Here, have some fanservice.note
Since rotary fans essentially "chop up" air as part of its function, speaking/breathing into a fan will cause a distortion effect on the voice, leading to hilarious results.
A guaranteed way to make a character's voice sound ridiculous is to have them speak into a fan, whether it's because they're simply standing near one or because they're goofing around by doing it on purpose.
You can achieve a similar vocal effect with a modern plastic fan. The old wire-frame ones are somehow more satisfying, though.
Not to be confused with Fan Speak or fans with funny voices.
Examples:
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Advertising
- In an M&M's ad announcing the return of Crispy M&Ms, Yellow distorts his voice with a fan by accident
. (He'd misunderstood what Red meant by "tell our fans".)
- A Clorox disinfectant ad depicts a sick girl making noises into a fan while her mother cleans up behind her. Then she sneezes into the fan, blowing her germs back onto her mother.
Anime and Manga
- In Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, when Bo-bobo is at a job interview to become a Hair Hunt Trooper, one of the three interviewers asks if he has any special skills. Bo-bobo cites opening his mouth in front of a fan, and that he got 2nd place in a contest for it. When the interviewer asks the chief examiner how that qualifies Bo-bobo to be a Hair Hunter, it turns out the chief got 1st place, and that his other co-worker got 3rd. The interviewer sheepishly admits that he also was also in the contest, and placed 57th.
- In Hidamari Sketch, Yuno and Miyako catch Sae talking into the fan, pretending to be an alien.
- In Lucky Star, Konata and Tsukasa both breathe on an electric fan to make a funny voice on a hot summer day when Konata visits for a study session. Kagami calls them out on it, but Kagami's father mentions that she did the same thing earlier, much to her embarrassment.
- In GO-GO Tamagotchi! episode 8a, Mimitchi brings a simple house fan as her entry to an invention project for robotics class, and everyone else has fun yelling "Ahhhhhhh" into the fan as it's blowing and hearing their voices being distorted by it.
Fan Works
- Exploited in Glitter Force: Into the Glitterverse; Regina attracts Jewel and Ellen's attention by getting them to talk into a fan, before rounding them up for an emergency meeting in the library.
- Lost Latte: Kabaton's voice is distorted by a fan in the hardware store when he says "Welcome to Heaven!" which amuses him.
Films — Live-Action
- One scene in Tommy Boy has Tommy fooling around in his office and saying random stuff into his desk fan, one of which is: "Luke... Luuuuuuke! I am your faaaaaather"
- In Muppets from Space, Pepe the Prawn does this to get Gonzo (Addled with sleep deprivation) to build a jacuzzi. "Buiild a jacuzzi and they will commmmme, okaaaay?"
Music
- Famously used in Black Sabbath's "Iron Man":
I AM IIIRON MANN...
Newspaper Comics
- Phoebe and Her Unicorn: The 2022-07-23 comic has Marigold amuse herself by neighing into a fan.
Western Animation
- Bluey: "The Pool" opens with the title character talking into a fan while having a conversation with her mom.
