ShirEl Wolfstein

Front View of the fan, Black electrical cord wrapped around the base.

Aerial view with front facing down, Control panel.

Back view

I decided to examine a fan my mother gave me on the first day of college with settings for both hot and cold. I see her specifically looking for a fan that is able to emit both temperatures such a subtle and thoughtful gesture, as I had told her that college dorms tend to be sweltering year round yet she still wanted to make sure I was warm and had options. Sitting in front of my little heating fan reminds me of her space heater when I was little and had barely any heat in her room, tucking our toes in fluffy socks in front of the heater while she did our nails and told us stories. What a subtle way to bring me comfort, but so effective. 

The fan is a matte gray plastic, the surface texture smooth, the shade of gray light with a warm undertone. The sides are rounded to match the motion of the blades but the top plateaus for a surface on which they dials lay. Around the two knobs is a black matte plastic piece with symbols in light gray describing the settings. One knob controls whether the fan is off, blowing cool, heat, and extra heated air, and the other is designated to determine the intensity of the blades and therefore air blowing. Between them is a small circular light. It is red and allows the user to be cautious should the fan be hot. 

Along the right side of the fan, given that the fan is facing forward, are small indented stripes like ribbing seated horizontally.  The left side is completely smooth, save for the indentations made for screws littered around the perimeter of the main fan. 

There is a small crack bisecting the two halves of plastic that make up the front and back half of the main plastic casing. The front piece of plastic that serves as a grate before the fan blades has a unique pattern, with lined arcs curving towards the left as they stand almost vertically. There are other pieces that mimic parabolas with their open side at the left, and one solid line extending horizontally like an equator to the grate. Directly at the center of it all sits a circular logo of the seller.

The back grate vastly differs from its counterpart. The plastic is arranged in evenly spaced and weighted rings, with arcs extended counterclockwise towards the outermost border and originating from the solid plastic circle sitting in the center of the grate. This circle remains blank aside from screw holes lined up vertically. 

The fan has a small flared base to ensure the device can stand alone and keep the fan secure. The black wire of the fan is most of the time wrapped up on the thinnest part of the base, keeping the fan as small as possible, taking up as little space as I can in my already very cramped form rooms.