If you ask a bunch of people to RSVP for a rooftop Halloween party, expect some no-shows . . .
A new survey on America’s top PHOBIAS found the top two are a fear of heights, and a fear of OTHER PEOPLE. “Social phobia” ranked second. It’s another term for social anxiety.
They polled people in all 50 states. Here are the top phobias overall . . .
1. Acrophobia (akro-phobia) . . . the fear of heights. It’s #1 in 20 different states.
2. Social phobia . . . the fear of social situations.
3. Arachnophobia . . . the fear of spiders.
4. Thanatophobia (than-uh-tuh-phobia) . . . the fear of death.
5. Trypanophobia (trip-an-uh-phobia) . . . the fear of needles.
6. Ophidiophobia (oh-fiddy-uh-phobia) . . . the fear of snakes.
7. Atychiphobia (uh-tick-uh-phobia) . . . an intense fear of failure.
8. Agoraphobia (uh-gore-uh-phobia) . . . the fear of open spaces. (It’s #1 in New Mexico . . . and in America’s smallest state, Rhode Island.)
9. Glossophobia (gloss-uh-phobia) . . . the fear of public speaking.
10. Trypophobia (trip-uh-phobia) . . . having “feelings of disgust or fear when you see patterns with lots of holes.” (???) Like in honeycombs or sponges. It’s supposedly the top fear in Hawaii and Idaho.
11. Claustrophobia . . . or the fear of tight spaces . . . only ranked first in one state, Mississippi.
(Here’s a map with the top fear in all 50 states.)
