Do you know someone who is so afraid of spiders that they scream whenever they see one, no matter how small it is? Or do you know someone who is afraid to fly in a plane? Overwhelming fears like these are called phobias.
EVERYONE’S AFRAID OF SOMETHING
No one really knows why people suffer from phobias, but brain chemistry and heredity might have something to do with it.
Some phobias have been around forever, like nyctophobia, the fear of the dark, or brontophobia, fear of thunder and lightning. Some fears are more commonly known, like claustrophobia, fear of small enclosed spaces, or acrophobia, the fear of heights. Other phobias are so new they don’t even have names yet—like the fear of garbage disposals or the fear of driving on the highway. Some people even suffer from the fear of taking those little cotton balls out of new medicine bottles.
TEST YOUR PHOBIA I.Q.
Just for fun, Uncle John has put together a phobia quiz. Your task is to match the fear with the phobia. Some phobias you might recognize right away. Others might be more difficult. But have no fear—the answers are provided.
A: None—“banana oil” is made from petroleum.
And, if you are afraid that some of the names of phobias are just too long to even guess at, take a look at this phobia: the fear of long words is called hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. (Try saying that 10 times fast!)
MATCH THE FEAR WITH THE PHOBIA
Fear |
Phobia |
1. Fear of spiders |
a. Necrophobia |
2. Fear of telephones |
b. Cyberphobia |
3. Fear of insects |
c. Motorphobia |
4. Fear of flying |
d. Hydrophobia |
5. Fear of computers |
e. Phonophobia |
6. Fear of animals |
f. Dentophobia |
7. Fear of automobiles |
g. Aviophobia |
8. Fear of water |
h. Entomophobia |
9. Fear of dentists |
i. Arachnophobia |
10. Fear of death |
j. Zoophobia |
Answers
1. i; 2. e; 3. h; 4. g; 5. b; 6. j; 7. c; 8. d; 9. f; 10. a.
***
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt
Snakes can have as many as 450 vertebrae, each with a pair of ribs.