Are You a Phobia Expert?

By Jonathan Gregg Saturday, Mar. 24, 2001
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Phobia, schmobia. Why can't people just get over themselves? Easy for you to say — until you find yourself suddenly flexing uncontrollably in an effort to stave off an attack of ankylophobia, a fear of immobility of the joints. Or maybe you're finding it harder to engage in discussions the way you used to, what with the sudden onset of allodoxaphobia, the fear of opinions. Rear ends got your back up? Rectophobia. Worst of all, you could really drive yourself around the bend with maniaphobia, a fear of insanity — how to know which is which?

Clearly it's no laughing matter. So to increase your sensitivity to these and other conditions, TINME.com has assembled a quick quiz about phobias and the weir— er, unfortunate individuals who suffer from them.

PART I: Multiple Choice

1. Anuptaphobia is the fear of:

    A. marriage
    B. staying single
    C. your wife
    D. your mother-in-law
    E. none of the above

2. If you can't bear to bathe you are:

    A. aquaphobic
    B. ranidophobic
    C. ablutophobic
    D. odorific
    E. none of the above

3. Which of the following should you NOT suffer from if you plan a trip to the zoo:

    A. herpetophobia
    B. ornithophobia
    C. ambulophobia
    D. megalophobia
    E. none of the above

4. Which of the following does not involve something you do with your body?

    A. optophobia
    B. phagophobia
    C. peniaphobia
    D. kyphophobia
    E. none of the above


5. Macrophobia is the fear of:

    A. large numbers
    B. large objects
    C. long waits
    D. raw food
    E. none of the above

PART II: Matching
Everybody knows about claustrophobia (confined spaces), acrophobia (heights) and agoraphobia (public spaces), but there's a lot more out there to worry about. Here are 10 other everyday phobias you might not even realize you have — until now.

Match the phobia with the appropriate object of revulsion.

1. Monophobia
2. Myctophobia
3. Decidophobia
4. Necrophobia
5. Agliophobia
6. Aviaphobia
7. Automysophobia
8. Chiraptophobia
9. Pyrophobia
10. Basophobia

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