Irrational Fears

Some people are afraid of things that are worthy of being scared about, such as spiders, heights, snakes and small spaces. And some people are afraid of things that are just plain silly, like peanut butter (unless you're allergic), the number 666 and Friday the 13th.

People, there is nothing scary about peanut butter sticking the the roof of your mouth. 666 is just a number and Friday the 13th is a myth. These fears are irrational.

However, some types of spiders and snakes are poisonous and if they bite you, they will kill you if you cannot extract the venom. If you're up high, there is a chance of your falling and sustaining bad injuries or dying. Small spaces are just kind of nerve-wracking. I don't think its possible to die, unless you're trapped and don't have food or water and run out of oxygen.

Rational and irrational fears all have something in common: their formal names. They all end in phobia:

• Arachnaphobia: fear of spiders
• Claustrophobia: fear of small spaces
• Ophidiophobia:fear of snakes
• Acrophobia: fear of heights
• Arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut butter
• Hexakosioihexekontahexphobia: fear of the number 666
• Paraskevidekatriaphobia: fear of Friday the 13th.

Looking at this list, I think we can assume that the more irrational the fear, the more absurdly long and hard-to-pronounce name.