does not mean you should not work on reducing/eliminating your snoring. You should do it for your own sake even if you don't care about your roommate.

    Protein Shakes on
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    corcorigancorcorigan Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    saltiness wrote: »
    Sounds like you both need to quit being children and actually discuss what the issue is and how you can both work together to fix it.

    Yeah, do this.

    Even if you can't actually resolve it, you'll both sleep better by not hating one another.

    corcorigan on
    Ad Astra Per Aspera
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    mooshoeporkmooshoepork Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Wtf, he's waking you up? Every night? Whenever you're about to fall asleep? By all means solve the snoring problem. Get strips or something, but I'd fucking lose it.

    I don't know how you haven't resorted to curb stomping him. Maybe you're a rational human-being.

    mooshoepork on
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    JokermanJokerman Everything EverywhereRegistered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Man you need to both invest in some of those Foam earplugs. If they drown out an M16, they'll drown out snoring\cellphone calls.

    like each go in 10 bucks and get a big box of them. The Triple flange ones are pretty comfy too, but they let more ambient sound in so ymmv.

    Jokerman on
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    ihmmyihmmy Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    what about trying some anti-snoring aids? I mean, talk to him, the compromise being you will try anti-snoring aids and he will not wake you up for the nights you attempt those, so you can at least see if they help.

    If not, can you guys apply to swap rooms/roommates somehow? If neither of you can get sleep with the other there, it's a problem.

    ihmmy on
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    ZeromusZeromus Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Man, I had a roommate that would get out of bed and smack my feet to wake me up whenever I would snore. And then he would get back in bed, fall asleep, and snore also.

    Roommates can fucking suck sometimes.

    But yes, sleeping on your stomach or side should help. Plugging your ears isn't going to stop your roomie from waking you up.

    Zeromus on
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    eternalbleternalbl Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Walter wrote: »
    I don't know if this is your case but my old roommate snored unreasonably loud. It wasn't a soft snoring, it was at least as loud as someone shouting. If you've never had to sleep in the same room as someone like this its hard to understand how torturous it can be. Earplugs won't help. Luckily I only had to deal with it for a week when we went on a trip together and it resulted in me sleeping on the floor in someone else's room after two nights.

    He ended up going to a doctor after he got a girlfriend and she refused to stay the night with him. I don't know what he did but it was fixed without surgery.

    he was able to put up with whatever snoring i've been putting out for months before he resorted to this ridiculous "wake salt up every time he inhales" approach

    Wasn't your last thread about the roommate who went out all night and then slept all day and you didn't want to feel like you had to be quiet at 2 in the afternoon?

    Also, if the roles were reversed, and your roommate made a thread about your snoring everyone would be replying 'Be an adult and talk to him about it.' Which is essentially what your roommate is doing, just not in the nicest of ways. He's not being a douche at this point that I can see.

    You need to try to find ways of controlling your snoring. Try those strips, and antihistamines like mentioned earlier. I love sleeping on my stomach, maybe it'll work to help your snoring and you'll find it comfortable too? Your roommate also needs to pick up some comfortable ear plugs and maybe you could both chip in to get a fan so that white noise helps both of you be less irritable by noise.

    eternalbl on
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    eternalbl wrote: »
    You need to try to find ways of controlling your snoring. Try those strips, and antihistamines like mentioned earlier. I love sleeping on my stomach, maybe it'll work to help your snoring and you'll find it comfortable too? Your roommate also needs to pick up some comfortable ear plugs and maybe you could both chip in to get a fan so that white noise helps both of you be less irritable by noise.

    I have a fan; roommate bitches if I keep it on over night.

    It's not super loud, but I like it because it means I don't have to listen to his sleep-noises ... he disagrees, obviously.

    INeedNoSalt on
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    ThegreatcowThegreatcow Lord of All Bacons Washington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Another trick I found that might help with snoring is a mouth guard, like the one you use for boxing that allows you to breath while still holding your jaw mostly closed. (I think Everlast makes one.) This will only help if the snoring is occurring at the back of your throat and not nasally, but I found it helps out quite a bit when I use one. But the other recommendations are pretty darn solid!


    -Sleep on your side or stomach, especially if you're like me and a deep sleeper, overweight and snore like a chainsaw

    -Try the nasal strips if you're sure your snoring is originating in your nasal cavity, they can help...sometimes.

    -Make sure to brush your teeth/mouthwash when you go to bed, I find my snoring is much much worse if I don't do this before I go to bed.

    -Make sure you limit the amount of food you eat at least 2 hours before you go to bed. I find that if I eat a heavy/greasy meal before I crash for the night, the next morning my snoring can get so bad I'll wake up all tired with a brutally sore throat.

    Of course this all comes down to weight for the most part. If you're overweight, even slightly, losing weight will reduce your snoring in the long run.

    As for your roommate now, I completely sympathize with you, I had an exact same situation only mine ended up with me moving out rather hastily after he woke me up one night at 3am sitting at the foot of my bed with his Berretta M9 sitting on his lap....

