# Irrational fears **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218 "2013-07-11T11:44:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/1 "2013-07-11T11:44:40Z")
Got any irrational fears. Mine would be getting stabbed in the eye by a blunt pencil. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/2 "2013-07-11T13:20:50Z")
Mine is that there’s some fundamental concept which I’ve been completely unaware of for my entire life. Something that everyone knows, and I’ve just somehow managed to be completely oblivious to it. “Jeez, **Lightnin’** , of _course_ dogs can do calculus. Where do you think we learned it?” ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/3 "2013-07-11T13:30:47Z")
Waking up alone with locked-in syndrome and finding a mouse nibbling on my toes. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/4 "2013-07-11T13:35:02Z")
That scene in the movie Kill Bill where Uma gets buried alive in a tight box. Yeah, that. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/5 "2013-07-11T13:39:30Z")
There’a one store I go to on occasion. It has a storm drain in the parking area. I’m convinced I’m going to drop my keys through the grate. But it’s only that one particular storm drain, not the ones in the parking lot of the building where I work, not on the street… ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/6 "2013-07-11T14:02:27Z")
Having a stroke or heart attack when I’m at home alone and have no way of getting to a phone. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/7 "2013-07-11T14:02:27Z")
That the government is spying on me. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/8 "2013-07-11T14:19:06Z")
I try to not park near storm sewers because I’m terrified of dropping my keys or phone down the grate. I’m scared of water where I can’t touch bottom - therefore I always walk on the far side of boardwalks because I’m terrified that some random person will shove me into the water. You should have seen me hugging the buildings in Venice, lol. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/9 "2013-07-11T15:08:49Z")
I’m wary of garbage disposals even at the best of times, but no way I’m sticking my hand down there. There could be a power surge, and it would suddenly roar to life! Or, I could have one hand in the disposal and have an overwhelming urge to flip the switch with the other. \*Shudder \* ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/10 "2013-07-11T15:53:18Z")
I’m irrationally afraid of the tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, ON. It goes under the Detroit River, and every time I use the tunnel I’m afraid that some sort of catastrophic flood will occur while I’m in it. Particularly if traffic backs up in the tunnel, which being an international border crossing happens quite frequently. Consequently, I always always ALWAYS try to take the bridge when I cross the border. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/11 "2013-07-11T15:55:09Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Waking up alone with locked-in syndrome and finding a mouse nibbling on my toes. Okay, the first part of that sentence was terrifying enough, but then you had to add the mouse? ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/12 "2013-07-11T15:58:12Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > That the government is spying on me. I’ve got some bad news, pal… Anyway, my irrational fear (more like a concern, really) is that I don’t have much to offer in a post-apocalyptic society. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/13 "2013-07-11T16:21:50Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Okay, the first part of that sentence was terrifying enough, but then you had to add the mouse? Not just any mouse…a RABID mouse :eek: ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/14 "2013-07-11T17:00:55Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Having a stroke or heart attack when I’m at home alone and have no way of getting to a phone. This is fairly up there, I don’t even go to the bathroom at night after going to bed without taking my cell phone with me. If I had the money I would get one of those necklace buttons that beep for an ambulance. Hm, I guess it is irrational, but I tend to keep the drapes closed all the time [we have skylights] because in a ranch house, I hate the idea that someone could be looking in on me at any random time. I even had a flash dream a few days ago about it [one that happens when you are in twilight sleep, and only lasts for a second or so] where someone with one of the [old fashioned aluminum flashlight](http://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/6087098/il_570xN.230972755.jpg)s was peering in through venetian blinds at me at night [though it happened at about 1 in the afternoon.] Oddly enough, we don’t have venetian blinds in the bedroom :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/15 "2013-07-11T17:05:20Z")
Wow, I’ve come a long way. I can list my irrational fears on one hand now. 1. The Ben Franklin Bridge collapsing while I’m driving over it (which is usually at least 3x a week.) 2. Dying and being told by some unforgiving god that I totally fucked up my entire life and will therefore be punished for all eternity. 3. Being tortured. I don’t think this fear can really be called irrational. Just that I worry about it to a greater extent than is probably warranted. 4. Burning alive. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/16 "2013-07-11T17:11:03Z")
[QUOTE=Longshanks] Got any irrational fears. Mine would be getting stabbed in the eye by a blunt pencil. [/QUOTE] Aichmophobia [QUOTE=not what you’d expect] That scene in the movie Kill Bill where Uma gets buried alive in a tight box. Yeah, that. [/QUOTE] taphophobia [QUOTE=Shakes] Having a stroke or heart attack when I’m at home alone and have no way of getting to a phone. [/QUOTE] cardiophobia [QUOTE=AaronX] That the government is spying on me. [/QUOTE] scopophobia [QUOTE=Soylent Juicy] I’m scared of water where I can’t touch bottom - therefore I always walk on the far side of boardwalks because I’m terrified that some random person will shove me into the water. You should have seen me hugging the buildings in Venice, lol. [/QUOTE] bathophobia ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/17 "2013-07-11T17:37:32Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I’m wary of garbage disposals even at the best of times, but no way I’m sticking my hand down there. There could be a power surge, and it would suddenly roar to life! Or, I could have one hand in the disposal and have an overwhelming urge to flip the switch with the other. \*Shudder \* I understand your concern, but how big are your hands? Mine are almost too big to get past the rubber collar; we usually use a huge pair of “tweezers” we bought through a mail-order catalog to get things out. (A flashlight is also usually necessary.) I once had to pull small glass shards out when a glass broke during dishwashing. And I can’t reach the switch with my one hand in there; the switch is too far away on the wall for the other to reach it. I have the irrational fear of seeing my own reflection in a mirror in a darkened room, especially at night and the less sound there is. When I was in high school, one room in the science building had a skeleton on a stand. The room was connected by a doorway. One day I happened to be in the other room after school. I noticed the one room was empty, but I didn’t go in, because I didn’t want to be in there alone with the skeleton! ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/18 "2013-07-11T18:08:53Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I’m wary of garbage disposals even at the best of times, but no way I’m sticking my hand down there. There could be a power surge, and it would suddenly roar to life! Or, I could have one hand in the disposal and have an overwhelming urge to flip the switch with the other. \*Shudder \* I have this same fear. Fortunately I don’t have a garbage disposal in my home, but when I’m visiting someone who has one, I am extremely wary. The other day I was watching a T.V. show episode with a guy who got his hand stuck in the disposal. As the paramedics were trying to get it out, he just kept screaming over and over again, “Don’t touch the switch! Don’t touch the switch!” ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/19 "2013-07-11T18:53:30Z")
The square root of 2 scares the shit out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218/20 "2013-07-11T19:20:11Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I’m wary of garbage disposals even at the best of times, but no way I’m sticking my hand down there. There could be a power surge, and it would suddenly roar to life! Or, I could have one hand in the disposal and have an overwhelming urge to flip the switch with the other. \*Shudder \* Don’t read Stephen King’s novel _Firestarter_. Every time I see a disposal, the phrase “sharpened like a living pencil” suddenly springs to mind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irrational-fears/663218.md?page=2)