Paraskavedekatriaphobia

Friday, April 13, 2007

That's the fear of Friday the 13th. Very closely related to one of my favorite phobias to say, triskaidekaphobia, plain old fear of the number 13. I figured that in honor of this very special day, I'd share a few of my favorite phobias with you.

• Bathophobics should live in Hollywood, as they have a fear of depth.
• Clinophobia is one I think my daughter may have occasionally. It's the fear of going to bed.
• Dentophobia is, not surprisingly, the fear of dentists. My mother suffers horribly from this phobia.
• Erythrophobia is not actually a phobia. It's the technical phrase for pathological blushing. Wonderful to know there's a name for it next time I go all red-faced.
• Geniophobia may make it impossible for you to watch Jay Leno. It's the fear of chins.
• Helminthophobia is the fear of being infested with worms. Eeewww.
• Olfactophobia is the fear of smells. Often suffered after a person's first time in a bachelor pad.
• Uranophobia is the fear of heaven. Because those halos are pretty intimidating, y'know.

If you know of any other interesting or unusual fears, feel free to leave them in the comments.