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The strangest phobia I've ever heard of is fear of wooden tongue depressors, Popsicle sticks and wooden spoons. An internet pen pal of mine suffers from this fear. He says that even handling a wooden stick gives him the shivers because he doesn't like the way it feels in his hand. Before he uses a wooden mixing spoon, he has to put on latex surgical gloves.
My friend is also afraid of flying, has never been in an airplane and can't walk across pedestrian bridges. He says that he always panics before he gets to the middle of the bridge and has to run back to the other side.
This man was born with essential tremor, and I sometimes wonder if the same misfiring brain circuits that cause the involuntary movements could also contribute to what is clearly a form of anxiety disorder?
Interesting!! Tongue depressors, wooden spoons...hmm. Wonder what it is about those items that produces anxiety. Yeah, I don't like the feel of mushy things, kinda gross. Playdoh is ok but if I drop mashed potatoes or a piece of pumpkin pie, it feels weird, not in a fearful way but definitely doesn't produce endorphins. Haha!
Can understand airplanes & bridges!! Feel sorry for your friend.
I'd like to address people with a phobia of elevators. in 1999 for six months I worked on elevators and escalators. When I almost got killed by an escalator, I quit. I've met many people, mostly women, who fear elevators but have no problem with escalators. If they knew what I knew, their fear of elevators would be less and their fear and respect for escalators would increase. Escalators are nothing more than motorized meat grinders. When people don't obey the warning signs posted on escalators, the risk of injury is greatly increased, even if all safety features are working properly. Most elevators are either hydraulic or traction (cable with counter weights). Short buildings (generally 2 to 4 floors) are usually hydraulic. Oil fills a cylinder pushing the elevator up. A bleed valve opens to allow the oil to return to the tank to allow the elevator to go down. Only way for these types of elevators to fall Hollywood style is for the main pipe to completely break apart. What generally happens is the valve could get stuck open and the elevator will lower at normal speed and stop at the bottom. Traction elevators are generally in buildings 4 stories or more. These elevators have around 4 wire cables attached to the elevator car. Each cable is weight tested beyond the max weight limit of the elevator car. The cable goes up, over pulleys, and back down to a counter weight which weighs more than a fully loaded elevator car. If the motor fails, the elevator will go up, not down. For an elevator to free fall like in Hollywood movies, all cables have to be cut. To the best of my knowledge, this has happened only once when a WW2 bomber plane in thick fog/clouds flew into the Empire State Building. The woman in the elevator car at the time survived the fall. Today's elevators have safety devices which engage a very powerful set of brakes if the elevator gets too fast. These brakes are so powerful they have to be removed with a torch if they engage. Regulations regarding elevators vary from state to state. Most reputable businesses are serious about their elevator safety. I work in a major local hospital in the boiler room. We contract out our elevator repair service. however, our department every month will do a routine inspection of the elevators. We ride it up and down stopping at each floor. We're checking that all the lights work, elevator stops within 1/4 inch of level with the floor, the door opening safety system works (pass hand between doors as it's closing to ensure it opens), and test the emergency call system inside the elevator car. For minor problems like lights, we just report it to the contractor when he comes in for routine work. For more serious problems, we shut down the elevator and put in a direct call to the contractor for quick repair before putting it back in service. Some are afraid of elevators because of claustrophobia. The elevator doors are not air tight. Most elevators have vent holes at the bottom and top of the elevator car. Even if the vent fan on the elevator car isn't working, there is another vent fan in the elevator mechanical room. This creates a low volume flow of air from the floors, into the elevator shaft, and up out of the building roof. Most building maintenance have the tools needed to pop the doors open if people are stuck inside. If the elevator is stuck directly between two floors, we call out the fire department for emergency rescue as well as the elevator contractor.
Whoa! Had no idea! Although I don't have a fear of either one, I've seen enough movies that portray the elevator as the scarier of the two. Although...
When I was a teen, my little cousin (who wasn't obeying the rules, mind you) sat down while we were going up on an escalator and his shorts got caught between those little ridges of the escalator steps and the floor. Scary! Almost cut his leg and um, you know!
I have a fear of needles due to a traumatic childhood experience, which led to me having a fear of hospitals. I hate the smell. I can't stand it. The chairs they put you in to take blood also remind me of jail death chambers. I spent a lot of time in the hospital when I was a child with some heart issues, so I can't stand the sound of hearts beating or the sight of blood... it makes me nervous and causes anxiety. Basically all the fun medical stuff! Yay for me... not.
Whoa! Had no idea! Although I don't have a fear of either one, I've seen enough movies that portray the elevator as the scarier of the two. Although...
When I was a teen, my little cousin (who wasn't obeying the rules, mind you) sat down while we were going up on an escalator and his shorts got caught between those little ridges of the escalator steps and the floor. Scary! Almost cut his leg and um, you know!
Those are called comb teeth. They're used to help sweep debris from the steps and keep them from falling in. But when it comes to soft items like clothing or flesh, it'll get caught between the step grooves and comb teeth and get pulled in. If it's a newer model, it may have a working pressure switch behind the comb teeth and shut off the escalator before permanent injury takes place. If not, it'll keep chewing until someone hits the emergency stop button or finds the key to shut it down (some older models don't have an emergency stop button, just a key to stop/start).
I don't like clusters of things either! I thought I was the only one. A couple years ago we had a huge lady bug problem in our house and they would get in clusters in the corner of the ceiling. It literally gave me the creeps...weird. I'm also really really freaked out by vomit. If someone nears me throws up I will absolutely freak out. Yuck.
My friend is the same way. If it looks like someone near us is about to throw up, she splits. I don't like it but can handle it. She, on the other hand, FREAKS out.
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