Thinking about phobias (meaning "irrational fears") led me to wonder about other kinds of phobias people might have, so I searched for "phobias" and came up with this site: The Phobia List . Here are a few of my favorite phobias from this site:
- Alliumphobia - Fear of garlic. (I guess this phobia is genetic for vampires.)
- Amathophobia - Fear of dust. (I can honestly say this is a phobia I do NOT have--as anyone who has seen the dust bunnies in my house can attest to.)
- Genuphobia - Fear of knees. (What?)
- Papyrophobia - Fear of paper. (I can understand this one. I once got a papercut on my eyeball--don't ask.)
- Thaasophobia - Fear of sitting. (I can't imagine going through life only standing or reclining.)
- Vestiphobia - Fear of clothing. (My cat exhibits signs of this phobia. She absolutely refuses to be dressed up. I have shown her pictures of the three little kittens who lost their mittens and cried as a result, but she remains unconvinced that clothing is necessary for felines.)
- Xenoglossophobia - Fear of foreign languages.
- Zemmiphobia - Fear of the great mole rat. (Sounds like the premise for a bad sci-fi flick.)
If you enjoyed The Phobia List, try The Phobias or About.com's Phobias List. If you are looking for more serious sites, visit Mayo Clinic's Phobias fact sheet or the American Psychiatric Association's Phobias site.
If I suffer from any phobia, it's agoraphobia--fear of being in crowded, public places like markets. I don't have a problem in most crowds, but if the crowds get really close, I feel like I need to scream. So...what's your phobia?
