phobias quiz... oh well.
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Phobias Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Fear?
Not bad.
You know about as much as the average fraidy-cat about phobias. You got 5/10 correct.
1
Incorrect
The correct answer: A Trees
Your answer: B Dentists or dental work
A dendrophobe has an intense and overpowering fear of trees. The prefix dendro "tree or treelike" originates with the Greek dendron "to be solid." This one is a toughie because dendrite, a treelike component of all nerve cells, shares the same prefix. And fear of dentists or dental work, technically known as dentophobia, is one of the most common phobias reported.
2
Correct!
The correct answer: B Fear of flying
Your answer: B Fear of flying
Also called aerophobia, aviophobia describes an irrational fear of flying. Many aviophobics learn to control their fear with a behavior therapy known as systematic desensitization, which teaches them to relax in a situation that would normally produce anxiety. For the record, fear of birds is technically termed ornithophobia; fear of reptiles is herpetophobia.
3
Correct!
The correct answer: C Thunder and lightning
Your answer: C Thunder and lightning
Brontophobes have an irrational fear of thunder and lightning. If you guessed dinosaurs or dinosaur bones, worry not--you weren't too far off. The prefix bronto, from the Greek bronte "thunder," also appears in one of the most recognizable dinosaur names, brontosaurus*.
4
Correct!
The correct answer: A Foreigners
Your answer: A Foreigners
From the Greek xenos "stranger, foreigner," xenophobia describes an irrational fear of foreign people and cultures. A xenophile, on the other hand, adores foreign people, their customs, and their culture. And just to be fair, the word xenon, which describes a gas used in glow-in-the-dark neon signs, shares the same Greek origin.
5
Incorrect
The correct answer: B Peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth
Your answer: A Spiders, scorpions, or mites
What can we say? Phobias are by nature irrational. The name of this one is quite rational, however. The botanists and nut buffs among us will likely recognize the prefix arachi, which also appears in the scientific name for peanut*, Arachis hypogaea.
6
Correct!
The correct answer: B Ophidiophobia
Your answer: B Ophidiophobia
Truth? We have some trouble regarding any fear of snakes as irrational. Nonetheless, the professionals think there's such a thing, and they call it ophidiophobia, from the Greek stem ophid "snake."
7
Correct!
The correct answer: B Public or open spaces
Your answer: B Public or open spaces
Agoraphobia is characterized by an intense and irrational fear of being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult. The name is derived from the word agora*, a public square or marketplace considered an integral component of any ancient Greek city.
8
Incorrect
The correct answer: A The number 13
Your answer: C Triplets
Blame this one on the Greeks, too. Coined from the Greek word triskaideka "thirteen," triskaidekaphobia describes an irrational fear of the number 13. Not all fear of the number 13 is considered phobia, however. In some cases, it's just superstition.
9
Incorrect
The correct answer: A Gephyrophobia
Your answer: C Ichthyophobia
A person with gephyrophobia, sometimes called gephydrophobia, has an overpowering fear of crossing bridges. In many cases, the fear extends beyond bridges to other human-made structures, such as tall buildings.
10
Incorrect
The correct answer: C Long words
Your answer: A Food dishes containing cod fish
Whew! If you've made it this far in the phobias quiz, we can say with some assurance that you do not suffer from sesquipedalophobia. This one, by the way, owes its name to Latin. The prefix sesqui "one and a half" originates with the Latin words semi "half" and que "and."
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posted by a cautiously optimistic Redskins fan
at 3:51 PM EST