    Thegreatcow on
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    MovitzMovitz Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    eternalbl wrote: »
    You need to try to find ways of controlling your snoring. Try those strips, and antihistamines like mentioned earlier. I love sleeping on my stomach, maybe it'll work to help your snoring and you'll find it comfortable too? Your roommate also needs to pick up some comfortable ear plugs and maybe you could both chip in to get a fan so that white noise helps both of you be less irritable by noise.

    I have a fan; roommate bitches if I keep it on over night.

    It's not super loud, but I like it because it means I don't have to listen to his sleep-noises ... he disagrees, obviously.

    I....is he Korean? Korea's #1 deathtrap are fans left on over night, true story.

    On to the issue at hand. I'm going to say that I liked the idea of you both just using earplugs. Why not start there instead of buying drugs or anti-snore nose strips. Those are pretty useless on most people anyway according to what I hear.

    Movitz on
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    Beren39Beren39 Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Movitz wrote: »
    eternalbl wrote: »
    You need to try to find ways of controlling your snoring. Try those strips, and antihistamines like mentioned earlier. I love sleeping on my stomach, maybe it'll work to help your snoring and you'll find it comfortable too? Your roommate also needs to pick up some comfortable ear plugs and maybe you could both chip in to get a fan so that white noise helps both of you be less irritable by noise.

    I have a fan; roommate bitches if I keep it on over night.

    It's not super loud, but I like it because it means I don't have to listen to his sleep-noises ... he disagrees, obviously.

    I....is he Korean? Korea's #1 deathtrap are fans left on over night, true story.

    On to the issue at hand. I'm going to say that I liked the idea of you both just using earplugs. Why not start there instead of buying drugs or anti-snore nose strips. Those are pretty useless on most people anyway according to what I hear.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death

    Holy crap, you learn something new every day. That sounds like such a "We don't really know what killed this person so we're blaming a fan" scape goat. The fan 'chops' up oxygen molecules leaving them unbreathable, wtf?

    Beren39 on
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    Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    edited April 2010
    You both need to grow up. And whoever said that your roommate isn't being a douche is dead wrong. Waking people up when they're about to go to sleep constantly makes you a douche. Maybe he can't sleep because of the snoring, but that doesn't make him not a douche for not letting you sleep, either. If anything, it makes him a bigger douche because instead of trying to confront the situation and resolving it reasonably, he's trying to resort to some sort of dumbass version of operant conditioning or something. You'd think he would put two and two together and figure out that consciously trying to help stop the snoring is a better approach than being a fucking asshole.


    1) Go out and get several of the aids people have spoken about in this thread. Anti-histamines, nose flaps, special pillows, etc.

    2) Get earplugs.

    3) Have a fucking adult conversation with your roommate. Tell him you understand that your snoring is an issue, but that you have no conscious control over it. The only thing you can do is try to alleviate the situation using some sort of aid or medicine. There's no way for you to learn how to stop snoring.

    4) Tell him that you will be trying every possible solution you can find, and hopefully something will stick.

    5) Until you find a solution that works, you are happy to provide him earplugs so that he can sleep.

    6) But that in the meantime, it is unacceptable that he resort to waking you up whenever you are about to fall asleep.

    7) If he can't deal with earplugs for some reason, then he needs to also be a fucking adult and figure out how he can sleep a night with the snoring going on. Possible solutions include: using earphones and listening to music, leaving the TV on, having some sort of "white noise" going on in the background, finding another place to live.


    Seriously, you guys need to grow up. If you can't afford your own room, then this is the shit you have to deal with.

    Inquisitor77 on
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    MovitzMovitz Registered User regular
    edited April 2010
    Beren39 wrote: »
    Movitz wrote: »
    eternalbl wrote: »
    You need to try to find ways of controlling your snoring. Try those strips, and antihistamines like mentioned earlier. I love sleeping on my stomach, maybe it'll work to help your snoring and you'll find it comfortable too? Your roommate also needs to pick up some comfortable ear plugs and maybe you could both chip in to get a fan so that white noise helps both of you be less irritable by noise.

    I have a fan; roommate bitches if I keep it on over night.

    It's not super loud, but I like it because it means I don't have to listen to his sleep-noises ... he disagrees, obviously.

    I....is he Korean? Korea's #1 deathtrap are fans left on over night, true story.

    On to the issue at hand. I'm going to say that I liked the idea of you both just using earplugs. Why not start there instead of buying drugs or anti-snore nose strips. Those are pretty useless on most people anyway according to what I hear.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death

    Holy crap, you learn something new every day. That sounds like such a "We don't really know what killed this person so we're blaming a fan" scape goat. The fan 'chops' up oxygen molecules leaving them unbreathable, wtf?

    Protip: It's superstition and silly gooseyness. But they have some nice theories about vortexes of death that creates vacuum and hypothermia. Various people in high position takes it seriously for whatever reason and there are laws that fans must come with a built in switch-off timer.

    Let's not dwell anymore on stoopid furriners

    Movitz on
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