The other day, I was listening to the radio and Rick Dees (apparently we're almost completely syndicated on this station now) announced that a recent survey said the majority of men polled would rather swim with sharks than propose to their girlfriend. As an unmarried woman, I just have to say, "really?" Is it the actual proposing or the life altering circus that follows? The next 50 years of your life with one woman or the fear of rejection? I posted this on FB and my 50 yr old single uncle posted that he read a survey that said most women would rather read, take a bath, watch a movie or even watch the superbowl than have sex. Maybe that has something to do with it. :)With Halloween just around the corner, it got me thinking about fears. Mainly irrational ones. I guess we all have them. PC even posted a while back about things that creep her out but other people don't understand. I have plenty of those, in addition to the standard phobias and fears. Mine are usually irrational. Some fears are self-preserving, like fears of fire and snakes. Mine aren't. Not really. I know several people around here have issues with stormdrains like I do. Apparently reading "It" at the tender age of ten was a bad idea. Which of course leads me into my clown phobia. No clowns. Ever. I don't curl into a ball and cry or anything, but I'm going to avoid them and stay well out of the range of their razor sharp teeth. What? They don't have razor sharp teeth? I'll take your word for that.
I have other silly fears. Watching the migrating birds in the spring, a chill ran down my spine. I really dislike birds. And not in a Hitchcock kind of way. I don't think they're going to swarm me. And I don't cower in fear from a cardinal in my crepe myrtle, but I think the idea of the bird is the problem. There's just something about their talons and their beaks and beady ideas that bother me.
The beak thing also translates over to my
irrational fear of squid and other cephalopods. Big, squishy bodies, pretty harmless, right? Sure, except for their giant, crushing parrot beaks. And their teeth-lined suction cups. You didn't know they were lined with teeth, did you? Teeth is probably the wrong word since its really more like a hard cartilage ring, but if a larger squid grabs hard onto you, it can break the skin. It helps them lock onto prey. Sperm whales that eat giant squid are often found with hundred of circle scars around their face.I have taken it on as my mission to inform people about the little-known creep factor of squid. Spreading the fear through knowledge, that's me.
Got this quote from Convergence, a science magazine from UC Santa Barbara. “Squid can be aggressive, whimsical, suddenly mean, and they are always hungry,” said Herb Waite, co-author and Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) at UC Santa Barbara. “You wouldn’t want to be diving next to one. They’re very aggressive feeders… a dozen of them could eat you, or really hurt you a lot.”
HOLY CRAP! Maybe my fears are no longer irrational. At least in the water. On land, its sort of a "Land Shark" thing. Whatever, I'm not getting my scuba certification any time soon. Eat calamari, keep them in their place on the foodchain.
Do you have any irrational (or perfectly rational if you have the right information) fears? Share the information and spread the fear through knowledge. :)
SP
PS. I'm blogging on eHarlequin today about Halloween candy so come on over and weigh in on your favorites!
8 comments:
“Squid can be aggressive, whimsical, suddenly mean, and they are always hungry,”
I know some people who would fit this description. No names. :-) I was never afraid of squid until I met you! The clown/storm drain fears are another matter. Yes, IT scarred many people. Me included. I think that's my only *irrational* fear. No, wait, ventriloquist dummies. Dolls with eyes that follow you around the room. These are the result of a movie, not a book, but the result is the same. Creepy.
You clown fearers share that with Seeley Booth of Bones. And according to Temperance Brennan it's called coulrophobia. Just thought I'd throw that out there. ~grin~ I quit reading Stephen King before I got to IT, but I'm not real crazy about homecoming queens, resorts closed for the winter or cars named Christine.
I also do not like snakes. I do not even like pictures of snakes or snakes in the TV or in movies. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, I too asked, "Why did it have to be snakes?"
LJ, I don't really like puppets/dolls/marionettes/dummies either. Its the googly eyes. And the fear that they're going to move or talk without someone doing it. And stab you. That's why I collected Barbies as a child. No googly eyes.
SP, you have forever ruined the Ocean for me. Yeah, well, not really. I love to look at it but never really liked to get it in. I have a fear of slimy things I can see brushing against my legs.
And my aversion to horror movies is well documented on the blog. And yet I'm still dislike clowns and puppets without every having to watch either movie attached to the fear.
Insti
Heights and airplanes. I used to be able to fly without worry, then I started having incidents - five in a row - on airplanes. Now I get a blind panic whenever I am in one. As for heights, I have extreme vertigo, almost to the point of wanting to lie down and curl up in a ball. I think both are irrational but nothing that a shot of tequila won't cure. LOL
I hate anything that is supposed to have eyes and doesn't. I would have never made it as an Amish child. I've been known to draw eyes on things with a Sharpie. My mother in law collects these folk art-looking angel things with plenty of wings and halos but not an eye to be found. I am itching to get hold them with a Sharpie. It's a dream of mine.
Well, it's irrational to most people, but totally rational to me. I fear driving. I hate it. I have a driver's license and I intend to keep it active (just in case), but I refuse to drive anymore. I live in a big city so I don't have to and I've been in several pretty bad car accidents (no one ever seriously injured, but all very scary, cars totaled, hospital visits, etc). Truth be told, I don't even like being in moving cars anymore, but I accept they are a part of life. I just won't drive them. America is such a car loving country, most people look at me like I have 3 heads when I say that ;-)
I kind of love squids, but you are right there is a dangerous side to them. I was on field trip in 3rd grade at a fish market. I saw a live squid for sale lying in a little shallow kiddie pool and walked over and stuck my finger in one of his suckers. And I felt it pull, and pull, and pull and I got a taste of how strong just one of those suckers is. I popped that finger out right quick!
You do not know how close you came to getting a stuffed squid from the Smithsonian when I was there. You're just lucky that I'm too cheap to part with $30 just to annoy you.
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