Phobophobia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cheese

It's true, I promise you, there are people who are afraid of cheese, and they are known as turophobiacs. Of the alternatives, someone with chiroptophobia is afraid of bats (the flying type rather than those used in baseball or cricket); a uranophobiac has a fear of Heaven (whilst of course most people are much more afraid of the Other Place -- that's called stygiophobia, BTW); and a coulrophobiac is the not the ideal companion for a trip to the circus as they are afraid of clowns.

Answer: Frogs

Frogs may seem harmless to most of us, but not to someone with ranidaphobia. The word derives from 'ranidae', the most common family of frogs. Of the alternatives, if you have mottephobia you are afraid of butterflies and/or moths, so it's probably best not to take up lepidoptery. Someone with a fear of worms is a scoleciphobiac, whilst someone with myrmecophobia is afraid of ants.

Answer: Beards

I guess it is true that most women have an ingrained fear that one day they might start to grow a beard, but that's not the same thing really. Someone with pogonophobia is actually afraid of beards per se. The word derives from the Greek word for beard, 'pogono'.

Of the alternatives, someone who is afraid of navels (apparently there are such people) suffers from omphalophobia. A hemophobiac has a fear of blood (not an irrational fear at all, IMHO, particularly if it's your own blood). A chaetophobiac is afraid of hair (whereas many more people, particularly men, are of course petrified of going bald -- that's called phalacrophobia. Then there are peladophobiacs, who are afraid of bald people).

Answer: Rain

Gardeners might know this one, since a plant that is ombrophobe is one that is unable to stand too much watering. An ombrophobiac, as you might therefore guess, is afraid of rain.

Of the alternatives, a xylophobiac (also sometimes called a hylophobiac) is afraid of trees (or woods and forests). Related phobias include xylophobia (a fear of wooden objects) and nyctohylophobia (a fear of dark wooded areas at night). Someone with achluophobia is afraid of the dark whilst someone who has a fear of fog is homichlophobic.

Answer: The Color Yellow

Suffers of xanthophobia have a fear of the color yellow which can, apparently, include being afraid of the Sun, daffodils, yellow paint and, yes, even the Yellow Pages. Chinese people are particularly susceptible to this fear -- this has nothing to do with a Westerner's perception of their skin color, but is because receiving a yellow scarf was once an imperial order to commit suicide in China. All true, really!

By contrast, someone with leukophobia is scared of anything white, an erythrophobiac is afraid of the color red (or of blushing) and a porphyrophobiac is afraid of the color purple. Someone with chromatophobia is simply afraid of colors per se.

Of the alternatives, tetraphobia is the fear of the number four (whilst triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the Number 13 and hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of the Number 666). Understandably, papaphobia is the fear of the Pope whilst disposophobiacs are afraid of losing things or getting rid of things which may one day prove useful.

Answer: Crossing the Road

People with agyrophobia (also called dromophobia) have an irrational fear of suffering bodily harm if they cross a road. This is a separate phobia than that suffered by an ochophobiac, who is scared of being inside a moving vehicle. Someone who has amaxophobia, though, is afraid of cars per se. A gephyrophobic doesn't mind traveling in a car, but you had best be careful where you drive, since they have a fear of bridges (or crossing them).

Of the alternatives, an ablutophobic fears washing or bathing (whilst someone with automysophobia is afraid of being dirty). Someone who is scared of sleeping is either an hypnophobiac or a somniphobiac. Eisoptrophobia is the fear of seeing oneself in a mirror (whilst catoptrophobia is the fear of actual mirrors themselves).

Answer: Vomiting

The word derives from the Greek 'emein' meaning the act of vomiting. Emetophobia also has numerous sub-categories too, such as fear of vomiting in public, fear of seeing vomit, or fear of watching someone else vomiting. Aeronausiphobia is the fear of vomiting as a result of air sickness. (I kid you not!) Famous emetophiacs reputedly include Joan Baez, James Dean and Cameron Diaz.

Of the alternatives, the fear of walking is called ambulophobia (also sometimes known as basistasiphobia or basostasophobia). The fear of thinking is called phronemophobia -- not, presumably, something from which the average Fun Trivia regular would suffer. Laliophobia have a fear of speaking -- this is as distinct from phonophobiacs, who fear speaking aloud or using the telephone and glossophobiacs, who have a fear of public speaking.

Answer: The Sea

Aquaphobia (simply a fear of water) differs from hydrophobia, which is a scientific term for chemicals that produce a adverse reaction when mixed with water. Hydrophobia is also the original name for rabies.

Thalassophobiacs have a fear of the sea or the ocean -- the etymology of this is from the Greek for the sea, 'thalassa'. Although many people may be nervous about traveling on a ship, this does not class as thalassophobia. Sufferers fear actually being in the ocean and is often coupled with a fear of large sea creatures. Related phobias include selachophobia (a fear of sharks), ostraconophobia (a fear of shellfish) and ichthyophobia (fear of fish).
Of the alternatives, potamophobia is the fear of rivers or running water in general; a dinophobiac is not afraid of T. Rex (not necessarily anyway) but of whirlpools; and someone who is limnophobic would be afraid of lakes.

Answer: Gravity

All of these things seem rather essential to me but, apparently, there are people who fear one or more of them. Someone suffering from barophobia has a fear of gravity, although I have to think they would be rather more afraid if it suddenly wasn't there and they were floating off into space. You also have a problem if you are anemophobic as you then have a fear of air. An aerophobic is a bit more understandable, though, as they fear noxious substances in the air. Someone suffering from eosophobia (from 'çôs', the Greek for dawn) has a morbid fear of dawn and/or daylight.

This is distinct from a phengophobic, who specifically fears sunlight. In the big scheme of things, clouds also seem to perform a fairly important function, but that doesn't mean there aren't people with an irrational fear of them -- they're called nephophobics.

Answer: Being out of mobile phone contact

The original (some would say real) definition of nomophobia is "a fear or disdain for laws", deriving from the Greek 'nomos', meaning law. The new meaning was coined during a YouGov poll for the UK Post Office, which found that 53% of British mobile phone users get anxious when they "lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage".

The term derives from "NO-MObile-phone-PHOBIA". How sad have we all become?! Not that having one of the alternative phobias is any more rational... Consecotaleophobia (what a great word!) is the fear of chopsticks. Honestly, it really is. Perhaps sufferers see rows and rows of marching chopsticks, carrying swastika flags, along the same lines as Pink Floyd used claw-hammers in "The Wall". Sufferers from deipnophobia have a fear of dinner conversations whilst someone with pteronophobia has a morbid fear of feathers or being tickled with feathers.