The Top 10 Phobias

There are all different kinds of phobias: the common fear of spiders is arachnophobia, or you might be deathly scared of going to high places which is acrophobia, the fear of heights. You might be scared of reading, thus have a bibliophobia. People all around the world have some type of fear or phobia. This year, it was found that 19.2 million American adults over age 18 have an extreme fear, or phobia, which is about 8.7 percent of people in the age group.

Here are the worst phobias:

1. Snakes- This could actually be a good thing. According to studies, spotting a snake or a spider helps us survive, and it helped our ancestors to survive too. But I never understood why people were afraid of snakes. Of course they are venomous (that's the only thing that scares me), but only 20% of all snakes around the world are venomous and it is very rare that the poison actually kills a human. However, I can sympathize with the fear.
2. Spiders- Women are four times likely to flinch and search for some sort of weapon when they encounter a spider than men. Studies show that even 11 month old girls flinch at the sight of a creepy crawly.
3. Closed Spaces- Claustrophobia is the fear of closed spaces, and the common feared spots are elevators, public transportation, and shopping malls while the activities include driving, avoiding to leave home, and being in crowded areas. According to reports, 1.8 Americans over age 18 suffer from claustrophobia.
4. People and Society- 15 million American adults suffer from some type of social phobia. There are a few symptoms: being nervous when delivering a speech in front of an audience, eating or drinking in front of others, being uncomfortable around anyone except family, etc. The fear begins early, during an adolescence's 13 year. 3.
5. Heights- 3% to 5% of the American population suffer from acrophobia, the fear of heights. A study shows that acrophobics usually misjudge the height of a building and think it is a lot taller than it really is.
6. The Dark- Being afraid of the dark is a kid's most common fear, whether they are afraid of the boogey-man or not.
7. Thunder and Lightning- The loud sounds of thunder can make your heart pound, and the flash of lightning can make your palms sweat from your pores. In some cases, if you are scared of thunder and lightning, you have some severe weather phobia.
8. Flying (on Airplanes)- Flying was always a dream to mankind, but some people panic when they are scheduled to board a plane. The fear can keep the person with the flying fear off an airplane at all costs.
9. Dogs- People tend to develop a dog fear when they witness someone or themselves being bitten. Some are fearful and already know that dogs sometimes bite. Really, did grandma's dog biting you really mean every dog was out to get you?
10. The Dentist- 9% to 20% of Americans have a fear of the dentist, and I totally agree with them. I wouldn't be so happy at the thought of having some intense sessions with the dentist.

Personally, I think numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 10 scared me, although I also think needles (belonephobia, the fear of needles and pins) and clowns (coulrophobia) scared me even more than snakes and the other creepy crawlies. At least I know I’m bigger and smarter than them.

Here are some of my top 10 phobias:

10. Coulrophobia- Fear of clowns.

9. Phasmophobia- Fear of ghosts.

8. Nosocomephobia- Fear of hospitals.

7. Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.

6. Dromophobia- Fear of crossing street.

5. Bufonophobia- Fear of toads.

4. Belonephobia- Fear of pins and needles.

3. Ophidiophobia- Fear of snakes

2. Entomophobia- Fear of insects.

1. Arachnophobia- Fear of spiders.

Links:

What Really Scares People: Top 10 Phobias

The Phobia List

Phobia Picture

Why Fall Colors Are Different Around the World

The colors of autumn are different all around the world: in America, they take on a hot and blazing shade of red, while in Europe, they are almost always yellow. Hasn’t it puzzled you why the fall-blooming colors differ depending on which side of the world you’re on? I certainly was surprised to find out that in different regions of the world, we have different autumnal colors; I thought they were all the same!

Groups of researchers were just as interested, and they have developed a likely idea why the fall colors are different around the world. But first, we need to know about the pigment processes.

Pigment chlorophyll is a molecule found in the fresh, green leaves of the spring and summer, and they allow plants to capture sunlight and make energy in the process of photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is extremely sensitive to coldness, so when summer slowly fades into the cooler fall, plants stop producing it. Then the yellow and orange pigments take over the dominating green color of the leaves. These new, colorful pigments that we see commonly during the fall season are called carotenoids.

I mentioned yellow and orange, but what about red? The hues of red prove to be a lot more complicated than the colors of yellow and orange. This is because the red color comes from a substance different from carotenoids, called anthocyanins, and the difference lies in the times they are produced. The pigments of carotenoids can be shown when the green fades away, but are always present in the leave’s color. The mechanism of anthocyanins is different because they only produce in the fall.

This concept is a lot harder to comprehend from my reader’s point of view, but my perception on the leaves of autumn has now broadened as I feel this is something very important to understand.

Now we can talk about the idea on color evolution: the idea states that in larger areas in the world, they are covered with green forests and tropical jungles, and there is a phase in which series of ice ages and dry spells occur. This results the species of trees to drop their leaves for winter.

In North America, the “north-to-south mountain chains enable plant and animal migration to the south or north with the advance and retreat of the ice according to the climatic fluctuations,” says Simcha Lev-Yadun of the University of Haifa-Oranim in Israel, “and, of course, along with them migrated their insect ‘enemies’, and the war for survival continues.” East Asia goes along the same concept.

In Europe, “the mountains— the Alps and their lateral branches— reach from east to west, and therefore no protected areas were created,” says Jarmo Holopainen of the University of Kuopio in Finland. As a result, the tree species that did not survive the cold died and so did the insects that depended on them. The trees that had survived in Europe had no need to survive with the insects that had died out, and thus did not need red leaves since the red pigments were believed to be able to ward off pests that munched on the trees’ leaves— in my opinion, I think it is because red is a very brilliant and warning color.

Did you know...

Did you know that carotenoids (the yellow and orange pigments) are responsible for the orange color of carrots?

Did you know that anthocyanins (the red pigments) act as sunscreen for trees? They block the harmful radiation of the sun, preventing overexposure of light, and they also act as anti-freeze so the leaf cells won't freeze during the autumn chill.

Links:

Why Fall Colors Are Different (http://www.livescience.com/environment/090922-fall-leaves.html)

Autumn Leaves Picture (http://casarobles.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/2-autumn-leaves.jpg)